Feb 24, 2025 Story by: Editor
BIRMINGHAM — A witness for the Alabama attorney general’s office testified that while historical racism may contribute to achievement gaps between demographics, it is not the sole factor. The statement came during a trial over Alabama’s congressional redistricting map.
Wilfred Reilly, a political science professor at Kentucky State University and author of three books criticizing progressive politics, challenged the notion that Mobile and the Black Belt should be considered a single community of interest in the redistricting process.
“There’s some relationship between Mobile and a Black Belt county … The relationship is lesser than the relationship between Mobile County and Baldwin County,” Reilly stated.
His testimony was met with skepticism from attorneys representing plaintiffs who support a 2023 congressional map that includes one majority-Black district and another near-majority-Black district to ensure fair representation for Black voters in Alabama.
Challenging Reilly’s Expertise
During cross-examination, plaintiffs’ attorney Brittany Carter questioned Reilly’s expertise on Southern politics and Alabama’s redistricting history.
“None of your papers focus specifically on the political environment below the Mason-Dixon Line. Correct?” Carter asked.
Reilly responded, “Not as a primary focus.”
Carter pressed further, asking, “You’re not a professional expert on Southern politics, correct?” to which Reilly replied, “No.”
She also inquired whether any of his research focused specifically on Alabama politics. “That is correct,” Reilly admitted.
Reilly acknowledged he had not conducted extensive research on Alabama’s redistricting history or state policies, saying, “I don’t hold myself out as an expert on redistricting.”
Additionally, Carter questioned Reilly’s methodology, pointing out that his report did not incorporate widely accepted academic definitions of communities of interest. When asked whether he had reviewed Alabama’s redistricting guidelines before his deposition, Reilly confirmed, “That is correct.”
Legal Battle Over Alabama’s Congressional Map
Reilly’s testimony came near the conclusion of a two-week trial over the congressional map, which has been contested for nearly two years and taken to the U.S. Supreme Court twice.
A three-judge federal panel ruled that Alabama’s previous map, approved in 2021, violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting Black voting power. The court ordered the state to create a second majority-Black district “or something quite close to it” but later rejected the Alabama Legislature’s proposed map for failing to meet the requirement.
In Alabama, voting patterns remain racially polarized, with white voters predominantly supporting Republicans and Black voters largely voting for Democrats. Black residents make up about 27% of the state’s population.
Defining Communities of Interest
A key issue in the trial is whether Mobile and the Black Belt should be considered part of the same community of interest. The plaintiffs argue that both areas have significant Black populations and share economic and social ties, warranting their inclusion in the same congressional district.
However, Reilly challenged this view, asserting that past racial discrimination does not necessarily mean the two regions form a single political community today. He cited labor and commuting data to argue that Mobile County has stronger ties to Baldwin County, a majority-white area, than to the Black Belt.
“Well, 71% of the people who work in Mobile County live in Mobile County, prominently including the city of Mobile itself. About 13% live in neighboring Baldwin County,” Reilly explained, adding that Black Belt counties each account for only about 1% of Mobile’s workforce.
Baldwin County, with a population of approximately 253,500, is significantly larger than Black Belt counties such as Washington County, which borders northern Mobile County and has about 15,000 residents.
Questioning Data and Methodology
Plaintiffs’ attorneys also scrutinized Reilly’s data sources, including his reliance on non-peer-reviewed literature and publicly available real estate metrics such as Zillow.
“You didn’t rely on any peer-reviewed studies concerning the identification of communities of interest, correct?” Carter asked.
The trial is expected to conclude next week.
Source: Alabama Reflector
