#reformvsrebuild

Robert James Hutton also known as "Lil' Bobby” born on April 21, 1950 and at 16-years old he became the first member and the first treasurer of the Black Panther Party. Hutton met Black Panther Party founders Huey Newton and Bobby Seale at the North Oakland Neighborhood Anti-Poverty Center, a "government-funded agency that employed local youth to work on community service projects. On April 6, 1968, two days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and with riots raging across cities in the U.S., Hutton was traveling with Eldridge Cleaver and other BPP members in a car. The group were stopped by two Oakland Police officers and had a confrontation. The two police officers were shot. Hutton and Cleaver fled to an apartment building where they engaged in a 90-minute gun battle with the Oakland Police Department. Some incoming bullets had also caught fire. Ultimately, Cleaver was wounded, and Hutton voluntarily surrendered to avoid getting burnt alive. According to Cleaver, although Hutton had stripped down to his underwear and had his hands raised in the air to prove that he was unarmed, Oakland Police shot the 17 year old Hutton more than 12 times, leading to his death. The Police report claimed that Hutton was attempting to run and was wearing a trench coat and his hands were not visible.

Recently, the Supreme Court requested briefs on whether race should be considered in district drawing, a practice deemed necessary to prevent minority vote dilution, as Chief Justice Roberts highlighted in Milligan. The Texas Legislative Council has similarly advised the conservative Texas Legislature. In a 5-4 decision in Milligan, Justice Kavanaugh questioned the current necessity of the Voting Rights Act. Yet, Shelby County’s aftermath provides a clear answer: the Act is still essential. Alabama authorities blatantly ignored the Supreme Court’s directive to create a minority opportunity district. Across the nation, including Texas, efforts to dismantle minority-held electoral seats have emerged in places like Baytown, Galveston, Tarrant County, Fort Bend County, and even the Texas Legislature. Despite significant minority populations, Texas did not elect a modern-day Latino member of Congress until the 1960s with Henry B. Gonzalez, and Barbara Jordan in 1972. Today, Texas operates under a discriminatory map, with white voters controlling 28 of 38 districts, despite being only 40% of the population. Black and Brown voters influence outcomes in just 10 districts. Recent legislative initiatives targeted four minority opportunity districts, eliminating three. Consequently, white voters will decide 81% of Texas Congressional districts, despite their 40% population share. The Trump Department of Justice’s false claim that Black and Brown voters cannot unite to influence district outcomes starkly reveals racial intent. The Constitution seemingly allows white voters to collaborate, but not minorities. This is a textbook case of racial bias. The Voting Rights Act remains crucial; its elimination is premature.