Is The Voting Rights Act REALLY Gutted?

Ajouté : 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]Welcome to Tony L Talks. I am your host Tony L and we're going to be talking about the Voting Rights Act today and the recent decision in Louisiana on racial gerrymandering. There are a lot of people out here who have been sharing their opinions and I just think there's just so much mis I hate the term misinformation, but there's so much false information that has been going on about the issue. So, I decided I wanted to just uh address it. I thought that would be the right thing to do. So, I'm just kind of setting myself up here and then we'll get to it. Give me one second. Uh, hold on. Is it right here?

[00:00:54]Yep.

[00:01:06]Yeah. Okay, cool. So, maybe I should bring it up, right?

[00:01:15]Yeah, let's talk about it. Yeah, let me do that.

[00:01:27]Look at all of this biased reporting.

[00:01:31]Even Fox News is getting it wrong, by the way, too. You know who? Maybe I should I should maybe I should put a Fox News article on display just so people can see that, you know, the the fake news is basically coming from everyone.

[00:01:49]Uh, all right. Let's do this.

[00:01:54]I'll share this with you guys.

[00:01:57]Share this tab instead.

[00:02:02]And Let's do it.

[00:02:10]One second.

[00:02:16]Yeah, I'm giving people opportunity to come in anyway. So, oh yeah, I'm live on my other one, too.

[00:02:23]I'm basically going to just take this stuff and I'm going to clip it up. Y'all know that, right? Okay. And let me put it here so you guys can see it as well.

[00:02:39]There we go. All right.

[00:02:43]So, you all know about the Supreme Court decision and it's being reported that it it gutted the voter the Voting Rights Act, right? And that is threatening minority representation and we know that they mean black people. So, everyone is pretty much using this emotional argument, saying that um wait, let me move this out the way. Everyone has been saying, you know, using this emotional appeal and they're saying that um it's got Oh, you know what? Oh, by the way, I got to tell you, I have two screens open at the same time cuz I'm live on like Rumble and other stuff over there and I'm live on Tik Tok over here. So, Oh, I'm breaking up. Oh, wait a minute. I should have done a sound test before I started. So, can y'all hear me clearly over here on Tik Tok first? Tell me if you can hear me clearly on Tik Tok.

[00:03:36]Let me get that out the way. I want to make sure.

[00:03:41]No.

[00:03:43]Yeah, it's in and out. What do you mean it's in and out?

[00:03:47]Hold on.

[00:03:51]Can you hear me? Yeah. And now it keeps coming in and out most of the time. What the hell?

[00:04:01]In and out. What do you mean? Like my voice is disappearing.

[00:04:06]Hold on.

[00:04:10]All right. Am I good now?

[00:04:14]It's breaking up. [ __ ] Somebody go check my X or or my Rumble or the other accounts and tell me if you can hear me clearly over there because if you can hear me clearly over there, I'll just continue over there. Let me see. Let me check the chat.

[00:04:35]Hi buddy. I don't see what the big deal is. It's stopping illegals, not blacks, but blacks shouldn't be allowed to vote either. What? They don't contribute anything saying they're not educated.

[00:04:45]Uh, so I guess the trolls are on here tonight. Yeah. Okay. All right, pal.

[00:04:53]You hearing me clearly? All right, cool.

[00:04:56]So, yeah, let's move forward. All right, so basically everybody's been hearing that the Supreme Court, they gutted the Voting Rights Act, and that's not what happened. Like, that's not even close to what happened. Now, what the court actually did was they just drew a line in the sand and they said that people weren't going to be allowed to use race as the the primary reason, right, uh to to redraw political maps and that if they were going to do that that they had to prove that it was legally necessary and not just politically convenient.

[00:05:32]See, that's Oh, wait a minute. Why am I over here? Hold on.

