Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960) addressed redistricting with the intent to exclude minorities, striking down what practice?

• A. White Primary
• B. Racial Gerrymandering
• C. Restrictive Covenant
• D. Jim Crow Laws

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that drawing political boundaries to deliberately exclude a racial group from participating in elections is unconstitutional. In Gomillion v. Lightfoot, the Court struck down a redistricting plan that redefined the city limits in a way that isolated and effectively silenced Black residents, denying them representation. This isn’t about ordinary district lines or geography; it shows that when the state draws boundaries to segregate people by race for political gain, it violates equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. The ruling centers on racial discrimination in the drawing of political boundaries, i.e., racial gerrymandering.

That’s why this choice fits best: it identifies the act as racial gerrymandering—the intentional manipulation of district boundaries to exclude minorities from political power. Other options miss the core issue: a white primary targets voting in primaries, not redistricting; restrictive covenants are private property restrictions; Jim Crow laws cover broader segregation statutes, not the specific unconstitutional manipulation of electoral maps in this case.