PODCAST : Color or community? Supreme Court ruling reshapes Louisiana’s congressional map

Journalist Emmanuel Felton talks about traveling through Louisiana’s disputed congressional district, examining the communities at the center of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on racial gerrymandering, representation and political power.

“The Lens traveled through communities that were joined together by the district. What its reporters found on the ground illustrates something that can easily be lost in courtrooms and legal arguments: these communities were connected by far more than race.” (Photos of residents of the 6th Congressional District by Gus Bennett / The Lens)

This week on “Behind The Lens”: What makes a congressional district a community — and when does race become the defining factor?

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Louisiana’s voting map was racially gerrymandered and had to be redrawn. The justices concluded that race was the only unifying theme connecting the district.

The ruling has significantly reshape Louisiana’s political map. The new boundaries are likely to result in Republicans holding a 5-1 majority in the state’s congressional delegation.

In Driving District 6, a four-part series for The Lens, journalist Emmanuel Felton and photographer Gus Bennett traveled through the now-scuttled district to examine the communities within its boundaries. The series looks beyond the lines on the map to explore the people, places and questions at the center of the case.

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PODCAST : Color or community? Supreme Court ruling reshapes Louisiana’s congressional map

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