A Memphis native and political commentator has shared her views about Tennessee’s ongoing redistricting battle in an emotional video, warning that Black voters in her hometown could lose critical political representation.
Elizabeth Booker Houston, an attorney, public health professional, comedian, and commentator known online as @bookersquared, said her “heart hurts” as Tennessee lawmakers consider redrawing congressional districts in a way critics say could eliminate the state’s only majority-Black congressional district.
“They are going to mute the voices of a bunch of Black Memphians stuck in gerrymandered Tennessee,” Houston said through tears in a now-viral Instagram video.
The emotional remarks come as Tennessee legislators hold a special session to discuss possible redistricting changes following the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, a decision critics argue weakened protections under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Houston centered her comments on Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District, which includes Memphis and is currently the only majority-Black district in the state.
“Tennessee’s 9th congressional district includes Memphis, which is my hometown, and it’s one of the largest Blackest cities in America,” she said. “And the 9th congressional district is the only majority-Black district in all of Tennessee.”
Houston described the potential dismantling of the district not just as a political issue, but as a deeply personal and generational wound tied to Black political progress in the South.
“This majority-Black district has only existed since the 1980s,” she said. “If the Tennessee legislature is successful in getting rid of this majority-Black district, there will be less equity for Black people in Memphis than before I was born.”
The commentator reflected on her family’s history in Memphis, explaining that her grandfather was born in 1900 and worked as a sharecropper. She said her father once told her their ancestors would have been shocked to see a granddaughter become a lawyer.
“None of this was that long ago,” Houston said emotionally.
She also criticized what she described as the continued disenfranchisement of Black communities in Memphis.
“They want to decimate the congressional district for my hometown, a city where people are already disenfranchised and forgotten, and they want to take away the little power that we have,” she said.
The fight over Tennessee’s congressional maps has intensified following the Supreme Court’s recent decisions surrounding race-conscious districting and the Voting Rights Act. Civil rights advocates argue that reducing or eliminating majority-Black districts weakens minority voting power and undermines decades of progress secured during the civil rights era.
Supporters of redistricting efforts, however, have argued that congressional maps should be drawn without prioritizing race.
Houston’s video quickly resonated online, particularly among Black voters, activists, and legal analysts concerned about the broader implications for voting rights nationwide.
In the caption accompanying her video, Houston wrote: “My head hurts, my heart hurts. I’m thankful for Black media and Black voices amplifying Memphis.”
