Nashville Senator Explains Dramatic Protest Against Congressional Map Changes

Tennessee State Senator Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) joins Inside Politics to discuss the controversial redistricting special session that redrew congressional maps following a Supreme Court ruling weakening the Voting Rights Act. Oliver passionately opposed the redistricting, standing on her desk during the vote while holding a "No Jim Crow 2.0" sign in protest. She argues the session was called illegally to benefit Donald Trump and steal a House seat from Memphis by splitting the city's majority-Black population across three districts. Despite facing potential legislative consequences, Oliver defends her protest as necessary to confront structural racism and honor her ancestors who fought for voting rights. Multiple lawsuits challenge the new maps, with Oliver expressing optimism they can be overturned. She declined calls to run for Congress, choosing to remain in the state legislature where she believes the real fight is happening. NewsChannel 5+ can be seen on Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 250, Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2. The episode will air throughout the weekend on NewsChannel 5+: Sat. at 5:30am, 3pm, Sun. at 1am, 9am, 7pm, Mon. at 2:30pm and Tues., 3pm unless pre-empted. This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.