June 9, 2026 

Contacts:  
communications@naacpnet.org  

The NAACP, NAACP Tennessee State Conference, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and LDF file motion for preliminary injunction before a three judge panel in federal court on behalf of impacted voters 
 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The NAACP and the NAACP Tennessee State Conference and impacted voters, along with co-counsels the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and LDF, have filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to block Tennessee’s newly enacted congressional map, which dismantles the state’s only majority-Black district and unlawfully dilutes Black voting power. The filing is available here. 
 

The motion asks the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee to halt implementation of the map before the 2026 elections, arguing that the plan was enacted with discriminatory intent in violation of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. 
 

“Let’s be clear: this map is not about fairness, it’s about fear,” said Derrick Johnson, President and CEO of the NAACP. “Tennessee lawmakers saw Black political power and made a calculated decision to dismantle it. They rigged the system and diluted our community’s voting power. We will not allow officials to cheat and silence our voices. We’ll fight this injustice in every courtroom necessary.” 
 

Last month, Tennessee lawmakers rushed through legislation that eliminated Congressional District 9, a Memphis-based district that has served as the state’s only majority-Black district for decades. Within days of the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais, the legislature carried out a special session that led to the dismantling of Congressional District 9 by cracking the Black population across three districts.
  

“We’re fighting for our communities, our neighborhoods, and our voices,” said Gloria Sweet-Love, President of the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP. “In Memphis and across Shelby County, we’ve built generations of advocacy, organizing, and civic power. This intentionally discriminatory map seeks to break that apart by dividing us and weakening our voice at the ballot box. We’re calling on the courts to stop this map before elections, before it can harm our communities.”  
 

The filing details how lawmakers ignored clear warnings that the plan would harm Black voters, used questionable and inconsistent explanations for their actions, and departed sharply from traditional redistricting standards in a rushed and opaque process.  
 

“Make no mistake, what we are seeing in Tennessee and across the South is an undeniable effort to strip Black voters of their power and their voice,” said Kristen Clarke, General Counsel of the NAACP. “The evidence here shows a calculated and intentional effort to dismantle a longstanding majority-Black district through a rushed, opaque process. A preliminary injunction ahead of elections is necessary to ensure that elections proceed under a lawful and constitutional map.” 
 

“Tennessee’s congressional map continues a troubling pattern of stifling Black political power and fracturing communities that have long organized to make their voices heard,” said Shaylyn Cochran, deputy executive director at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Our complaint underscores the serious and ongoing harm voters face under this map, and we will continue to fight until Black voters in Tennessee are both able and empowered to make their voices heard. This is not a ‘nice to have.’ It is the cornerstone of our democracy.” 
 

The motion demonstrates that Black voting power in Memphis and Shelby County has been fractured, making it more difficult to elect candidates of their choice. It further shows that race played a central role in the map’s configuration, despite lawmakers’ claims to the contrary. 
 

“Targeting Black voters by intentionally severing their communities into three districts to entrench white political power is both shameful and illegal,” said Kathryn Sadasivan, Counsel at the Legal Defense Fund. “Black voters deserve fair representation in government, and they have suffered decades of intentional and blatant discrimination at the hands of those who oppose a free and fair multiracial democracy. Tennessee legislators turned their backs on Black voters and abandoned their core responsibility to protect their constituents when enacting this map. The court must not follow in their footsteps.” 
 

The NAACP’s motion underscores that without immediate court intervention, Black voters will suffer irreparable harm, including the loss of fair representation in upcoming elections — harm that cannot be undone after ballots are cast. The motion is filed on behalf of civil rights and social justice organizations including the National Urban League.  
 

“Memphis has paid too high a price for the right to vote to have its power carved up behind closed doors,” said Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League. “The Memphis Urban League’s complaint speaks directly to the question of whether our democracy will honor equal protection and the Voting Rights Act, or tolerate modern-day vote dilution. We stand with the Memphis Urban League and the people of Memphis in demanding maps that reflect communities, not discrimination.” 
 

This latest action in Tennessee is part of NAACP’s broader effort to challenge discriminatory redistricting practices nationwide and to defend the fundamental right to vote. For more information, visit www.naacp.org. The filing is available here. 
 

# # #