The NAACP’s Missouri State Conference has taken legal action over the redistricting bill, passed by Republican supermajorities in both chambers of the General Assembly, that now awaits the governor’s signature.
The organization called the proposal “a direct attack on Black voters, Kansas City, St. Louis, and the very idea of democracy.”
For no other reason except to avoid the wrath of President Donald Trump, Republicans, with few exceptions, rushed to vote to split the Fifth Congressional District, long held by Democrat Emanuel Cleaver, into three districts.
Part of the new gerrymandered district includes urban Kansas City and stretches through rural Missouri to Columbia.
This legislative action effectively accomplishes two things: silencing the voices of Black voters in a Kansas City district that is home to many African Americans and kowtowing to a president whose zeal for authoritarian control is unmatched in American history.
The NAACP lawsuit contends that Gov. Mike Kehoe did not face the “extraordinary circumstances” required under the state constitution to convene the special session where Republican lawmakers approved the bill.
“The violation of Missouri’s constitution in order to call a special session is critically important to all Missourians,” said Nimrod Chapel Jr., president of the Missouri NAACP.
The ACLU also has sued over the new map on the grounds it is unconstitutional.
“No matter how the state spins it, Kansas City voters will have worse representation in Congress if this map is allowed to take effect,” said Ming Cheung of the ACLU Voting Rights Project.
The bill also includes draconian changes to the citizen petition process, which would set a challenging standard that would make it more difficult to pass ballot initiatives.
Instead of just a simple statewide majority, initiative proposals would need that and a majority within each of the state’s eight congressional districts. Analysts contend that just 5.3% of state voters could block passage of an initiative.
Restraining the citizen petition process is shortsighted and diabolical.Fortunately, Missourians will have a chance to vote on these changes before they are enacted.
The same could be true for the redistricting bill, which is why Black Missourians must be resolute and join the fight for fair representation.
While the legal challenges could be successful, an effort to collect 110,000 petition signatures is underway throughout the state that would allow Missourians to vote on the new map.
Richard von Glahn, who is leading the People NOT Politicians signature collection effort, told the Missouri Independent that more than 2,200 Missourians have volunteered to gather signatures.
“I’ve never seen the sort of groundswell we’re seeing now,” he said.
Imagine that groundswell if Black Missourians made it their civic duty to get involved.
We urge Black St. Louisans — and African Americans across Missouri — to make their voices heard by signing the petition.
The state GOP targeted Cleaver’s district not only to lock in a 7-1 Republican dominance of U.S. House representation in Missouri but also to silence an outspoken Black voice in Congress.
Black Missourians should help lead the charge in gathering enough signatures before the Dec. 11 deadline to place the question of yes or no on redistricting on the ballot. That election would be held in November 2026 unless the General Assembly orders a special election.
While the petition signature drive has some early positive momentum, the effort could be unstoppable with the power of Black Missouri behind it. Volunteers and financial support are needed.
People NOT Politicians will hold a signature-gathering training event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday Sept. 27, at SEIU Local 1, 2725 Clifton, St. Louis.
Another session will be held in St. Peters, Missouri, from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28, at the Economic Development Council of St. Charles, 5988 Mid Rivers Mall Drive.
Black voters from the St. Louis area to Kansas City and all parts in between must be energized and active in this petition drive. If the drive is successful, African Americans must then show up in unprecedented numbers throughout the state to ensure this sinister redistricting plan is rejected.
Gov. Kehoe and state legislators have presented a challenge to all Missourians, but especially African Americans. The time is now to prove that Black voters are a political force the GOP must reckon with — not only in this moment, but for years to come.
Read the full editorial here.