Derrick Coleman Rejects Alabama Honors Over Redistricting

Former NBA player Derrick Coleman is taking a stand against Alabama’s redistricting efforts after announcing he will not attend his induction ceremony into the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame.

“I declined because this moment is bigger than an award,” Coleman wrote in the Facebook post announcing his decision. 

“We are living history all over again. The Supreme Court has weakened the Voting Rights Act, and the fight for our vote, our voice, and our future remains under attack. Even now, federal courts continue to strike down voting maps designed to unlawfully discriminate against Black voters. In Alabama, a federal court ruled that the state’s congressional map unlawfully diluted Black voting strength. Yet despite these rulings, battles over voting rights, district maps, ballot access, and political representation continue across the South,” Coleman added. 

As Coleman noted in his statement, Alabama has continually tried to push forward a map that was previously found to be racially gerrymandered. The map was so racist that a court order banned Alabama from any redistricting efforts until 2030. After the Supreme Court decided to gut the Voting Rights Act, it also told a lower court to take another look at the decision barring Alabama from redistricting the map.

What makes that second part even more absurd is that the Supreme Court itself found that Alabama’s map was racially gerrymandered only three years ago. While the Supreme Court’s decision to gut the Voting Rights Act significantly raised the bar for what’s considered a racial gerrymander, Alabama’s map is so racist that a federal court still found it to be racially gerrymandered under the new laws. Alabama officials are expected to appeal that ruling to the Supreme Court. 

While Coleman declined his invitation to the induction ceremony, Stephen Clements, chairman of the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame board, told AL that he will still be inducted. “Derrick Coleman is exactly that kind of individual, and while we respect his decision not to attend, we will proceed with his well-deserved induction together with other members of the Class of 2026,” Clements said.

Coleman’s decision comes a month after the NAACP called on fans and athletes to boycott athletic programs in states that are engaging in redistricting efforts to undermine Black voting power. 

“People fought, bled, marched, organized, and died for these protections. To accept personal recognition while Black voters and other voters of color continue to face challenges to fair representation would be a contradiction of everything my journey represents,” Coleman wrote. 

Coleman achieved much during his tenure in the NBA. He was the 1991 Rookie of the Year, an NBA All-Star, and a two-time All-NBA Third Team. In 1994, he was on the USA National Team that won the FIBA World Championship. His post-NBA tenure has Coleman regularly engaging in community activism through both basketball programs like DC Elite and volunteer work. At the height of the Flint Water Crisis, Coleman would regularly drive 65 miles to deliver cases of water to those in need. 

At a time when it feels like more and more notable people are staying silent to protect their bag, it’s admirable to see Derrick Coleman using this moment to raise awareness of the efforts to disenfranchise Black voters by state legislatures throughout the South. 

SEE ALSO:

Alabama County Must Redraw Racially Gerrymandered Maps

Alabama’s Racist Congressional Map Rejected

These Southern States Are Redistricting After Supreme Court Ruling

Former NBA Star Derrick Coleman Rejects Alabama Honors Over Redistricting was originally published on newsone.com