At St. James Church in Kansas City, Missouri, the Rev. Emanuel Cleaver III recently stood before his congregation with a message that echoed the urgent calls of decades past. He declared the need for a second Civil Rights Movement, sparked by what he and many others see as a new threat to Black political power: President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers’ aggressive push to redraw congressional district boundaries. The gathering, held on September 7, 2025, was more than a typical Sunday service—it was a rallying cry for a community that fears losing its voice in Washington.
The heart of the concern lies in Missouri’s 5th Congressional District, long represented by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, the reverend’s father. This district, though not majority Black, includes much of Kansas City’s Black population and has sent Cleaver to Congress for ten terms. Now, a new map championed by the GOP threatens to carve up these neighborhoods, dispersing Black voters across multiple districts and, residents worry, effectively silencing their collective influence.
“If we, the people of faith, do not step up, we are going to go back even further,” Rev. Cleaver III warned, prompting a chorus of "Amen" from the pews. According to the Associated Press, this sentiment is widely shared among Kansas City constituents, who fear that the GOP’s redistricting effort will leave them without adequate representation on Capitol Hill.
The new map, which could still face a referendum if a petition succeeds, is designed to tilt Missouri’s U.S. House delegation from its current makeup of six white Republicans and two Black Democrats to a lopsided 7-1 Republican advantage. Republican Governor Mike Kehoe backs the plan, insisting it better reflects Missouri’s conservative values. State Rep. Dirk Deaton, who sponsored the legislation, argues, “This is a superior map,” noting that it divides fewer counties and municipalities than before.
But critics see something more insidious at play. The redistricting tactics—known in political circles as “packing and cracking”—are methods for manipulating the power of minority voters. By “packing” minority voters into a few districts or “cracking” them across many, mapmakers can dilute their influence. The Associated Press explains that these maneuvers are at the heart of Trump’s push for friendlier GOP districts, a strategy partly motivated by his desire to avoid a repeat of 2018 when Democrats gained a House majority and twice impeached him.
For Rep. Cleaver II, the changes are deeply personal and political. The new 5th District stretches far beyond the city, making it far more difficult for him—or any Democrat—to win in 2026. “If somebody’s elected to represent areas of the school district, and they are alien to the attitudes and goals of the people who live there and attend the Kansas School District, they can’t possibly be helpful,” Cleaver said, echoing the frustration of many constituents.
Parents like Ashley Sadowski, a white mother of two, lament the situation as well. “Politicians are denying our children the unified voice they deserve in D.C.,” she told the Associated Press. “This risks their ability to access the federal resources they need to succeed. Whoever drew this map might have understood political calculations, but do you really think it’s fair to our kids?”
The sense of loss is palpable among Kansas City residents, who worry about the impact on everything from infrastructure to education and health care. Meredith Shellner, a retired nurse, summed up the anxiety: “We will be cut short. I just think it’s not going to be good for anybody.”
Missouri isn’t alone in this battle. In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has signed a new congressional map into law, aiming to increase Republican representation from 25-13 to 30-8. The Associated Press details how the racial composition of districts has shifted: the new map creates 24 white-majority districts, eight Hispanic-majority, two Black-majority, and four coalition districts. While Abbott claims this will produce more Latino representatives, critics argue it will likely reduce the number of Black lawmakers by breaking up coalition districts that currently send Black Democrats to Washington.
Democratic Rep. Al Green, who found himself drawn out of his own district, didn’t mince words on the House floor. He called the GOP’s gerrymandering efforts another chapter in a “sinful history” of Texas making it harder for nonwhite citizens to vote or have their votes matter. “It would hollow out the Voting Rights Act of 1965 if Texas prevails with these maps and can remove five people simply because a president says those five belong to me,” Green asserted.
Civil rights organizations are fighting back. The NAACP has filed lawsuits to block both the Texas and Missouri plans, citing violations of the Voting Rights Act. NAACP President Derrick Johnson questioned the motives behind the redistricting: “Was this done for partisan reasons? Was it done for race? Or is partisanship the vehicle to cloak your racial animus and the outcomes that you’re pursuing?” Johnson emphasized that existing laws and precedents are meant to ensure Congress better reflects the diversity of the U.S. electorate: “The sum total of individual experiences ... should be at the table.”
The Missouri NAACP’s lawsuit focuses on the timing of the special redistricting session, arguing that Governor Kehoe lacked any extenuating circumstance to justify redrawing maps outside the usual decennial cycle. This legal maneuver, they contend, is just the latest in a series of steps designed to undermine minority representation.
The atmosphere in Kansas City is one of deep apprehension. Bishop Donna Simon of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, based in the city, described the redistricting as a “brazen attempt to disenfranchise voters of color, poor voters and voters from immigrant communities.” She added, “We’ve already lost so much over the last few years as the gap between working people and those at the top of the economic ladder has grown wider and wider.”
For some, the fight is reminiscent of a darker era. Saundra Powell, a 77-year-old retired teacher, recalled being barred from attending an all-white school as a child. “It seems worse (now) than what it was,” she reflected. Her family once fled the Jim Crow South for more rights and a better life. “And now when people don’t take it seriously,” she cautioned, “it can be taken away.”
As lawsuits wind their way through the courts and communities rally to protect their representation, the outcome of these redistricting battles remains uncertain. What’s clear, however, is that the stakes couldn’t be higher for those who see their hard-won gains at risk of being erased by the stroke of a pen.
