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Protestors chant in the House balcony at the Capitol, May 7, 2026.

Republicans’ historic redistricting last week of Tennessee’s congressional maps, which effectively eliminated the state’s only majority-Black district covering most of Memphis, has already led to a host of lawsuits filed by Democrats and civil rights organizations.

On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Tennessee filed a federal lawsuit challenging the new congressional map and calling it discriminatory. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Equity Alliance, the Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis and the Memphis A. Philip Randolph Institute, as well as three Memphis voters: Kermitt Moore, Amber Sherman and Rachael Spriggs. The filing seeks to block the map from taking effect before the August primary elections, declare the redistricting unconstitutional and restore the previous district lines.