A Michigan native and leader of a national Black leadership network is pushing back on criticism of the recent U.S. Supreme Court voting rights ruling.

The decision scales back a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, passed in 1965 to prevent racial discrimination at the polls, making it harder to challenge voting maps and election laws under federal protections.

Terris Todd, director of Project 21 Black Leadership Network at the National Center for Public Policy Research, contended concerns about Black voter suppression do not match the data.

"Over the past several elections, particularly the presidential elections, Black voters have turned out in record numbers, and still continuing to grow," Todd pointed out. "This idea that (they're) somehow taking away Black voters' rights is just not accurate."

Civil rights groups, including the NAACP, warned the ruling could make future legal challenges more difficult, especially in cases involving redistricting and the political influence of minority communities.

Opponents of the ruling argued district maps can play a major role in who gets elected, especially in communities of color. But Todd countered the effects of voting laws – and even redistricting – can be overstated, pointing to Detroit as an example of how voter choices do not always follow racial lines.

"What's unique about Detroit is that you have a city that's about 80% Black but yet they chose a white mayor for years," Todd observed. "To me, it should be a good thing, right? Because let's not forget, they based it on merit versus his skin color."

Todd stressed it is time to move past race in voting debates, pointing out people from different ethnicities and backgrounds are increasingly living, working and building families together.

"I do wish that Black Americans in general, and just all Americans, base things on merit, get away from this nonsense about skin tone and race and stuff like that," Todd urged. "It's a losing battle in my opinion, because we have become more interconnected in our nation's history than ever before."

Critics of the Supreme Court decision maintained race remains a critical factor in protecting fair access to the ballot.

Source: Public News Service