Congressional Black Caucus

Alabama Public Radio was among the news organizations to be recognized during the Society of Professional Journalists “Green Eyeshade Awards,” which observed its seventy fifth anniversary as the nation’s oldest and largest regional competition to judge the best journalism in the southeast. APR received a First Place for “Best Documentary” for its eight month investigation into Alabama’s newly redrawn U.S. House Seat in District two, in the state’s impoverished Black Belt region.

The Alabama Public Radio news team is known for its major journalism investigations. We've been doing them for over a decade. Our most recent national award winning effort was an eight month investigation into Alabama's new U.S. House seat in the rural Black Belt region of the state. The new voting map was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court so Alabama would be more fair to black residents. Now, anybody who follows the news might reasonably be thinking— what? The same high court that overturned Roe versus Wade and ended affirmative action in the nation's universities told Alabama that they needed to treat black voters better. Even the plaintiffs in the legal case of Allen versus Milligan told APR news they were gobsmacked they won. The goal after that legal victory was to make sure the new minority congressional district works. The point there was to keep conservative opponents from having the excuse to try to flip the voting map back to the GOP. And that's a moving target that could change at any moment, even as we speak, the job of managing all of these issues now falls to Congressman Shomari Figures. He was elected last November as the first US House member in Alabama's redrawn District two. Shomari figures joins me next on APR Notebook.

I talked with Alabama's newest member of Congress about the possible future impact on the state from Donald Trump's so called Big, beautiful Bill. Democratic U.S. House member Shomari Figures is the first person elected to Alabama's newly redrawn district two the US Supreme Court ordered the new voting map to better represent African Americans.

Federal judges will weigh a request to bring Alabama back under the pre-clearance requirement of the Voting Rights Act after ruling the state intentionally diluted the voting strength of Black residents when drawing congressional lines. The three judge panel will hear arguments on July 29th over whether any future changes to the state’s voting map should be made under federal review. The current fight resulted in a redrawn District two, now held by Democrat Shomari Figures, will be the subject of tonight’s APR Notebook at 7 p.m. on Alabama Public Radio.

The Alabama Public Radio news team is known for its major journalism investigations. We've been doing them for over a decade. Our most recent national award winning effort was an eight month investigation into Alabama's new U.S. House seat in the rural Black Belt region of the state. The new voting map was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court so Alabama would be more fair to black residents. Now, anybody who follows the news might reasonably be thinking— okay? The same high court that overturned Roe versus Wade and ended affirmative action in the nation's universities told Alabama that they needed to treat black voters better. Even the plaintiffs in the legal case of Allen versus Milligan told APR news they were gobsmacked they won. The goal after that legal victory was to make sure the new minority congressional district works. The point there was to keep conservative opponents from having the excuse to try to flip the voting map back to the GOP. And that's a moving target that could change at any moment, even as we speak. The job of managing all of these issues now falls to Congressman Shomari Figures.

Alabama voters decided primary runoffs on Tuesday for the state's newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District, setting up a potentially historic November race that could play a part in the battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Louisiana Legislature's redrawn congressional map giving the state a second mostly Black district is being challenged by 12 self-described "non-African American" voters in a new lawsuit. The U.S. Supreme Court ordered Alabama to redraw its map, to include a second majority minority district.

A divided federal appeals court on Monday ruled that private individuals and groups such as the NAACP do not have the ability to sue under a key section of the federal Voting Rights Act, a decision that contradicts decades of precedent and could further erode protections under the landmark 1965 law. This part of the law enabled Alabama voters to sue successfully for second black majority district.

It’s been two decades since the chemical company Monsanto settled a lawsuit with Anniston residents. People there said Monsanto exposed them to chemicals called PCBs which caused birth defects and cancer. But Monsanto is far from the only alleged instance of industrial chemicals harming Alabama neighborhoods. The APR News team presents this documentary we call, "Bad Chemistry."

State House member Napoleon Bracy, Jr. announced a bid for Alabama's revamped 2nd Congressional District, kicking off what is expected to be a competitive race in the newly drawn Democratic-leaning district in the Deep South state.