BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – Clergy and community leaders across Alabama are affirming the importance of the Supreme Court decision to reject the congressional district maps signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey earlier this year.

The Court’s refusal to allow Alabama to use the maps for the 2024 elections is the second time this year that SCOTUS determined that the governor and Alabama legislature diluted the political power of Black voters in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

“The Supreme Court’s decision will help to ensure that democracy is thriving across race and zip code lines throughout Alabama,” said Dr. A.B. Sutton, Jr., chairman of Faith in Action Alabama and senior pastor of Living Stones Temple. “A thriving democracy brings honor to the God of Liberation. We pray that this time Gov. Ivey and Alabama’s current legislative leadership take heed of the Supreme Court and stop trying to relive the past by taking us down a well-trodden Alabama byway – one that would lead to undermining the democratic rights of the African-American community in Alabama.”

Dr. Fredna Grimmett, presiding elder of AME Zion Union Spring District, added: “As a person of faith, it is critical to me that all policies and laws honor the dignity of all of God‘s children. The Supreme Court’s decision will help Alabama more fully honor that vision. Black people in Alabama deserve full representation in the United States government, and Alabama’s defiance does not change that.”

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Faith in Action is the largest grassroots, faith-based organizing network in the United States. The nonpartisan organization works with 1,000 religious congregations in more than 200 cities and towns through its 46 local and state federations. For more information, visit www.faithinaction.org.

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