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MS NOW: We Still Have Not Gotten Out of the Confederacy
On Monday night’s The 11th Hour on MS NOW, the progressive network decried redistricting in Tennessee on the grounds of its impact to the Civil Rights Movement because Memphis is the location of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Tennessee Lookout editor-in-chief Holly McCall implied that her state was a racist state and said, “We still have not gotten out of the Confederacy.”
Guest-host Ayman Mohyeldin asked panelist Joyce Vance, a former US Attorney under President Obama, if a NAACP lawsuit against the new Tennessee district will work.
Vance said it was a good argument since, as she then argued the new maps were a punishment for the Civil Rights Movement and mentioned the assassination of MLK:
And seeing this done, particularly in Memphis, where Doctor King was assassinated, where many of the events that were key to the Civil Rights Movement happens, almost feels as though the legislature is imposing a punishment on one of the most well-developed civil rights communities in the country.
On MS NOW's The 11th Hour, when discussing Tennessee redistricting, panelist Holly McCall said she used to defend Tennessee when people called it "a racist state," but now she says, "I think you have to say that we still have not gotten out of the Confederacy." pic.twitter.com/gepeXGZc8k
— Nick (@nspin310) May 12, 2026
Mohyeldin continued down the path of a connection to the Civil Rights Movement and asked McCall to respond.
McCall’s response started with a story of her previous defense of Tennessee against accusations of racism, as she turned to echo Vance and talk about MLK’s assassination.
She then turned to state that Tennessee has still not recovered from the Civil War:
And to see this happen and to listen to some of the lawmakers deny any knowledge of the race makeup - the racial makeup of Memphis. I think you have to say that we still have not gotten out of the Confederacy.
Mohyeldin followed up with her and asked if the redistricting “is motivated by the Republicans wanting to seize power, or is it motivated by racism to diminish the influence of black constituents in the state?”
Guest-host Ayman Mohyeldin asked if redistricting is motivated by "Republicans wanting to seize power" or "motivated by racism."
McCall responded and mentioned the 'Tennessee Three' expulsions from 2023 and implied some state lawmakers were racists. pic.twitter.com/cc8o6FPCWh
— Nick (@nspin310) May 12, 2026
McCall invoked the ‘Tennessee Three’ as she said the new district maps paired with the 2023 scenes in the state house mean “race is definitely a factor,” as she also seemed to call some lawmakers in the state house racists:
Just three years ago, this same state legislature, almost to a man, expelled two young up-and-coming black lawmakers for taking a stand on the House floor about gun safety. This came in the wake of a horrid school shooting. And, of course, it was the two young black lawmakers who were expelled and not the one white woman, who had also been vocal about this with them.
And so I think to witness the legislature in action and to know how some of the white lawmakers talk to black lawmakers, race is definitely a factor.
Mohyeldin ended as he mentioned a photograph of a protest sign on screen that read ‘Jim Crow 2.0.’
MS NOW’s constant invoking of the Civil War in their coverage is just the latest example of them to divide the country even more.
The transcript is below. Click "expand":
MS NOW’s The 11th Hour
May 11, 2026
11:26:16 PM Eastern
(...)
AYMAN MOHYELDIN: Joyce, the NAACP sued Tennessee, challenging the new maps there. Does it legally have a chance?
JOYCE VANCE: Well, it does. It has a good argument, in large part because Tennessee law seems to prohibit these sorts of late in the decade changes to voting maps. You know, what Holly is saying, I think, is the key to a successful challenge. There are rules around map-making that involve keeping cohesive communities together and not arbitrarily splitting them up.
And seeing this done, particularly in Memphis, where Doctor King was assassinated, where many of the events that were key to the civil rights movement happens, almost feels as though the legislature is imposing a punishment on one of the most well-developed civil rights communities in the country.
MOHYELDIN: It's such an important point, and I wanted to ask Holly about that. I mean, Tennessee - to Joyce's point, Tennessee and Alabama, they were central in the fight for civil rights in this country and that movement. They are now two of the first states to exploit or take advantage of the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. Your thoughts on that?
HOLLY MCCALL: You know, I lived outside of the south for a long time before I moved back. And when I did live outside of the South, I would defend Tennessee against people who thought that this was a racist state.
And certainly not everybody in Tennessee is racist. There are lots of good people here. But to witness what the legislature has done to carve up Memphis, which, as you and Joyce both mentioned, is so profound in the history of the civil rights movement. It's where Doctor King was martyred. One of his attorneys actually testified before the state legislature last week.
And to see this happen and to listen to some of the lawmakers deny any knowledge of the race makeup - the racial makeup of Memphis. I think you have to say that we still have not gotten out of the Confederacy.
MOHYELDIN: Yeah. So to ask you to follow up on that, I mean, do you believe this is motivated by the Republicans wanting to seize power, or is it motivated by racism to diminish the influence of black constituents in the state?
MCCALL: Well, two things can be true. And the Republicans in the Tennessee legislature were - they admitted, and I think it's very clear, they wanted to take that one last district that Democrats still hold.
But to hear them deny any knowledge of race and to just clearly obfuscate. And I think you also have to look at this decision with other issues that have occurred in Tennessee over the last few years.
Just three years ago, this same state legislature, almost to a man, expelled two young up-and-coming black lawmakers for taking a stand on the House floor about gun safety. This came in the wake of a horrid school shooting. And, of course, it was the two young black lawmakers who were expelled and not the one white woman, who was also been vocal about this with them.
And so I think to witness the legislature in action and to know how some of the white lawmakers talk to black lawmakers, race is definitely a factor.
MOHYELDIN: And it's as we saw in that sign, some have called it ‘Jim Crow 2.0.’
Joyce, Holly, thank you so much for joining us tonight, helping us make sense of this ruling.
(...)