#4
— A WEEKLY NOTE FROM LEAH DAUGHTRY —
Black
Lady
News
What matters this week.
For the women who move the world.
Issue No. 003
Friday, May 15, 2026
A NOTE FROM LEAH
Hey family. Let's get into it.
Here's what we already know: the pattern is real, and it's accelerating.
While you're reading this, Louise Lucas is dealing with FBI raids and court challenges. Stacey Abrams was subpoenaed Monday for alleged campaign finance violations. Letitia James is facing federal indictment for prosecuting Donald Trump. Fani Willis lost her election case to an appearance-of-impropriety ruling. LaMonica McIver is navigating federal investigations while representing Newark in Congress. The Supreme Court just gave Alabama permission to eliminate a Black woman's congressional seat.
This is not coincidence. This is systematic dismantling happening in real time.
Yet on the same day the Court ruled against Alabama, a thousand Black women committed to registering ten voters each through their Circle of Ten. On the same weekend Lucas's map got struck down, TS Madison housed another cohort of formerly incarcerated Black trans women who now have stable housing that can't be raided or ruled away.
Two tracks. Two futures. The question is which one wins.
Tuesday will tell us whether Black women's infrastructure is strong enough to withstand what's coming for it. Whether we've built something that can't be torn down.
I want you to forward this to your group chat. I want you to call them by their names — Louise Lucas, Stacey Abrams, Letitia James, Fani Willis, LaMonica McIver. I want you to vote.
Stay rooted.
WHAT MAY 19 DECIDES
They're ready. Are we?
The phone calls started the night before. "I've known her for a long time, and she's something special," former President Joe Biden said in the video that dropped Friday morning, his first endorsement since leaving office last year. "Georgia, she's ready. She's been ready."
Bottoms leads every Democratic primary poll by double digits — 39% in the latest Atlanta Journal-Constitution survey, with undecided voters at 33% and former Labor Commissioner Mike Thurmond trailing at 10%. The math is simple: she needs 50% to avoid a June runoff.
But Georgia is not the only state where May 19 will test Black women's political power. In Kentucky, Pamela Stevenson is on the Democratic Senate ballot, seeking to become the party's nominee against Republican incumbent Rand Paul. If elected, she would be the first Black woman to represent Kentucky in the U.S. Senate.
Black women across Georgia understand what else is being decided that Tuesday: whether they seize this moment or watch it slip away. Whether they build the future they want or let someone else build it for them. Whether a Black woman finally breaks through the highest glass ceiling, or whether it stays intact for another generation.
She's ready, Biden said. She's been ready. The question now is whether the rest of Georgia is ready for her.
THE PATTERN
Systematic dismantling in real time.
The pattern became visible on May 8, when the Virginia Supreme Court struck down Sen. Louise Lucas's congressional map forty-eight hours after FBI agents raided her office. By May 11, when the Supreme Court allowed Alabama to eliminate a Black-held congressional district, the pattern was undeniable.
This is not about individual Black women making mistakes. This is about systematic dismantling.
The Harassment Track
Start with Louise Lucas, 82, Senate Pro Tem of Virginia and architect of the state's 10-1 Democratic congressional map. On May 6, FBI agents raided her Portsmouth office and cannabis dispensary as part of a federal "corruption probe." On May 8 — forty-eight hours later — the Virginia Supreme Court struck down her map on procedural grounds, reverting the state from 10-1 Democratic to 6-5.
Lucas joins a growing list. Stacey Abrams was subpoenaed Monday by the Georgia Senate for alleged campaign finance violations tied to her New Georgia Project voter outreach organization. Letitia James, New York's attorney general, faces federal indictment after prosecuting Donald Trump. Fani Willis lost the Georgia election interference case after an appearance-of-impropriety ruling. LaMonica McIver, who represents Newark in Congress, navigates federal investigations while serving New Jersey's largest majority-Black city.
The Convergence
These are not separate phenomena. The harassment of individual Black women and the elimination of Black districts serve the same goal: reducing Black political power to levels that can be safely managed.
