On Mother's Day, May 10, 2026, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) delivered a nearly five-minute address during a Sunday morning worship service at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, sparking national discussion regarding the politicization of religious institutions and the accuracy of her claims about recent voting rights developments. The congresswoman's remarks centered on the Supreme Court's recent decision concerning the Voting Rights Act and state-level redistricting.
"I don’t take lightly the peril that we are facing just one week after the Voting Rights Act was gutted." — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
Ebenezer Baptist Church holds significant historical weight, having served as the spiritual home and platform for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who co-pastored the congregation from 1960 until his assassination in 1968. Today, its Senior Pastor is Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA), who uniquely balances leadership of a storied congregation with service in the United States Senate. Ocasio-Cortez, who stated she had simply come "to be in beloved community," was introduced by Senator Warnock, who highlighted her background from the Bronx, her Boston University degree, and her early career as an intern for the late Senator Ted Kennedy.
The tone of Ocasio-Cortez's address quickly shifted from worship to political commentary. She declared to the congregation, "I don’t take lightly the peril that we are facing just one week after the Voting Rights Act was gutted." This statement referenced the Supreme Court's April 29, 2026 ruling in *Louisiana v. Callais*. The Court, in a 6-3 decision along ideological lines, struck down Louisiana’s redrawn congressional map. This map had aimed to create a second majority-Black district but was ultimately ruled an illegal racial gerrymander. Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, clarified that while compliance with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act could be a compelling interest in redistricting, it did not justify Louisiana’s specific approach in this instance. While the ruling did not invalidate Section 2 of the VRA entirely, Justice Elena Kagan's dissenting opinion warned that the decision effectively hollowed out one of the nation’s most crucial civil rights statutes. In the immediate aftermath of this ruling, Republican-governed states, including Alabama, Louisiana, and Tennessee, moved swiftly into legislative special sessions to eliminate majority-Black districts that had previously been protected under Section 2.
Ocasio-Cortez further elaborated on the perceived implications of the ruling from the Ebenezer pulpit. She stated, "And in the days since, we have learned why the Voting Rights Act existed, as the maps in Tennessee and Louisiana, across this country, as the Supreme Court, to the reverend’s point in Virginia, overturned the maps, 10 to one, to literally draw Black Americans out of power." However, her account regarding Virginia's situation has been scrutinized for accuracy. The Virginia Supreme Court had ruled 4-3 to strike down a redistricting referendum, not a map overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, as Ocasio-Cortez implied. This referendum, crafted and advanced by Democrats, was invalidated due to violations of procedural requirements embedded in the Virginia Constitution. Crucially, the map the Virginia court struck down was not one designed to benefit Republicans; it was a Democrat-drawn map that would have resulted in a 10-to-1 advantage for the party in Virginia’s congressional delegation. The court's decision ultimately kept the existing map in place, which grants Democrats a 6-to-5 advantage.
Following the Virginia ruling, RNC Chairman Joe Gruters commented, “Democrats just learned that when you try to rig elections, you lose,” adding that the RNC had “led the charge in court against this blatant power grab” and that Democrats had poured “more than $66 million into an effort to lock in control and silence voters.”
Throughout her address at Ebenezer, Ocasio-Cortez drew upon the church’s rich civil rights heritage to frame her political message. She invoked biblical figures such as Deborah and Daniel and referenced Dr. King, whom she described as believing "in the audacious idea that maybe this country could maybe live up to the promises we made in our founding documents.” She concluded her remarks with a resolute declaration to the congregation: “We are not going back!”
The congresswoman later posted on social media, "@ReverendWarnock, for welcoming me to Ebenezer Baptist Church today. As legislatures across the South seek to draw Black Americans out of power, we gathered this Sunday to steel ourselves for the work ahead. We will always stand together, and we will not go back." The event garnered significant national attention. Ocasio-Cortez is currently campaigning for her fifth term in Congress and has indicated that she has not ruled out seeking higher office in 2028, though she has neither confirmed nor denied interest in a presidential or Senate bid.