[00:05:40]Right. Okay. And not that it was just simply politically convenient. And that's the big difference. So I just going to like break it down like in layman's terms for everybody to understand. Now Louisiana, they had created a second majority black district. And they did that uh because they were saying I I guess 30% of Louisiana is black. And they were saying that they only had one majority black district. And because of that, they argued that they did not have fair representation for their black um uh residents. And so what happened was they filed a lawsuit where they um and they I I think a lower court actually uh they won well actually before that what what initially happened was the governor at the time he vetoed the district that was recently drawn. They had tried to draw a district and I think this was back in 2020 20 maybe but they try and and and the governor vetoed it and he vetoed it by saying exactly what you heard where they're saying that you know there wasn't enough black representation and uh the legislature they over they overruled him. They basically overrode his veto. And so because of that, you had the NAACP and a bunch of like civil rights groups and a couple of black people who got together and they sued.

[00:07:07]It was 2022. Yeah, it was 2022. I'm sorry about that. Thank you. It was 2022. And so they filed a lawsuit and they won that lawsuit where they redrrew like a new district map, right? And if you look at the way that they redrew it, it was like all discombobulated and it was like reaching out all over the place to all of these different areas. It was like it was clearly it was just it made no sense. The only thing that justified that map was because of black people.

[00:07:40]Like you had parts of the the the the um the map that was like reaching like way far out and I think it covered like a 250 mile area. But based on that, they redrew the map to create two majority black districts. And so there was a lawsuit that was filed by nonwhite voters who said that it was it was basically disenfranchising them. And it was in violation of section two of the the the uh voting rights act because they were gerrymandering simply based on race. when you when you cannot draw these districts based on that unless you have a very legitimate uh justifiable provable reason. And so I I want to talk a little bit about like clarifying like the uh Voting Rights Act because I see a lot of people who are misrepresenting it online. Sadly, a lot of black Democrats have been doing that and they've been using it to fear-monger people into thinking that somehow, oh my god, you know, they're taking away black people's voting rights. That's [ __ ] You can vote. No one is getting the way of your vote. You know, and and I'm going to speak to something about the presumptions that are made quite often when people decide to draw these district lines based on race. when they focus it on race. So, the problem, like I said, was that they drew the district um based on race as the primary factor. And that's actually in violation of section two of the Voting Rights Act. And the and uh and I told you that like it's stretched all over the place and it was basically grouping people together based on race.

[00:09:23]And the and the court simply said that you can't do that. That that's all it really said. You cannot do that. And not because race is irrelevant, but because you cannot make it the dominant factor unless you know you were proved that it's required under law. And you know, they also set like a clarifying standards. So it did not gut the the Voting Rights Act at all. In fact, what it did was it's enforcing the Voting Rights Act properly. So, let I want to add something just so people can understand what we're talking about when it comes to the Voting Rights Act because people like to throw that language around um in in a really reckless way, I would say, right? Like it's some kind of this automatic default argument and and like the truth is most people don't even understand it. So, section two of the Voting Rights Act, it does not guarantee outcome. Once again, it does not guarantee outcome. Section two of the Voting Rights Act, what it does is it prohibits any voting practices that deny or abridge someone else's right to vote based on race. So it's deni So it's it So in other words, you're not entitled to have a a a district line drawn for you because you're black or because you're Latino or because you're white. No, it has to be specifically you they cannot deny you voting practices because you are from that group. So, and it's so funny because you know the arguments that they're using here to say that it violates the voting the voting rights act, it's the same arguments that they use all the time when they try to justify DEI, which we know is actually discrimination. And I know people get in their feelings when they hear someone, especially a black person saying that DEI violates, you know, anti-discrimination law, but it does, which is why we know it DEI was always destined to fail the same way um affirmative action did. Um, and so we have to recognize like the like the the the legal standard that we're talking about here.

