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www.naacpldf.org

March 22, 2018

By E-mail and USPS mail

Jerry W. Brasseale
Mayor, City of Pleasant Grove
Pleasant Grove City Hall
501 Park Road
Pleasant Grove, Alabama 35127
pgmayor@cityofpg.net
(205) 744-1759

Attn: City Clerk

Dear Mayor Brasseale:

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF)1 and Mr. James
Blacksher are writing to you on behalf of the Alabama State Conference of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (Alabama NAACP). At their request,
we have been closely investigating the at-large method of electing the City Council for the
City of Pleasant Grove (Pleasant Grove).2 Members of the Pleasant Grove community,
including the individuals identified in the “Appendix,” share the concerns raised herein.
We have significant concerns that the at-large method of election, under which no Black
person has ever been elected to the City Council,3 may violate Section 2 of the Voting

1
Since its founding in 1940, LDF has been a pioneer in the struggle to secure and protect the voting
rights of Black people and other people of color. LDF uses legal, legislative, education, and advocacy
strategies to promote the full, equal, and active participation of Black people in America’s democracy. LDF
has been a separate entity from the NAACP and its state branches, since 1957.
2
Pleasant Grove Leadership: City Council, http://cityofpg.com/groveleadership/citycouncil; see also
Ala. Code § 11-43-2 (2014) (Election of mayors and aldermen; exercise of legislative functions; salary of
alderman); Ala. Code § 11-43-2 (2014) (city council and mayor to exercise legislative functions with mayor
presiding and voting at his discretion except in the case of a tie where mayor is required to vote).
3
Ms. Priscilla McWilliams, a Black woman, was appointed to the City Council to fill a vacancy in
October 2014, but she was never elected to that position. See Jessie Chambers, Pleasant Grove Swears in
First-Ever African-American Council Member, Replacing Pete Mosley, Alabama Media Group, Oct. 22,
2014, available at http://bit.ly/1w93Hp3. Indeed, when Ms. McWilliams later ran for a seat on the Pleasant
Grove City Council in 2016, she was defeated by a white candidate. See Venton Blandin, Pleasant Grove
voters could elect first black city councilor, Aug. 16, 2016, available at http://bit.ly/2h8v9jI.

The fact that one Black person has been appointed to the city council, does not preclude the
existence of a violation of Section 2 and “certainly does not demonstrate the ability of black voters to elect
Ltr. to Mayor Brasseale
March 22, 2018
Page 2 of 7

Rights Act of 1965 (“Section 2”),4 by denying Black residents the opportunity to elect
candidates of their choice and fully participate in the political process.

Pleasant Grove has a documented history of racial discrimination in voting, hiring,

housing, zoning, and education. Most prominently, in 1987, the Supreme Court of the
United States affirmed a ruling that Pleasant Grove had intentionally discriminated when it
selectively annexed white communities but refused to annex similar Black communities.5

Nonetheless, the Pleasant Grove City Council now can move beyond the City’s
unfortunate past by becoming a more inclusive body. