Rainbow PUSH to Host National Forum on Voting Rights, Redistricting, and the Future of American Democracy

Congressman Cleo Fields, IL House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates, and national leaders to convene in Chicago following landmark Supreme Court decision

As national attention intensifies around the future of voting rights and democratic representation in America, Rainbow PUSH will host a special Saturday Morning Forum titled “What’s Next? Justice and the American Map” on Saturday, May 16, at its national headquarters in Chicago.

The forum comes amid renewed national debate following Louisiana v. Callais, a closely watched Supreme Court case centered on whether Louisiana must maintain a second majority-Black congressional district under the Voting Rights Act.

The case has become a major flashpoint in the broader fight over racial gerrymandering, voting rights protections, and political representation for Black communities across the South.

Featured speakers include Congressman Cleo Fields, whose home state of Louisiana is central to the ongoing legal battle over majority-Black voting districts, and Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, one of the nation’s highest-ranking Black elected officials. Additional participants include Yusef Jackson, Rev. Stephen Thurston II, and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates.

“Congressman Fields has lived through multiple generations of these redistricting battles,” said Yusef Jackson, President and CEO of Rainbow PUSH. “His story reflects both the progress made possible through the Voting Rights Act and the continued effort to roll that progress back. His perspective is critically important as communities across the country try to understand what this moment means for the future of democracy.”

Together, participants will examine how recent court decisions, racial gerrymandering, and attacks on voting protections are reshaping political power in America — and what civic leaders, lawmakers, organizers, and communities must do to protect fair representation and democracy.

The event also serves as part of Rainbow PUSH’s broader organizing efforts leading into its 2026 Annual Convention, “Fulfilling the American Promise,” taking place June 10–13 in Chicago. Organizers say voting rights, civic engagement, economic justice, and democratic participation will remain central themes throughout the convention.

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Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

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