Story perspectives

Civil Rights Groups Protest Alabama Map; Trump Praises, NAACP Warns

5/16/2026

Summary

Story summary

Civil rights groups are holding a national day of action in Alabama to protest a Supreme Court-backed map.
On May 16, 2026, organizers marched at the Edmund Pettus Bridge and rallied at the Alabama State Capitol.
U.S. President Donald Trump praised the Court’s Callais decision as restoring the Voting Rights Act’s original intent.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson warned the ruling could push the South back to 1950s-era voting restrictions.

History

Historical Context

In August 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, banning literacy tests and sending examiners to 13 Southern states, where Attorney General Robert Kennedy’s Justice Department registered 250,000 Black voters. The law followed the March 7 1965 Selma to Montgomery march, and 2026 Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais that struck down Section 2’s district rule has spurred NAACP and president Derrick Johnson to protest.

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Story summary

Civil rights groups are holding a national day of action in Alabama to protest a Supreme Court-backed map.
On May 16, 2026, organizers marched at the Edmund Pettus Bridge and rallied at the Alabama State Capitol.
U.S. President Donald Trump praised the Court’s Callais decision as restoring the Voting Rights Act’s original intent.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson warned the ruling could push the South back to 1950s-era voting restrictions.

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