A nearly all Black community of 10,000 people in Louisiana has been moved into a majority white district twice during the term of Rep. Cleo Fields, and now the man who represented it for nearly three decades is leaving Washington rather than running for reelection.
A Supreme Court ruling that struck down a key section of the Voting Rights Act paved the way for Louisiana’s new congressional maps. That decision came first, before the state redrew its districts. The case began in the 6th District, where Scotlandville sits at its center. Scotlandville has long fought to preserve its political influence, and the latest change came after that legal shift.
The Man Scotlandville Lost
Cleo Fields grew up poor in Scotlandville, went through local schools, earned his degree at Southern University A&M, and eventually made it to the U.S. House. He has decided to step away from Washington and come back to the Legislature rather than run again for a seat in Congress. With district lines redrawn in ways that work against him, he believes there is little chance of prevailing.
“We’re back to where we were right after Reconstruction,” said Press Robinson Sr., 89, who has worked on issues involving the congressional map.
Over the years, Robinson explained, the methods have shifted, though the underlying intent has remained constant. “They disenfranchise people of color and they’ve done it again,” he noted.
A Century of Redistricting
Democratic President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law in 1965, and it placed states with a history of racial discrimination under federal oversight. Before those states could put new congressional maps into use, they had to receive approval from the U.S. Department of Justice.
In 1996, a federal court ruled that the boundaries zigzagging from northwest Louisiana to the Baton Rouge area were unconstitutional. Scotlandville shifted to the 6th District, which was then predominantly white, and Fields became a state senator.
The Map That Gave Scotlandville Its Voice
In 2023, a court decision involving Alabama required Louisiana to draw new district lines to achieve fairer representation for minorities. Fields’ district became majority Black again, and he won the seat in 2024.
The Supreme Court’s Final Word
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority said Fields’ district was unconstitutional. Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee raced to redo their U.S. House districts in time for the November elections.
Democratic Rep. Shomari Figueres of Alabama saw the share of young Black voters he represents fall from 50% to 40%, per an AP examination of the new lines. Across the border in Tennessee, a district centered on Memphis, which is led by a Black-majority electorate, was divided among three other districts.
Fields’ district went from 53% Black to 25% in the new map. Fields announced in July he wouldn’t run for reelection.
A Community That Cares Too Little
At a convenience store near Southern University A&M, a cashier named Frank Levy, 56, said people’s apathy created the political environment allowing gerrymandering to occur again. “A lot of people don’t even think about politics like this,” he said.
Timeline of Scotlandville’s District Changes
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1965 | Voting Rights Act signed by President Lyndon Johnson |
| 1996 | Federal court rules Louisiana’s zigzagging boundaries unconstitutional |
| 1996 | Scotlandville shifts to the 6th District, which is predominantly white |
| 2023 | Court decision involving Alabama requires new district lines |
| 2024 | Fields wins the seat in a majority Black district |
| October 2026 | Supreme Court rules core part of Voting Rights Act unconstitutional |
| July 2026 | Fields announces he won’t run for reelection |
Scotlandville’s Experience
Scotlandville remains a nearly all Black community of 10,000 people in Louisiana, part of Baton Rouge. Its residents have spent decades fighting to keep their political weight intact.
The community has found itself shifted into a majority white district on two separate occasions. It now stands to lose a native son who has served as its representative in Congress.
A decision from the highest court stripped away a key section of the Voting Rights Act, which allowed Louisiana to reshape its districts. The legal fight began with the 6th District, which covers Scotlandville.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs Scotlandville’s fight to preserve its political influence and is against the redistricting changes that moved its residents into a majority white district, which came after a Supreme Court ruling struck down a key section of the Voting Rights Act. The community has been shifted into a majority white district twice during the term of Rep. Cleo Fields, and now Fields is leaving Washington rather than running for reelection. The paper opposes any move that takes political power away from communities like Scotlandville.
This is a direct example of power gathering in one place — the Supreme Court, in this case — and being used to strip a community of its voice. The paper’s position is that power should stay close to the people affected by it, not gathered in a distant office. When an agency writes its own authority, as the Supreme Court did here, it takes freedom from individuals and communities.
What the reader should watch for is any attempt to gather power in one place again, whether it comes from the courts, from the legislature, or from any office that tries to decide for people instead of letting them decide for themselves. Scotlandville has lost a native son because of these changes, and the paper supports the community’s continued fight to hold onto its own political weight.
Source material: “After redistricting, a Black community in Louisiana faces a future without a champion in Congress,” PBS.
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