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On Friday, a coalition of local community groups including the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, Stand Up Mobile, and Wade in the Water held a joint press conference in the atrium at Government Plaza in Mobile. The coalition came together to “discuss the importance of appropriate representation for all Alabamians’ ahead of next week’s trial on the newly formed 2nd Congressional District” according to an official press release announcing the event.
Alabama’s congressional map has been in litigation since 2021, when two groups of voters and non-profits challenged the map, alleging that it diluted the voting power of Black Alabamians. Ultimately, Alabama was forced to redraw the map with a federal court ordering that the new map must contain two majority-Black districts to adhere to the provisions of the Voting Rights Act. However, when the state presented its newly-redrawn map in 2023, it still had only one majority-Black district.
Another lawsuit then ensued, leading a federal court to pause the use of the 2023 map while ordering the creation of a remedial map for use in the 2024 general election. The remedial plan adhered to the court’s original directive, creating a second district where Black Alabamians could have an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice. That new district is the 2nd Congressional District, from which Shomari Figures, D-Ala., was elected to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2024. Figures’ election marked the first time Alabama had ever sent two Black representatives to serve in Congress simultaneously.
Now, groups like the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, Stand Up Mobile, and Wade in the Water are fighting to officially do away with the 2023 map and to keep the 2024 remedial map in place through 2030.
APR spoke with Co-Founder of Stand Up Mobile Beverly Cooper on Sunday to get a better sense of these groups’ efforts, the battle to retain the 2nd Congressional District, and the current voting rights landscape in Alabama. Cooper first described why the coalition decided to hold a press conference ahead of this week’s trial.
“Our group of volunteers as well as people who follow Stand Up Mobile started asking questions about ‘what does this mean? I thought it was over? I thought the district was in place, why would we need to be going back to trial?’,” Cooper said. “It was really from that point of view and also talking with some of the organizations that were able to be a part of the press conference about ‘let’s do a press conference and make the community aware.’ That was our primary goal.”
Although Stand Up Mobile and the other community groups involved in the press conference were focused on educating Alabamians about the upcoming trial and the history of Alabama’s congressional map, they were also intent on highlighting the importance of preserving the 2nd District.
“All the individual who have been a part of working with Stand Up Mobile prior to the election… are true believers in the opportunity to have this district that would represent a greater portion of African Americans in Alabama,” Cooper said. “The fact that they’re being under-represented is something that we stressed… this was important to us, so yes, along with the educational and awareness aspect, it was also an understanding of ‘listen, we really do need to keep this district.'”
As for how everyday Alabamians can voice their support for keeping the 2nd Congressional District and the 2024 remedial map, Cooper advocated for civic engagement, including reaching out to legislators and attending the trial in-person.
“It would be a great opportunity for you to actually be in court so they can see that, yes, you’re sincere about this, you want to support it, and you certainly also want to understand and have a feel for exactly how the decision would be made, what information needs to be provided, and that kind of thing,” Cooper said. “At Stand Up Mobile, one of the things we talk about constantly is having a much more engaged and educated electorate, and this is certainly another opportunity to be able to try to also push people toward that same goal.”
“We put out a Facebook post that said ‘pack the court’… we talked with individuals throughout the 13 counties of being able to have representatives there or at least one so that you can really bring back the information to your community,” Cooper added.
As for how Cooper feels about the future of voting rights and fair electoral representation in Alabama moving forward, she said that Stand Up Mobile is optimistic.
“I believe that because we prevailed previously with getting this opportunity district and then also those individuals that thought the district was important enough to make sure that they came out and they elected a young person who certainly represents the African American community, and granted, a person of their choosing, I think that’s a significant aspect of this case and it certainly speaks well for the fact that there’s a belief that the district, the maps, are valid, that they’re good maps, and they certainly do exactly what the intention of creating CD-2 is all about,” Cooper said.
Cooper also stressed how important it is for voters to capitalize on the opportunities provided by the 2nd Congressional District by staying educated and engaged.
“Although we’ve elected an individual to the congressional district, it doesn’t stop there,” Cooper said. “You have a responsibility to continue to be engaged, knowing what’s going on in your district, also working with the individual who has been elected to make sure that they truly do represent the needs that we see in Congressional District 2.”
“It is, once again, I can’t probably say it enough, [all about] an educated electorate,” Cooper added. “Voting is something we want to be as second nature to you as taking a breath, and almost every time we have an opportunity to bring an issue forward and to do some education, that’s the kind of thing that we believe is so important about Stand Up Mobile.”
