Majority-minority districts may be created to avoid or remedy violations of the Voting Rights Act of 1965's prohibitions on drawing redistricting plans that diminish the ability of a racial or language minority to elect its candidates of choice.
In some instances, majority-minority districts may result from affirmative racial gerrymandering.
Some view majority-minority districts as a way to dilute the voting power of minorities and analogous to racial segregation; others favor majority-minority districts as ways to effectively ensure the election of minorities to legislative bodies, including the House of Representatives.
Majority-minority districts have been the subject of legal cases examining the constitutionality of such districts, including Shaw v. Reno (1993), Miller v. Johnson (1995), and Bush v. Vera (1996).
[1] Currently, there are 26 congressional districts where African Americans make up a majority of constituents, mostly in the South.