AL.com Columnist Kyle Whitmire has been named a finalist for a national journalism award through the American Bar Association. Whitmire’s commentary “Alabama’s Desperate Bid for a Milligan Do-over” is a finalist for the organization’s Silver Gavel Awards for Media and the Arts.

Whitmire’s 2023 columns critiqued the state’s response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Allen v. Milligan requiring the state legislature to redraw its congressional districts to conform to requirements for racial equity under the Voting Rights Act. Whitmire also revealed the one lawyer driving Alabama’s resistance to federal input and his role in helping craft the legislative response.

The awards, “recognize outstanding work that fosters the American public’s understanding of law and the legal system,” the association stated in a press release about the finalists, adding that the award is its highest honor for journalists.

Whitmire’s entry is the only finalist in the commentary category for the award. Other finalists among the 29 named include The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bloomberg Industry Group, the Chicago Tribune, WNYC Radio and ABC News.

Winning entries, which will include documentaries, books, drama, literature, magazines, newspapers, radio, television, and commentaries will be announced May 22. The finalists were selected from 176 entries and were judged by a committee of 50 individuals with legal and media expertise, according to the association.

“We received outstanding submissions this year and are grateful to the Gavel Awards Screening Committee for their dedicated review and difficult decisions they had to make,” said Lisa Bail, chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Gavel Awards in a press release.