The May 19 Georgia primary will test whether Black women can still build political power while the infrastructure around them is being dismantled. Keisha Lance Bottoms leads the Democratic gubernatorial primary by double digits. Her victory would make her the first Black woman elected governor in American history.
Bottoms is choosing to run. On May 19, we'll learn whether the pattern can be broken or if it's already too late.
THE COALITION OF 20 MILLION
One Million Black Voters Rising.
The Black Women's Leadership Collective launched One Million Black Voters Rising on April 15 — a bold, multi-year effort to register one million new Black voters, build collective power and long-term civic engagement. One month later, on May 19, the coalition will hold its first national organizing convening, bringing together the first 1,000 women who have signed up to be Circle Leaders alongside the heads of all 12 partner organizations.
"Right now, millions of Black people are not registered to vote—that's unrealized power. Black political power has not peaked—it has been undercounted and undervalued. One Million Black Voters Rising is about changing that—turning our numbers into action and our voices into real influence over the decisions that shape our lives."
— Karen Finney, co-chair of 1MBVR
The numbers behind the effort are staggering. Twelve national Black women-centered organizations united in one coalition, with a combined reach of more than 20 million Black women nationwide and their networks. Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho, and Zeta Phi Beta — the four largest historically Black sororities. The Links, Incorporated, whose 16,000 members are connected to professional networks across the country.
The methodology is deliberately simple: the Circle of Ten. One leader helps 10 people register. 10,000 leaders create 100,000 voters. Together: 1 million. Movements don't grow through ads or algorithms. They grow through people—through conversation and trust.
Join the Circle of Ten at: onemillionblackvotersrising.org
THE ARCHITECT OF THE PIPELINE
Glynda Carr's 15-year investment pays off.
Since co-founding Higher Heights in 2011 with Kimberly Peeler-Allen, Glynda has spearheaded initiatives like the #BlackWomenLead and #BlackWomenVote movements, turning what began as a political action committee into the political home for Black women. Now, as Keisha Lance Bottoms leads Georgia's Democratic primary for governor and Black women mobilize through One Million Black Voters Rising, Carr's decade-plus investment in Black women's political infrastructure is paying off.
"Black women are not single issue voters – we sit at the intersection of the most pressing issues facing our nation. That intersection is where political power gets built."
— Glynda Carr, Higher Heights CEO
The numbers tell the story. Higher Heights boasts more than 75,000 active members, and a network of over 150,000 that have been instrumental in supporting hundreds of Black elected officials. The organization's #BlackWomenRun database — a comprehensive and essential resource highlighting over 600 Black women candidates running in the 2024 general election — tracks races from federal and state offices to mayoral positions in the nation's 100 largest cities.
The Georgia primary on May 19 will test everything. If Bottoms wins — if she becomes the first Black woman elected governor in American history — it will be through the network of organizations Carr helped knit together, amplified by the voter registration infrastructure 1MBVR is building, supported by the candidate pipeline Higher Heights has been cultivating for 15 years.
Learn more at: higherheightsforamerica.org
TRACKING CALLAIS · TWO WEEKS LATER
The state-by-state damage report
Louisiana: May 16 House primary suspended indefinitely. Ballots already mailed won't be counted.
Alabama: Supreme Court ruling May 11. Second Black district eliminated. Sewell or Figures seat erased.
Tennessee: Special session May 5-8. New 9-0 GOP map passed. Memphis split into 3 districts. All Democrats stripped of committee assignments for protesting.
Virginia: Lucas map struck down May 8. Reverts from 10-1 D to 6-5 D. State AG appealed to SCOTUS.
Florida: New map enacted targeting 4 Democratic seats. Effective immediately for November.
Missouri: State court ruled to implement new maps. Emmanuel Cleaver's Kansas City seat eliminated.
South Carolina: Senate rejected redistricting May 12. Gov. McMaster now set to call special session next week targeting Clyburn's seat.
Mississippi: Special session May 20 canceled. Gov. Reeves postponed after 5th Circuit vacated lower court order.