[00:11:48]Voting practices are are prohibited from targeting people based on race. And when you use that as your justification for drawing unnatural discombobulated lines in order to to preserve votes to get your votes that's illegal. I mean that's it plain and simple. And so people got to I I would suggest that people go and they actually read the Voting Rights Act to understand that a lot of these arguments that you're hearing from people, they're just full of [ __ ] I'm sorry. They're just full of [ __ ] Like like you can't just like go and claim that there's a violation, right? Um and just point to a map and say, "Hey, wait a minute. That doesn't look fair. I don't see enough black people there." No, you cannot do that.

[00:12:45]Now, if you can prove that the map was drawn because you're black and they want to prevent you from having any some sort of equal access to voting, which you don't, which you already do have equal access to voting, then that's another thing. So what they did I I forgot I think it's called the um they what the Supreme Court did was they tightened the gingles test which was the framework that they used where you prove right that that minority voters are being disenfranchised or that they're being diluted. And so, um, I think I had written it down here because, so basically, if you're going to make the claim, right, that there's voter disenfranchisement, they've raised the bar, they've raised the standard so that you actually have to prove it, right? So, one thing that you have to do is you have to show maps that follow like normal redistricting rules like geography um, and like the like the political reality and and, uh, like the continuity, right? And then you got to show how this map that they drew is outside of that norm. Right? That's one standard. You also have to separate race from politics instead of assuming that they are the same thing. And that's the major thing that people have to understand, right? Because when they draw these lines based on race, saying, "Oh, black people don't have enough representations. Black people this and that." What they're doing by default is that they're assuming that all black people have the exact same opinion, uh, proclivities, interests, that we're a monolith.

[00:14:33]Why else would they group you all together because you're black?

[00:14:38]And this is the problem that I have with with with these vote blue no matter who Democrats who continue to use this inflammatory rhetoric around race in order to get black people to be triggered emotionally into usually acting and voting against our best interest.

[00:14:58]Why? I I don't think like the like like I'm not a black Democrat, so why should I be subjected to you lumping me in into this weird discombobulated shaped district because I'm black and in order to give more uh electoral representation to the Democrat party? Don't you all see what they're doing to you?

[00:15:24]The way they draw the lines, it's it's literally saying that they own you.

[00:15:30]No, that's ours over there. Those are our our negroes. That's for us.

[00:15:36]We already know how they're going to vote. They belong to us. That is the paternalistic manner in which the Democrat party engages with black people. And I get it. A lot of y'all be like, "Oh, Tony, why you always going in on Democrats? You're so partisan." No, because I have equal smoke for Republicans. But I also know that if 90% of my community is pledging their undying loyalty and commitment and feelalty to Democrats, that requires more of my attention.

[00:16:13]Y'all don't even talk to Republicans.

[00:16:16]So why am I over there? Why? Why is it to Is it to appease your sensitivities?

[00:16:23]I'm not doing that. Someone says BS one-sided as [ __ ] Don't know what that means because I know black votes are one-sided as [ __ ] And I know whenever a black person, especially a black man, decides to speak some common sense and say, "Hey, why don't we just think for ourselves? Why don't we just uh leverage our votes, leverage our influence in order to get what we need in order to prioritize our interests, whether they be collective or even individual interest, because we don't all think the same. Why is it that when a black person says, "Hey, we're not a monolith," it's a problem.

[00:17:06]But then when people say that we're a monolith, it's also a problem.

[00:17:12]So, no, I I totally agree with the Supreme Court's decision on this. Uh, and what was another standard? Um, uh, right, I said, well, you have to bring evidence, not just outcomes that point to real, uh, discrimination.

[00:17:27]Right. I think I brought that up and that's a critical point, too, right?

[00:17:31]Because what was happening before is that race was being used as a as a shortcut for political behavior.

[00:17:44]As I said before, the assumption is that if you're black, you're with us.

