As Tennessee Republicans rush to redraw congressional districts, thereby diluting Memphis’ voting power, the city is missing a state representative. The Shelby County Board of Commissioners is racing to fill the late Rep. G.A. Hardaway’s seat before an expected vote on a new map later this week.
Gov. Bill Lee announced Friday that the special session would begin Tuesday. His decision follows a 6-3 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that erodes protections in the 1965 Voting Rights Act and makes it harder to challenge racially discriminatory maps.
While House District 93’s seat, which includes Memphis neighborhoods ranging from Orange Mound to Binghampton to parts of Cordova, will remain empty for at least the first two days of the session, commissioners plan to get someone appointed, sworn in and to the statehouse by Thursday, before a vote on a new map is expected. Tennessee’s redistricting effort is expected to split Memphis and ultimately give Republicans full control of the state’s nine seats in Congress.
“It’s very important for Memphians to have a voice, and I heard loud and clear from constituents that they really wanted us to get someone appointed as soon as possible,” said Commission Chairperson Shante Avant.
The race to replace Hardaway
Commissioners have set an aggressive schedule to fill House District 93’s seat:
- Applications opened on Monday, and must be submitted before 5 p.m. Tuesday.
- Commissioners will interview candidates at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
- The appointment vote is expected to take place at 1 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon.
Hardaway, who died April 24, would have fought the redistricting, friends and loved ones said.
The special session has “expedited the process” to name Hardaway’s replacement, Avant said.
“This isn’t the way we probably would have done a vacant seat,” she told commissioners at a meeting Monday afternoon. “The people who represent that district have asked us to act expeditiously in order to have someone in the seat.”
Applications for the vacancy opened on Monday and must be submitted before 5 p.m. Tuesday. Commissioners will interview applicants and likely choose an appointee on Wednesday afternoon.
Before the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Voting Rights Act required Tennessee to have at least one congressional district whose population was mostly Black residents. Majority-minority districts preserve the voting power of Black voters by allowing them to select their own representation.
Now, legislators intend to spread those votes across several majority-white districts. By splitting up Memphis, all nine of Tennessee’s congressional districts will be populated by a white majority of voters. President Donald Trump has urged Tennessee Republicans to flip the state’s last Democratic seat red in order to give Republicans more seats in Congress before the November midterm elections.
This redistricting would mark the second time in recent years that congressional maps have been redrawn. In 2022, Democratic-leaning Davidson County, which contains Nashville, was split into three districts, leaving the Ninth Congressional District as the only Democratic district in Tennessee. Maps are typically adjusted every 10 years to factor in new Census population data.
Hardaway legacy tied to redistricting fight
As the celebration of life for Hardaway ended Friday, the Rev. J. Lawrence Turner, pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, connected Hardaway’s legacy to the original intent of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
“Representative Hardaway was 10 or 11 years old when President Johnson signed it into law,” Turner said. “But to be clear, this was no mere stroke of an ink pen. This was an act of Congress that came into effect literally after blood had been shed. … It is this act that has now been dismantled by the Supreme Court, and at this time we lose one of the most fierce advocates for democracy.”
Cameron Sexton, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, sat in the front row at the funeral. Just hours later, Gov. Bill Lee called for a special session to review the state’s congressional map.
Turner later told MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, he was “not so much preaching at Cameron Sexton, but really living the truth of G.A. Hardaway’s life, who would tell us to speak truth to power and power to the people. To honor Rep. Hardaway’s life in his death is to be truthful about the reality of the injustice happening in this state.”
A group of clergy gathered Monday outside Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, where Hardaway’s funeral was held, to oppose the redistricting attempt. The Rev. Earle Fisher, pastor of Abyssinian Missionary Baptist Church, said he wanted to call out “blatant hypocrisy and immorality” in Sexton attending and speaking at Hardaway’s funeral, “while knowing their plan to disenfranchise the people that G.A. Hardaway represents.”
Sexton’s office did not return a request for comment.
Turner said that whoever ends up appointed to the seat “can no way stand in (Hardaway’s) shoes,” but that he hopes the person “will make sure the voices of Memphians are heard in the state legislature.”
“You can’t come to this moment and not think about Rep. G.A. Hardaway,” Turner said.
Katherine Burgess is the government accountability reporter for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. Contact her at katherine.burgess@mlk50.com
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