High court ruling puts U.S. minority voting districts in jeopardy - Supreme Court

Jet, July 19, 1993

Congressional districts created to give minorities an electoral majority may be violating White voters' rights, the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled.

The 5-4 decision by the high court revived a challenge to a North Carolina congressional redistricting plan that established two majority-Black districts. The plan, which was challenged by two White voters, was an effort to satisfy a Justice Department objection to a previous plan.

"Racial classifications of any sort pose the risk of lasting harm to our society," Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote for the court. "They reinforce the belief, held by too many for too much of our history, that individuals should be judged by the color of their skin." O'Connor, who was joined in the majority opinion by Justices William Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas, also said racial classifications in voting pose "particular dangers."

"Racial gerrymandering, even for remedial purposes ... demands close judicial scrutiny," wrote O'Connor. As a result of the court's ruling, other states that have created majority-minority districts to comply with the Voting Rights Act also may be in violation of the law.

The two North Carolina congressional districts being contested are among approximately two dozen new districts across the nation with Black or Hispanic majorities.