Tensions boil in committee hearing as Black residents push to keep representation in Congress

Published: May 8, 2026

By: Veronica Camenzuli, Gracie Thomas and Avery White, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE, La. — A debate over choosing Louisiana’s new congressional district maps grew heated between state senators inside a Senate committee room and as a protest developed in the hallway outside Friday.

The meeting, which included comments from the public criticizing the idea of decreasing Louisiana’s Black majority districts, lasted over eight hours, and the committee had two recesses to ease rising tensions.

There were several overflow rooms for the crowd of people who came to speak in support and opposition of maps that would have two Black majority districts or eliminate one or all minority districts.

The crowd included dozens of people spilling out into the hallways listening in via a Bluetooth speaker brought by a member of the public.

The meeting of the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee centered on whether Louisiana should have six solidly Republican districts, revert to one majority Black Democrat and five Republican districts like the previous congressional map, or keep two majority Black Democrat districts.