Victory at Last: A New Electoral Map is Finally Giving Black Voices in Fayette County, TN a Chance to Be Heard
For decades in Fayette County, Tennessee, Black communities were unlawfully denied equal opportunity to participate in the democratic process.
In 2021, the County Commission drew a map that intentionally diluted Black voting power and fair representation. Under that electoral map, the history of racial discrimination and racially polarized voting in Fayette County resulted in an election system where none of the current 19 commissioners are Black people and none of the 10 electoral districts provided opportunities for Black voters to elect candidates of their choice, despite Black people making up over 25% of Fayette County’s voting-age population.
When they drew the old map, the all-white County Commission ignored calls from community members to pass a fair map, as well as those from the county’s own attorney, who warned about the harm that would occur from enacting it. The County Commission also rejected alternative proposed plans that heeded its redistricting guidelines and would have lessened the map’s racially discriminatory impact.
Therefore, the Legal Defense Fund and co-counsel filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Fayette-Somerville Branch of the NAACP and five individual voters alleging that the 2021 plan diluted Black voting strength, violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and the U.S. Constitution. In June, in response to LDF’s litigation, Fayette County lawmakers unanimously passed a new map that fairly allocates voting power to communities throughout the county.
The new electoral map, which complies with Section 2 of the VRA and Constitution, creates three new majority-Black single-member districts that provide Black voters with the opportunity to elect candidates of choice to the County Commission.
The Why: Representation Matters, Full Stop
Representation is the bedrock of our democracy. When people are denied their right to make their voices heard in free and fair elections, when they no longer have equal access to the ballot box, and when their voices are diluted by those who seek to silence others and pursue political power, democracy unquestionably weakens.
Electoral maps influence countless outcomes in local, state, and federal elections. They affect who can run for public office and who is elected to serve. And the policy impacts of an electoral map’s design can ripple through generations of constituents, as programs and policies related to education, housing, food security, health care, criminal justice, and more are determined by the candidates chosen to represent the people.
Fayette County’s adoption of a new, fairer electoral map is a major victory in the fight for equitable representation for Black communities across the country. It finally opens the door for Black voters to elect candidates of their choice in their town, after enduring decades of racially discriminatory policies. Unfortunately, the county’s history is rife with examples of discrimination.
Righting Wrongs
Fayette County is known nationally for its Tent City (also called Freedom’s Village). Beginning in 1959, Black Fayette County sharecroppers who registered to vote and attempted to exercise their political rights were evicted from their homes and land. They subsequently set up Tent City, where they lived in military surplus tents on land donated by local groups, with some individuals living there for up to two years.
Over 60 years after Tent City was established, Fayette County has finally agreed to right a wrong of its past by enacting a fair and non-discriminatory County Commission electoral map. This new map will be used in the 2026 election cycle and will be the first in years that allows Black communities in Fayette County to have an equal voice when participating in the democratic process.
THE COLOR: PEOPLE, PHOTOS, PERSPECTIVES
Hear from LDF clients about what the new map means for them:
“Fayette County tried to push Black voters out of the electoral process and silence us with a map that diluted our voting power. But the new map rights that wrong and ensures we have equal representation. We are ready to move forward to ensure our voices are heard in Fayette County and represented on the County Commission.”
Elton Holmes, President of the Fayette-Somerville Branch of the NAACP (Client)
“This passage of the new map is not just a victory for Black voters, but also a victory for Fayette County. I’m excited about the new map and look forward to the upcoming elections that will take place under a fair map. This is a great opportunity for Black voters to get out and make our voices heard so that we have equal representation on the County Commission.”
Christine Woods, Individual Plaintiff
“I am so encouraged by the passage of a map that no longer harms Black voters in Fayette County. With this map, we are one step closer to the representation that Black voters deserve in Fayette County.”
Willie Luellen, Plaintiff
THE RESOURCES
Tent City: Stories of Civil Rights in Fayette County, Tennessee
Clip from 2002 documentary project on Fayette County, TN: Special Collections, University of Memphis Libraries via BenLHooksInstitute YouTube Channel.
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