Wesley Hunt Says “Jim Crow Is Dead” During Redistricting Hearing
U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, a Black Republican representing Texas’s 38th Congressional District, is drawing national attention after dismissing comparisons between current redistricting fights and the Jim Crow era during a House Judiciary Committee hearing.
Hunt’s comments came as lawmakers debated the impact of recent Republican led redistricting efforts that critics say could weaken the voting power of majority Black districts across the South.
The debate follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s April 29 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which struck down Louisiana’s congressional map with two majority Black districts and has been widely criticized by voting rights groups as a major blow to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
“I’m seeing a lot of talk from my colleagues on the left…as we shift toward this reinvigorated talk about Jim Crow and the path to this country. And as someone who is a direct descendant of a slave, as someone whose great, great grandfather was born on a plantation, I can assure you, slavery is over,” Hunt said.
The Texas lawmaker continued, “Jim Crow is dead. When I go anywhere, I don’t see any ‘White Only’ signs. I don’t, I promise you. I am a Black man that is representing a white majority district in Texas. The great, great grandson of a man born on the plantation stands before you today as a proud conservative Republican from Texas, as a believer and follower in Christ, and as a believer in what this country can be.”
Voting Rights Advocates Say The Issue Is Political Power
Hunt’s remarks were immediately criticized by voting rights advocates who argue that modern discrimination does not have to look like segregation era signs to affect Black voters.
“Leave it to Hunt to continue to play Trump’s token while his party attacks Black voters,” Markus Batchelor, national political director at People For the American Way, told reporters.
Batchelor said Hunt had opportunities to challenge Republican efforts that he described as weakening voting protections and limiting access in communities of color.
“He has had every opportunity to speak out as Republican legislatures gutted Voting Rights Act protections, carved up Black districts, closed polling places, purged voter rolls, and made voting harder in communities of color. Instead, he chose party loyalty and political convenience over honesty,” Batchelor said.
Republican led redistricting efforts have accelerated after the Supreme Court decision. In Alabama, the Supreme Court recently halted a court ordered map with two largely Black districts, allowing the state to move back toward a legislature approved map with one such district.
In Tennessee, Reuters reported that Democrats were stripped of committee assignments after protesting a new congressional map that dismantled a Black majority district around Memphis.
All Black House Republicans Are Leaving Congress After This Term
Hunt’s comments also come as he and the other Black Republicans in the U.S. House are all expected to leave Congress after this term, leaving the party without Black House representation unless new candidates are elected.
Hunt recently made headlines after dismissing a reporter’s question about the departures of the four Black House Republicans. Along with Hunt, Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida, John James of Michigan and Burgess Owens of Utah represented what some Republicans viewed as a sign of growing diversity within the party.
“I don’t care how many Black people are here,” Hunt said at the time.
Batchelor told reporters that the timing reflects a larger issue inside the modern Republican Party.
“It is no coincidence that every Black Republican in Congress — including him — is retiring or stepping down after this election at the exact moment the modern GOP has embraced some of the most brazen assaults on Black representation since Reconstruction,” Batchelor said. “The message from today’s Republican Party is clear: Black faces are welcome as spokespeople, but Black political power itself is treated like a threat.”
