This is a guest opinion column

Alabama lawmakers insist on repeating their oppressive history. Black Alabamians are leaning on federal courts to ensure the state’s legislature does the right thing to secure our voting rights. Our valiant fight to assert our humanity and continue the work our ancestors started also repeats. If history repeats itself, so should our activism.

As it stands, Black people–who comprise 27% of the state’s population– have majority voting power in only one of the seven congressional districts. Lawmakers here are hell-bent on defying the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling, which ordered the Alabama legislature to create a new congressional map to include another Black-majority district. But when lawmakers returned to the table, they defied the court. The new map they proposed still has only one Black-majority district. Furthermore, the Black population would shrink in four of the districts in their proposed redesigned map.

It’s time to center Alabama

This defiance has been a staple in Alabama’s story for generations. While all eyes are on our state to parse how it will affect the nation, we cannot lose sight of who should be centered: Black Alabamians. Yes, what is happening in Alabama is a watershed moment in the fight for strengthening voting rights. Not only can it have rippling effects in Texas, Louisiana, and Georgia, but it could also impact states outside of the South since requirements for redistricting under provisions in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 could be scrutinized. W.E.B. Du Bois once noted, “Where the South goes, so goes the nation.” We want to make sure that the South goes in the direction of democracy.

Throughout our history, Alabamians have created systems of positive change for all people across the country, but we don’t consistently benefit fully from those efforts. Black people in our state gave us the blueprint for political organizing, nonviolent protest, and civic engagement. Our movements birthed inclusive laws like the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and instilled pride in being an American. Yet, Black Alabamians continue to face voter suppression, poverty, and lack of economic and educational opportunities.

Alabama elected officials must be accountable, and we’ll do that through the courts and our votes. We are committed to amping up political education and uplifting our legacy of civic engagement and change-making in Alabama. Political education should include lessons about voting rights, voter suppression and how to mobilize communities. There is no way around it: we must step once again. The Supreme Court has ruled in our favor, but it’s up to us ensure legislators don’t make a mockery of the ruling in Allen v. Milligan.

We will fight to ensure the Alabama legislature follows the Supreme Court’s direction, but we’ll also ensure that we are able to elect our chosen representatives. In my work at the nonprofit Transform Alabama, I have talked to many Alabamians who are uninspired and apathetic due to the constant rigging of the electoral process. They feel as though their votes don’t matter. But I know that it does, and that’s why the spirit of segregationists is working overtime to stop them from voting. But our ancestors didn’t lose hope and neither will we.

I understand that residents in many counties, including Russell and Macon counties may feel worn down by gerrymandering. This was by design. The forces against us intend to wear us down and exhaust us to the point where we give up the fight. This will never happen. Our communities know their history and on whose shoulders they stand on. We will dig deep, and we will harness the hope our ancestors left us. We have no other choice.

We’re on the cusp of another large movement, and we know that movements don’t happen quickly or in a vacuum. For example, the Selma to Montgomery march was decades in the making and involved many people with varied skills who organized around a single cause. They found and held onto hope against incredible odds. We are tapping into that energy by voting in every election cycle and dispelling the myth that our votes don’t matter.

Black Alabamians have the power to push for true liberation in our state, and we will continue to use that power. Our ancestors have gotten us this far on the march toward justice, but it’s up to us to carry the baton over the finish line.

Dr. Adia Winfrey is the executive director of Transform Alabama, and a fellow with the Black Southern Women’s Collaborative.