Oliver Warns Of America Going 'Back To The Jim Crow Era'

Alex Christy
June 30th, 2026 9:56 AM

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HBO’s John Oliver lamented on Sunday’s Last Week Tonight that Republicans in southern states are getting in on the redistricting battle that is taking place across the whole country. According to him, Republican efforts are on track to bring the country “back to the Jim Crow era.”

During his lengthy ramblings on redistricting, Oliver brought up a recent Supreme Court ruling that set the Southern redistricting efforts in motion, “Yep, from the six justices who brought you such banger decisions as ‘The president is untouchable,’ ‘Your uterus is our legal property,' and ‘Oops! All smog’ came a brand new decision on voting rights. Very basically, under the Voting Rights Act, minority voters could previously challenge a map if it diluted minority representation in their state regardless of whether that was the intention.”

Oliver then mocked the plaintiffs in the case for using the legalese that is required for a Supreme Court brief, “It was to comply with that law that Louisiana drew a map that contained two majority-black congressional districts. But in that Supreme Court case a group of 12 self-described ‘Non-African American’ voters claimed that their 'personal dignity’ had been injured by the map, which they said racially stigmatized, stereotyped, and maligned’ them. And while I do appreciate them specifying they were ‘Non-African American,’ honey that was already clear. ‘This map hurt my feelings and I want to talk to your manager’ more than covered it. 

 

 

Moving on to Justice Samuel Alito, Oliver continued attacking, “Yet the Court sided with them, with Alito writing that going forward, anyone challenging a map could only prevail if they had strong evidence the state intentionally drew its districts to afford minority voters less opportunity because of their race. Basically, unless state lawmakers were shouting out slurs while drawing the lines, they were going to be in the clear.”

A bit later, Oliver played a clip of Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry defending his state’s efforts by pointing to Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous quote about judging people by their character instead of their race. He sarcastically reacted, “Wow. That is powerful stuff, Landry. You know, that actually reminds me of another Martin Luther King quote when he said, ‘Hey, can white people please learn more than two of my fucking quotes?’"

Cherry-picking from history, Oliver continued, “But for the record, history shows that without majority-black districts, black candidates in Louisiana have basically no chance of getting elected. In fact, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama have never elected a black representative outside a majority-black district—and no black candidate has been elected to statewide office in Louisiana since Reconstruction.”

Of course, Oliver omits how Republican Sen. Tim Scott not only has been elected to statewide office in South Carolina, but was also a member of the House before becoming a senator. GOP Rep. Byron Donalds also represents a majority-white district.

 

 

Later still, Oliver lamented, “Everything you've seen so far only addresses what was able to be done before the midterms. But it won't end there. In the coming years, Republicans in Southern states could ultimately eliminate majority-minority districts altogether, taking America back to the Jim Crow era, when there were no black representatives in Southern states with sizable black populations.”

Again, Oliver just ignored counterexamples. Sen. Raphael Warnock, whom he presumably supports, represents an entire Southern state in the Senate.

 

 

However, that did not stop Oliver from adding, “And there'll likely be major impacts on other levels of government, too, from city councils to school boards to state legislatures. And for those who fought so hard for their voting rights, watching them get stripped away this fast is brutal because it's worth remembering the progress that's currently being undone, happened in living memory for many.”

The Supreme Court has never had a legal problem with partisan gerrymandering. What it has finally done is treat all Democratic voters equally. Nobody’s right to vote is being taken away, but in an actual democracy, your preferred candidate does not always win.

Here is a transcript for the June 28 show:

HBO Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

6/28/2026

11:37 PM ET

JOHN OLIVER: Yep, from the six justices who brought you such banger decisions as "The president is untouchable," "Your uterus is our legal property," and "Oops! All smog" came a brand new decision on voting rights. Very basically, under the Voting Rights Act, minority voters could previously challenge a map if it diluted minority representation in their state regardless of whether that was the intention.

It was to comply with that law that Louisiana drew a map that contained two majority-black congressional districts. But in that Supreme Court case a group of 12 self-described "Non-African American" voters claimed that their "personal dignity" had been injured by the map, which they said racially stigmatized, stereotyped, and maligned" them. And while I do appreciate them specifying they were "Non-African American," honey that was already clear. "This map hurt my feelings and I want to talk to your manager" more than covered it. 

Yet the Court sided with them, with Alito writing that going forward, anyone challenging a map could only prevail if they had strong evidence the state intentionally drew its districts to afford minority voters less opportunity because of their race. Basically, unless state lawmakers were shouting out slurs while drawing the lines, they were going to be in the clear.

…

OLIVER: Wow. That is powerful stuff, Landry. You know, that actually reminds me of another Martin Luther King quote when he said, "Hey, can white people please learn more than two of my fucking quotes?"

But for the record, history shows that without majority-black districts, black candidates in Louisiana have basically no chance of getting elected. In fact, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama have never elected a black representative outside a majority-black district—and no black candidate has been elected to statewide office in Louisiana since Reconstruction.

…

OLIVER: And when you take this whole redistricting back-and-forth together, it will, as I said earlier— probably give Republicans up to 12 seats in the House which doesn't mean they'll automatically win the House in November. But it makes the margin for Democrats meaningfully smaller.

Also, everything you've seen so far only addresses what was able to be done before the midterms. But it won't end there. In the coming years, Republicans in Southern states could ultimately eliminate majority-minority districts altogether, taking America back to the Jim Crow era, when there were no black representatives in Southern states with sizable black populations.

And there'll likely be major impacts on other levels of government, too, from city councils to school boards to state legislatures. And for those who fought so hard for their voting rights, watching them get stripped away this fast is brutal because it's worth remembering the progress that's currently being undone, happened in living memory for many.

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