It's the Brian Laris Show on WNYC. Good morning and happy Friday, everybody. We're very happy to have with us today the actual lawyer who argued in defense of the Voting Rights Act in the landmark case before the Supreme Court.

It's Jenae Nelson, President and Director of the Legal Defense Fund, previously known as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

Here she is in action when the court heard the case back in October, arguing for the court to support creation of a second

black majority district in Louisiana because of discrimination by the white majority legislature.

Six appellate judges affirmed findings that Louisiana, in the face of extreme racially polarized

voting, packed and cracked black voters, and it rejected

seven non-dilutive maps in favor of one that would give its 58% declining white electorate,

entrenched control over 83% of the congressional districts.

Janay Nelson, near the beginning of her oral arguments, as you know, the 6-3 decision handed

down last month, basically gutted the Voting Rights Act. Every day now, there's a story of another

Republican-led state, boxing out

Democratic congressional districts currently represented by black Democrats. If you've been

listening to the news this morning, you heard the headline about Tennessee doing that yesterday,

as reported in the Tennessean, quote, the newly drawn districts carve up Tennessee's only majority

black congressional seat into three districts, two of which stretch from Memphis to Williamson

County outside Nashville, unquote, from the Tennessean this morning.

We'll play more excerpts from the Supreme Court oral arguments as we go.

Jeney Nelson, President and Director of the Legal Defense Fund, John Fulm. more excerpts from the Supreme Court oral arguments as we go.

Jeney Nelson, President and Director of the Legal Defense Fund, joins us now.

Jene, we appreciate you coming on with us at this pivotal time and with your personal involvement in this case.

Welcome back to WNYC.

Thank you, Brian.

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