Georgia: Gov. Kemp called special session June 17 for redistricting. 2028 redistricting, not 2026.
The pattern accelerates. The organizing responds. The resistance builds toward Montgomery.
MIFEPRISTONE UPDATE
Supreme Court preserves telehealth access to mifepristone.
Breaking Thursday 5:30 p.m.: The Supreme Court issued a pause on the Fifth Circuit's May 1 decision that would have required women to obtain mifepristone through in-person visits only. Telehealth and mail access will continue while the case returns to the New Orleans-based appeals court.
What this means: The conservative Supreme Court maintained the status quo, rejecting Louisiana's attempt to immediately restrict nationwide access to the abortion pill. The decision affects all 50 states, preserving access even in states where abortion remains legal.
The broader fight: Louisiana's lawsuit argued that telehealth access to mifepristone undermines the state's near-total abortion ban. The case now returns to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which will decide the merits of Louisiana's challenge.
What's still at stake: Medication abortion accounts for more than 60% of all U.S. abortions. The temporary preservation of access doesn't resolve the underlying legal challenge — it delays it. This is a reprieve, not a resolution.
THE HOUSE THAT HOPE BUILT
TS Madison builds what can't be taken away.
Ts Madison, a reality TV personality and LGBTQ advocate, opened a reentry house in Atlanta for formerly incarcerated Black transgender women. But that one-line description barely captures what happened when the doors of the TS Madison Starter House opened on Transgender Day of Visibility in March 2025.
The Starter House occupies Madison's former home — a 4,000-square-foot home in Conyers — welcoming up to five women into a safe space by and for Black trans women. The numbers tell the story. Nearly half (47%) of Black transgender people have endured incarceration, compared to 16% of trans people overall. Black transgender women are incarcerated at 10 times the rate of the general population.
What makes the Starter House radical is its funding model. "This is funded by the people, for the people," Madison said. "Even with the government cutting funding, we don't need them. We have each other. It's kind of like an underground railroad."
In a week when Black women in power are being systematically targeted, Madison built something that can't be ruled away or raided. It's proof that when systems fail Black women, Black women build new systems.
WHAT'S NEXT
All roads lead to the South.
The pattern is clear. The response is building. On May 16, one day after this issue publishes, voting rights organizers converge in Montgomery for the National Day of Action for Voting Rights.
All roads lead to the South because that's where the fight is happening. That's where maps are being redrawn, districts are being eliminated, and Black political power is under direct assault.
The organizing continues.
Learn more at: allroadsleadtothesouth.com
ONE THING TO READ
For your weekend.
This week's recommendation is Marie Claire's "The Congresswomen's Pact: Inside the Fight to Keep Rep. LaMonica McIver Out of Prison" by Noor Ibrahim (May 7, 2026), which reveals how twelve Democratic congresswomen — from Nancy Pelosi to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — built an unprecedented support network around McIver after the Trump administration charged her with felonies for conducting congressional oversight.
The piece is essential reading because it shows what we've been tracking in The Pattern — the systematic targeting of Black women in power — from the inside. While we cover the legal harassment, Ibrahim shows us the human cost: a nine-year-old daughter asking if her mom is going to jail, a first-term congresswoman facing seventeen years in prison for doing her job, and the complete absence of any institutional Democratic support system for a crisis like this.
What makes the article powerful is how it captures both the brutality of the pattern and the beauty of the response. When party leadership had no playbook, the women built their own. Prayer Zooms, legal defense funds, courthouse appearances, even slime for a birthday party. It's a master class in what mutual aid looks like at the highest levels of government — and a blueprint for what Black women do when systems fail us.
Forward it to anyone who thinks the harassment we're tracking is abstract. Pull the Pelosi quote for your next meeting: "A pat on the back and congratulations and praise is not enough. If a woman is going to take risks, she needs money, resources, and solidarity, period."
Read at: marieclaire.com
A note on sourcing: This issue integrates breaking developments through Thursday evening, including special session announcements in Georgia and South Carolina. All redistricting updates reflect the most current information available at publication.
Stay rooted.
— LD
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