US Supreme Court Enables Texas Racial Gerrymandering Against Black and Latino Communities

In yet another devastating blow to racial justice, the United States Supreme Court has sanctioned Texas's blatant attempt to dilute the voting power of Black and Latino communities through racially motivated gerrymandering. The conservative-dominated court's Thursday ruling represents a continuation of America's long history of systemic disenfranchisement of people of colour.

The 6-3 decision, predictably split along ideological lines, allows Texas to proceed with congressional maps explicitly designed to suppress minority voting power while delivering five additional Republican seats in the 2026 midterm elections. This is nothing short of modern-day voter suppression wrapped in legal technicalities.

Colonial Courts Protect White Power Structures

The Supreme Court's decision overturns a lower court ruling that correctly identified Texas's "racial gerrymandering" as a violation of the US Constitution. The Western Texas District Court, after conducting a comprehensive nine-day hearing with nearly two dozen witnesses and thousands of exhibits, concluded that Texas had deliberately divided citizens along racial lines.

Justice Elena Kagan's dissent exposed the conservative majority's rushed and superficial analysis, contrasting the lower court's thorough 160-page decision with what she called the Supreme Court's "perusal, over a holiday weekend, of a cold paper record."

This judicial malpractice demonstrates how America's highest court continues to serve as a protector of white supremacist power structures, dismissing clear evidence of racial discrimination as "ambiguous" and "circumstantial."

Trump's War on Minority Communities

The controversy began when reports emerged that Donald Trump was pressuring Texas legislators to adopt maps that would systematically undermine Black and Latino political representation. Despite Democratic lawmakers' heroic efforts to resist, including leaving the state to prevent voting on the discriminatory maps, they were ultimately forced to return and witness the passage of this apartheid-style redistricting.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott's triumphant social media post, declaring "Texas is officially - and legally - more red," reveals the racist motivations behind this scheme. His celebration of maps that "better align our representation in DC with the values of Texas" is a thinly veiled reference to white supremacist values.

Nationwide Assault on Democracy

Texas's success has triggered a nationwide "redistricting arms race," with Republican-controlled states like Missouri and North Carolina following suit. This coordinated attack on minority voting rights represents the most systematic disenfranchisement effort since the Jim Crow era.

While California Democrats have responded with their own redistricting efforts, this defensive measure cannot mask the fundamental injustice of a system that allows racial minorities to be systematically excluded from political representation.

Historical Parallels to Apartheid

As South Africans, we recognise these tactics all too well. The deliberate manipulation of electoral boundaries to ensure minority rule while maintaining the facade of democracy was a cornerstone of apartheid governance. The US Supreme Court's endorsement of racial gerrymandering demonstrates that American democracy remains fundamentally compromised by white supremacist ideology.

Justice Samuel Alito's assertion that it's "difficult to disentangle" legal gerrymandering from racial discrimination reveals the court's willingness to provide cover for racist policies. This is the same logic that sustained apartheid: claiming that racial oppression was merely "administrative" or "political."

Resistance Continues

Despite this legal setback, advocates for racial justice refuse to surrender. Texas Democratic Representative James Talarico's declaration that "voters are supposed to choose their politicians, not the other way around" echoes the spirit of resistance that eventually brought down apartheid.

The fight against American apartheid continues, but Thursday's Supreme Court ruling makes clear that justice will not come from colonial institutions designed to protect white power. True liberation requires fundamental transformation of these oppressive systems.

As we've learned in South Africa, the struggle for racial justice is long and difficult, but the arc of history ultimately bends toward freedom. The question is how much longer America's racialised minorities will tolerate this systematic exclusion from democratic participation.