[00:17:51]That's a te and sadly it almost it kind of bolds true which to me I think is the is the most damaging part to black people because it's like these people they don't even have any incentive honestly to take us seriously if we're going to pledge our unconditional support no matter what they do and no matter how much they disrespect us and or ignore us. That's the problem. So, you know, these patterns, it strips us all of our individual agency. And so, you know, it's engineering. It's not it's not equality or equity. And and there should be no equity, you know, no no guaranteed outcomes that you're creating based on district lines. So, I just wanted you all just to make sure that everybody understands what I'm talking about because they're using a lot of language like this is Jim Crow and and you know, black people were were going back, they're stripping our rights back to the early 1900s. It's so insulting.

[00:18:59]It's just so insulting to hear this rhetoric from these people. And I I I'm gonna play something because I had I What was it? Let me see. Let me pull it up.

[00:19:10]Where was it?

[00:19:12]Right here.

[00:19:15]This is My son. Y'all know who I don't know. Some of y'all know who Myan is. If you from New York, you know who Myan is.

[00:19:21]You know, he prides himself as being a social justice activist. You know what I'm saying?

[00:19:28]Whatever.

[00:19:30]And and you know, I I usually try to give the brother grace, right, because I know him. But the thing is, he like many other black gatekeepers, they they broker in rhetoric that continues to manipulate the collective of black people.

[00:19:56]I guess he wrong because he don't agree with your BS. Yeah, that that's how some of these people are, right? So, I want to play some of what he said to you and I want to show you the way that these people the way they broker in in in certain language. But let me let me pull it up over here because I want to make sure share this t.

[00:20:20]Hold on. Let me make sure that I'm sharing it over here as well because I want to share it in both places.

[00:20:27]Yep. All right, cool.

[00:20:30]There we go. Let me see if I could All right. Yep. There we go.

[00:20:36]Or a hater. Um, somebody uh I want one of my mods to Could you mute Shaunie Poo Poo? That weird dude. Just mute him cuz he's he's uh dirtying up my chat.

[00:20:51]Thanks.

[00:20:53]Uh, one second because I think my I think my Tik Tok is um crashing, which is interesting.

[00:21:03]This always happens when I start. Yep, it looks like the Tik Tok is crashing.

[00:21:11]Hold on.

[00:21:15]Give me one quick second.

[00:21:18]Trying to bring it back.

[00:21:27]Isn't this something? Every time, you know what's funny, y'all? Every time I do a live stream, right, and I start like doing fact checks and I start sharing, you know, factual information, all of a sudden my TikTok starts crashing and and then or the live will get suspended and all of this weird stuff. It's almost as if they just don't want you guys to have any access to information that's counter to, you know, the status quo language. Yeah. Look, I think my TikTok has crashed.

[00:21:58]Oh, people are probably in there reporting it.

[00:22:03]Yeah. So, I'll just keep going and hopefully they can come over and find me on the other platforms.

[00:22:12]Yeah. Yeah, it's frozen. So anyway, I guess I'll continue over here on my reream. So I'm going to play what uh my son had to say. I want you to listen because it starts with Wesley Hunt.

[00:22:25]Wesley Hunt is sharing his opinion and I want you to listen to what my son says.

[00:22:33]Hold on a second because uh these people are telling me that I'm glitching real bad.

[00:22:40]Damn. I hate to do this.

[00:22:44]Uh, let me do something real quick. Let me try something.

[00:23:18]All right. Am I back?

[00:23:23]Am I back?

[00:23:26]Let's see if I'm back.

[00:23:32]Yo, this is crazy.

[00:25:12]Yo, this is wild.

[00:25:21]This is wild.

[00:25:23]You know what? Let me look at the chat.

[00:25:28]Somebody type in the chat if you can hear me.

[00:25:35]Somebody type in the chat over here on YouTube, Rumble, or wherever X, let me know that you can still hear me because I don't know. I think them people is after me or something because yo, I've been I've been I've been on all day. I've been using the internet all day. All of a sudden, like everything is crashing on me.

[00:25:55]Can you guys hear me?

[00:26:01]Wow.

[00:26:05]Yeah. I'm gonna end the stream.