Carol Platt Liebau: Towards a Race-Blind, Color-Blind Constitution

Monday, May 4, 2026

With its decision in Louisiana v. Callais, the Supreme Court took the United States one step closer to the race-blind, color-blind equal opportunity society envisioned by our Constitution.

The ruling shifts voting rights law from judging maps by racial outcomes, toward a simpler question: whether lawmakers intentionally discriminated.

This is as it should be.

Today, there are a record 58 minority members of Congress. Most were elected from plurality white districts. America twice elected an African American president. These aren’t the marks of a nation closed to candidates of color.

Ending racial gerrymandering encourages leaders to focus on ideas and results rather than skin color. By rejecting racial line-drawing, the Supreme Court affirmed a vital truth: In twenty-first century America, skin color isn’t what defines us. Our convictions — and our character — do.

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