HOUSTON \u2014 U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan, D-Houston, was the first Black woman elected to Congress from the South, serving on the influential House Judiciary Committee. She made Texas history as the first Black woman to win a primary race for the state Legislature. And while in the Texas Senate, in 1971, Jordan drew the boundaries for Houston\u2019s 18th Congressional District that she went on to represent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 18th Congressional District, up until now, had really remained pretty much intact and had always been the place where leading black politicians have emerged to have incredible influence and important national voices,\u201d said Mary Ellen Curtin, a professor of American studies at American University.<\/p>\n
The Black Democrats who have represented the 18th Distrct include Mickey Leland and Craig Washington. Sheila Jackson Lee served for 15 terms representing the district in Congress and died in office in 2024.\u00a0Since then, there has been inconsistent representation. Lee\u2019s daughter, Erica Lee Carter, served out her term for less than a year.<\/p>\n
After the death of the next representative, Sylvester Turner, in March 2025, the seat was left vacant until the election of Christian Menefee last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe started that legacy,\u201d said Curtin. \u201cAnd we\u2019re seeing now that that is definitely in question.\u201d<\/p>\n
A letter from the U.S. Department of Justice directed the Texas Legislature to redraw the state\u2019s congressional map last summer to create five winnable Republican districts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese maps before us diminish the voting power of\u00a0Black\u00a0and Brown communities who have fought for generations for that access and that power,\u201d said state Rep. Toni Rose, a Dallas Democrat, during floor debate over the new congressional map.<\/p>\n
The letter declared four coalition districts where multiple minority groups are the majority as unconstitutional. Republicans testified that the new map was drawn based on partisan votes in the 2024 election. Still, the new map created two districts where Black voters are the majority: the 30th Congressional District in Dallas and the 18th District.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t been to third grade in a really long time but when you go from zero to two, that\u2019s an increase\u2026 more and more minority voters are voting their values not their skin color,\u201d said state Rep. Katrina Pierson, a North Texas Republican, during floor debate over the new congressional map.<\/p>\n
The new congressional map redraws the 18th District on the south of the city and resembles the old 9th Congressional District, which is currently held by longtime U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Houston.<\/p>\n
Green, who is running for the newly redrawn 18th District, says his concern is for the Black voters left in the new 9th District, which Trump would\u2019ve won by 15 points.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know that these other districts are going to treat them as I would because they may be in a Republican area, which means that they may have less influence with that member than they would have in this new 18th Congressional District,\u201d said Green.<\/p>\n