YWCA USA Statement in Response to Supreme Court Decision in Louisiana v. Callais

Yesterday (4/29/26), the Supreme Court sharply weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act — one of the most important civil rights protections in American history and a cornerstone of our nation's promise of a multiracial democracy. The decision in Louisiana v. Callais allows partisan goals to serve as a defense for racially discriminatory maps, undermining a tool that for sixty years has helped ensure Black, Latino, Native, and other communities of color have fair political representation.

In response, YWCA USA CEO Margaret Mitchell issued the following statement:

"Yesterday’s decision is a profound setback for our multiracial democracy — and a moral one as much as a legal one. It puts the diversity of our elected bodies and representation of all communities at risk.

For sixty years, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act has been a critical safeguard ensuring that communities of color could have fair representation. People fought, bled, and died for these protections. Weakening them does not happen in a vacuum — it happens at a moment when those same communities are already losing protections that took generations of sacrifice to win. YWCA USA will not accept this backsliding as inevitable.

For 167 years, YWCA has stood for peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. Allowing discriminatory systems to persist is incompatible with all four. When the highest court in the land delivers a devastating blow to the voting power of Black, Latino, Native, and other communities of color, it strikes at the very foundation of democracy — and at the heart of our mission. We stand with every community whose voice is at risk of being silenced.

Voting is not only a right. It is the key to building a nation where women and Black, Latino, Native, and other communities of color can thrive. Discriminatory redistricting and denying voters of color a voice in their government runs counter to the success and well-being of every community where local YWCAs work. Responsive, accountable leadership at every level of government shapes whether families can access health care, whether children get a fair education, whether neighborhoods are safe and healthy — and whether the voices of those too often marginalized are heard at all.

The work ahead will be more difficult because of this ruling. But YWCA USA, in partnership with our network of Local Associations and national partners, will continue to get up and do the work to rebuild what the Court has weakened — and to build the representative democracy this country has never fully realized, but still can."

YWCA USA is an independent, nonpartisan organization committed to eliminating racism, empowering women, and advancing peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.