Inside the emergency meeting of Black leaders after the voting rights ruling [View all]
Source: MS NOW News
May. 16, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT
The Supreme Court ruling came down on a Tuesday. One day later, more than 50 of the most prominent Black leaders in the country gathered at the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, with nearly 100 more joining by video for what attendees were already calling, with a dark humor that matched the moment, the “Emergency Black People Meeting.”
The catalyst was Louisiana v. Callais, a Supreme Court decision that effectively gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1964 and, in the view of those assembled, signaled open season on Black political power across the South. The invitation, obtained by MS NOW, did not mince words: “BLACK VOTING AND POLITICAL POWER IS UNDER ATTACK,” it read.
The coalition inside the room reflected the stakes. Labor leaders. Civil rights executives. Elected officials. Academics. Organizers. Every major civil rights organization was represented, either in person or virtually. Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, was there. So was Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who at one point climbed atop a table to make his point.
“He was saying, ‘I’m going to say some things that sound a little bit audacious,’” according to one person who joined the meeting virtually and was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “And when you’re going to walk out of here, you’re going to say, ‘Who is this crazy man standing on the table, ringing a sense of urgency?’”. Asked by MS NOW about the moment, an aide to Booker said the senator “gave passionate remarks about the midterms.”
Read more: https://www.ms.now/news/black-leaders-emergency-meeting-voting-rights
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