Draw The Line

If you spend enough time on voting rights work, you become more fluent than you ever thought you'd be in legal history, court cases, maps, and the enormously creative, and pretty ugly, ways some people have used to keep others from casting their ballot.

In front of a live audience at Essence Fest 2026, Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of the Legal Defense Fund — and the person who argued the Callais case —  talks with Power Coalition CEO Ashley Shelton about how she prepared to face the Supreme Court and ultimately how together, they forged an alliance that joins a legacy that’s always unfolding. 

Stay tuned to the end for a special message on what to do if you have any questions about voting.

Instead of hanging at a cookout, a determined group of Black women convened during Essence Fest on July 4 to do something even more American: demand more from their democracy. In this special reporter’s notebook episode, we are presenting an all-star panel as they “spill the tea” about the redistricting fight, the Callais decision, and what it means for Louisiana — and the rest of us. Stay tuned to the end for a special message on what to do if you have any questions about voting.

Panelists

• Elizabeth Booker Houston (moderator), a Memphis-based lawyer, professor, and social media commentator on law, politics, and civic engagement. 
• Ashley Shelton, the founder, president, and CEO of the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice.
• Sen. Royce Duplessis, the Louisiana state senator representing New Orleans, an attorney, and a member of the Legislative Black Caucus.
• Demetria McCain, the Director of Policy at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), overseeing work on economic justice, criminal legal reform, and education equity. 

On a clear March morning, hundreds of Louisianans rally at the State Capitol to defend the right to vote. Weeks later, the Supreme Court's ruling in Louisiana v. Callais guts the Voting Rights Act — declaring the court's own remedy for racial discrimination unconstitutional. In the premiere episode of Draw the Line, host Ellen McGirt travels to Baton Rouge to meet the organizers, legal experts, and everyday citizens on the front lines of the fight against gerrymandering and traces how a dispute over one congressional district became a battle for the future of American democracy. Because every district line is a design decision — and every decision is about who gets power.

Every line on a map is a design decision. And every decision is about who gets power.

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