The five districts drawn to elect supervisors and other local officials in DeSoto County discriminate against Black Mississippians, a recently filed federal lawsuit alleges.
The Legal Defense Fund, the ACLU of Mississippi and Harvard Election Law have filed a lawsuit in the federal court for the Northern District of Mississippi claiming the districts drawn in 2022 after the release of U.S. Census data discriminate against Black DeSoto County residents.
Though 32% of DeSoto County’s 182,000 residents are Black, none of the county’s 25 officeholders elected from the five districts in question are Black. The positions elected from the five districts are county supervisors, justice court judges, constables, school board members and election commissioners.
The lawsuit says the districts are drawn in such a manner as to dilute Black voter strength and prevent the election of minorities to the various offices.
“Addressing DeSoto County’s history of injustices begins with fair electoral mapping and access to the ballot box,” Charles Taylor, executive director of the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP, said in a news release. “Participation and representation are the fundamental rights afforded by a democracy, yet the Black citizens of the county have long been denied their rights by those holding office.”
DeSoto is the state’s third most populous county with 182,000 residents, according to the most recent Census data. The Black population has grown 9.2% since 2010 and almost threefold since 2000, according to the lawsuit.
DeSoto County, a suburb of Memphis in Tennessee, has been the state’s fastest growing county for some time. There is currently one Black-majority state House district in DeSoto.
Federal judges in the Southern District of Mississippi have ordered that a Black-majority state Senate district be created in DeSoto County. That case is still pending.
This latest lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Mississippi challenging the supervisory districts as being discriminatory was filed on behalf of two voters in the county and on behalf of the DeSoto County NAACP and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
“DeSoto County is the fastest growing county in Mississippi. The individuals and families that move to our state deserve fair and just representation in their local government,” said Jarvis Dortch, executive director at ACLU-MS. “Unfortunately, the current supervisor district lines are drawn to favor white voters and harm voters of color. A community will only thrive when all voices can be heard, and some votes don’t count more than others.”
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