Commentary: Echoes of yesterday in today’s SC redistricting debate

On Friday, May 8, I stood on the Old Tomlinson High School athletic field in Kingstree, a place etched into both my personal memory and American history. Sixty years ago, I sat on my grandfather’s shoulders at this very site during Mother’s Day weekend and listened to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver a speech that still echoes today: March on Ballot Boxes.

On that historic day in May 1966, more than 5,000 people gathered in Williamsburg County to hear Dr. King call African Americans — and all citizens of conscience — to register and vote. Among those present was a young James E. Clyburn, who would go on to represent South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District.

King’s message came at a pivotal time. On March 7, 1965, peaceful protesters were brutally attacked on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, during what became known as Bloody Sunday. That moment led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act, signed into law on Aug. 6, 1965, to protect voting rights.

As I returned to the field in 2026, I was struck by the contrast between past progress and present reality.

On the anniversary of Dr. King’s speech, the South Carolina General Assembly advanced H.5683, which seeks to redraw congressional districts, particularly the 6th Congressional District. This district was drawn as an African American-majority district in 1993. Critics argue the bill would weaken minority voting power.

Currently, this bill is moving through the legislative process, and despite its setback in the Senate, the debate is far from over.

The debate in South Carolina is shaped by the broader legal context created by U.S. Supreme Court decisions. In 2013, Shelby County v. Holder removed federal oversight of voting-law changes. In 2021, Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee made it harder to challenge voting restrictions. Together, these rulings weakened the Voting Rights Act. The court’s fresh ruling in Louisiana v. Callais fed the current redistricting push.