NEW ORLEANS, LA — Councilmember Lesli Harris issued the following statement in support of Senator Ed Price’s congressional redistricting map and the New Orleans legislative delegation’s fight to preserve two majority-Black districts:

“What is happening right now in Baton Rouge is not just a legislative debate; it is a defining moment for the future of Louisiana. I stand firmly in support of Senator Ed Price’s map, which preserves two majority-Black congressional districts and protects the right of Black voters in Louisiana to have real, meaningful representation in Congress.

Let’s be clear about what is at stake. Louisiana currently has two majority-Black congressional districts, represented by Congressmen Troy Carter of New Orleans and Cleo Fields of Baton Rouge. Competing maps would eliminate one, or potentially both, of those districts, a move that would silence hundreds of thousands of Louisiana voters and reverse decades of hard-won civil rights progress. We cannot allow that to happen.

I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the entire New Orleans legislative delegation, and especially to those serving on the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee, for the leadership and courage they have shown throughout this process. The questions they raised during the committee, the testimony they demanded, and the advocacy they delivered on behalf of our city were powerful and necessary.

The packed hearing rooms, the hundreds of residents who showed up to testify, the voices of former Congressmen Cedric Richmond and William Jefferson side-by-side with Congressmen Troy Carter and Cleo Fields - all of it sends a clear message: Louisiana is watching, and we will not be erased from the map.

This fight is bigger than any one seat. I urge every member of the Louisiana Legislature to vote for a map that reflects our values, our people, and our history. Senator Price’s map does exactly that.”