U.S. Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez has recently come under fire after criticizing the new congressional map of Tennessee and claiming that it deprioritizes Black voters. Ocasio-Cortez faced heavy criticism online after accounts such as Libs of TikTok shared clips from a recent interview she gave at the University of Chicago, prompting backlash from many right-wing users.
In a short clip, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez can be seen saying that “states like Tennessee want to wipe out every Black Representative” through measures such as redistricting. She also argued that Americans have a responsibility to stand with the Black community and support those candidates. Ocasio-Cortez was referring to Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District, the only district in the state with a majority-Black voting population, which was affected by gerrymandering practices recently.
Libs of TikTok then compared Tennessee’s current Democratic representative for the 9th Congressional District, Steve Cohen, with his Republican opponent, Charlotte Bergmann, a Black woman who was defeated by him in the previous election.
Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez Criticized By Right-Wing Voters
The situation led many people to accuse Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of hypocrisy, as she defended the existence of Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District, which had a majority-Black voting population, even though Democrats elected a White representative there. “Seems like what we’ve been saying all along is true. Democrats are racists,” one user wrote.
Others criticized Ocasio-Cortez for the same reason. “Black liberals/Democrats often act like Black Republicans ‘don’t count’ as real Black representation. The Tennessee map drama is the perfect example: swapping a White Democrat for a qualified Black Republican, yet it’s spun as anti-Black. Pure cognitive dissonance comedy.”
Because of that, multiple users also called the congresswoman ignorant. “Ignorance is the gift that AOC possesses more than any other,” one commenter said. Another added: “Just the last few days, AOC has said the American Revolution was fought against the billionaires of the day, ignoring the Declaration of Independence, which lays out in plain language what the reason was. Now she wants you to be blind to the fact that the Dem candidate is a white man and the GOP candidate is a black woman.”
In any case, discussions surrounding Tennessee’s redistricting process remain ongoing, and a federal court hearing is scheduled for May 20 to determine whether the map will be allowed to stand.
