The U.S. Supreme Court's recent 6-3 decision in Callais v. Louisiana, which severely weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by invalidating a majority-Black congressional district and raising the bar for proving racial gerrymandering claims, sparked widespread outrage among Americans including:

- President, Barack Hussein Obama:

We call America an experiment for a reason. Democracy is far from guaranteed. Generation after generation has been called upon to make this country better. Time after time, we’ve seen groups of ordinary Americans organize, march, and sacrifice to preserve and strengthen democracy. Now it’s our turn.

- House Minority Leader Hakeem Sekou Jeffries:

Given our history, "we view setbacks as nothing more than a setup for a comeback."

- Reverend Senator Ralph Warnock – Georgia:

Trump’s Supreme Court has gutted the protections that Dr. King marched for. The protections made possible by civil rights protestors who spilled blood in pursuit of a more perfect union. This is a devastating and profound step backwards for American Democracy.

- Damon L. Fordham, adjunct professor of history at The Citadel and author

Over the past week, the United States Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 to end Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which called for federal review of changes in voting districts with histories of racial discrimination. While this does not specifically  prohibit African Americans from voting, it is an area of concern for the following reasons:

1) The precedent for this is ugly and real. In 1883, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which banned racial discrimination in public places during the Reconstruction era, was unconstitutional.

2) After this was accomplished, in spite of protests from Black leaders of the day, such as Bishop Henry McNeal Turner, the Southern states began to circumvent the 15th Amendment (which gave African Americans the right to vote) by using literacy tests and poll taxes to deny Blacks the vote.

3) The Supreme Court sided with Mississippi in Williams vs Mississippi in 1898 in agreeing that such restrictions were legal.

4) While these rulings were overturned by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, many people today do not know this history, and those who do have no desire to see it repeated.

- Port of Harlem magazine:

The John Lewis Voting Rights Act was on the 2024 election table, but. . .

I wonder what the folks who spent their 2024 election career talking about Gaza and reparations have to say about this. It makes me wonder what we learned from the ending of Reconstruction I.

- Eric H. Holder, Jr.
82nd Attorney General of the United States:

Moving forward, the remedy to this out-of-control, deeply ideological Court must be a renewed commitment by the American people—and those who represent them—to pass new, durable voting rights legislation as well as reforms to our judicial system, so that the Supreme Court is no longer held captive by a minority ideology that acts solely in the best interest of those who adhere to it.

- Rev. Dr. William, J. Barber, II,
President & senior lecturer of Repairers of the Breach:

The intended result, as is clear to anyone who has observed elections in the South, is to restore Congressional delegations from Southern states that represent the white majority – a return to the past that will harm most people, including the poor and low-income white people who have benefited from legislation passed by more diverse legislatures over the past sixty years.

- Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester - Delaware:

“I’ve said it before: Our democracy is under attack, and today, the Supreme Court struck another blow. For over 60 years, the Voting Rights Act has been a symbol of a democracy inclusive of all Americans, representing the sacrifices made by Black civil rights activists for the right to vote. Yet, the Supreme Court has been systematically chipping away at that progress, dragging us backward. So, while I’m not surprised by this ruling, I am devastated by what this will mean for the Americans whose voices will be silenced. This fight is far from over. My Democratic colleagues and I will continue to do everything in our power to protect and restore voting rights across our nation.”

- Ken Martin, DNC Chair:

“Today is a dark day for America — the Supreme Court just rolled back the clock on the Civil Rights Movement. The GOP-captured Supreme Court just effectively killed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a major step back in the fight for racial justice and fair representation. While today’s decision is a gut punch, make no mistake: Democrats will fight tooth and nail to ensure the voices of all Americans will be heard in November and in every election that follows.”

- Kelley Robinson, President Human Rights Campaign:

“Today’s Supreme Court ruling allows extremists to continue undercutting critical, hard-fought protections like the Voting Rights Act and threatens the fundamental promise at the heart of our democracy: that every voter deserves an equal voice in electing their government,” she said in a statement. “Any attempt to silence the vote of even one American hurts all 300 million of us.”