The North Carolina N-double-A-C-P has submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Department of Justice, asking it not to pre-clear the proposed redistricting maps drawn earlier this year in the General Assembly. Reverend William Barber heads the state's N-double-A-C-P. He says the maps pack black voters into a small number of districts to dilute their statewide influence.
William Barber: "The one thing we continue to say is that we cannot go backwards. We cannot go backwards. And we will not go backwards, when we see sinister attempts to segregate, to suppress, and to undermine the power, potential and the necessity of the African-American vote."
The Justice Department must pre-approve the maps drawn in states with a history of racial discrimination. Republicans control both chambers of the state legislature. They say the maps were drawn fairly.