Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Louisiana v. Callais, weakening one of the primary tools used to protect the voting power of Black and Immigrant communities, nationwide.

Nearly a quarter of our district is Black. More than a quarter is Latino. These communities already face measurable disparities:

• Black households in Maryland hold a fraction of the median wealth of white households.

• Latino workers are overrepresented in low-wage sectors with limited economic mobility.

• Black residents remain disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system.

• Housing instability and homelessness continue to fall hardest on Black and Latino households.

And in our own State Senate:

• Only three Black women currently serve—and one of them is set to retire this year.

• Latino Marylanders—who make up a growing share of our population—have no representation at all.

This is the foundation we are working from.

And now, the legal protections that have historically safeguarded political representation for these communities have been weakened by this Supreme Court ruling—at the same time that we are seeing deliberate, coordinated attacks on Black, immigrant, poor, and working class communities coming from the federal level under Donald Trump.

These are not isolated policy shifts. They are connected actions: increased ICE presence in communities like ours, layoffs across the federal workforce, and the dismantling of protections tied to workplace equity, education, and healthcare.

These decisions are already being felt here in District 39 and across Maryland. And in this moment, when our communities are under direct pressure, Nancy King has failed to even try to fight back for the people she represents. 

Maryland had an opportunity to respond. 

HB488, a proposal to redraw congressional maps, passed the House and had the support of Governor Wes Moore. It acknowledged that the political landscape was shifting and that inaction carries risk.

Yet, in the Senate, it did not move.

For District 39, this is a double blow. Not only will we feel the impact of the decision to let HB488 die in committee, but our senator, Nancy King, as Senate Majority Leader, was responsible for allowing it to happen knowing the risk it posed to district residents. 

As Majority Leader, Nancy King helped lead the body that failed to take action. There were legal, procedural, and political concerns. Those concerns were real, but so was the moment to rise up and fight back. 

Now, across the country, Republican states are already gearing up to take more control of our country. In Louisiana, leaders have taken steps to delay elections in order to redraw maps in light of this ruling with the goal of eliminating a majority-Black district.

Here in Maryland, we did not act when we had the opportunity.

The consequences extend beyond state lines.

If control of Congress remains unchanged, national policy on voting access, healthcare, education, and civil rights will increasingly be shaped by leaders who do not reflect Maryland’s priorities. Over time, that will change how Marylanders experience this country. The protections you rely on here may not follow you elsewhere. 

We now face a choice.

We can send Destiny Drake West to Annapolis—to serve as the first Black State Senator for District 39 in Maryland's history—someone who understands both the stakes and the responsibility of this moment.

Or we can continue with leadership that, when faced with uncertainty, chooses not to move. We all know, standing still in this political climate is not neutral. It is a decision that carries dangerous consequences for all Marylanders.