BATON ROUGE - The current battle over Louisiana's congressional map began in 2022 when the state legislature drew a map that included five majority-white districts and one majority-black.

In response, a lawsuit was filed by a group of voters, claiming it violated the Voting Rights Act. A federal judge ruled in their favor, and the map had to be redrawn.

In 2024, the state legislature passed a congressional map that added a second-majority black district spanning from Baton Rouge to Shreveport, but the map faced significant pushback.

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court struck it down, calling it unconstitutional because it was drawn with race as a factor.

"They put a whole lot of black representation into question because a lot of people that look like me were elected based upon having somebody represent them that looks like them," NAACP Louisiana Conference President Mike McClanahan said.

Friday morning, the Senate committee on Senate and governmental affairs met to discuss proposed redistricting maps currently in the state legislature.

Senator Jay Morris of Monroe presented three maps, two of which decrease the number of majority black districts from two to one. The other has zero majority-black districts.

"'You did not even attempt to try to draw a 4-2 map for Louisiana.' That's what I'm hearing here now," State Senator Sam Jenkins said.

"If you're asking me by 4-2, if you're asking me whether I intentionally tried to draw a map, whether you call it 4-2 or whatever, to elect two Democrats, no, I didn't do that, and I wouldn't do that," Morris responded.

As the meeting progressed, things started to get heated.

"Your work has eliminated the elected seat of an African-American in the city of New Orleans; your work has eliminated the political power of numerous elected officials in the city of New Orleans," Senator Gary Carter said.

McClanahan was there. He says it was good to see how many people from across the state came out to the Capitol to voice what they'd like to see happen.

"Now sometimes, they were not listening, but we reminded them, if you don't listen now, you disrespect us in our house, we'll get you out of there. The same way we elected you, we know how to un-elect you," McClanahan said.