New Tools are Needed to Protect Communities of Color in Redistricting

The 2021 redistricting cycle will be challenging for communities of color. For the first time in five decades, maps will be redrawn without the critical protections provided by section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Other tools that traditionally protected communities of color from discrimination also have become harder to use. This article explores the ways that communities of color can rethink and reshape a creaky toolbox to meet the needs of the diverse America of the 21st century.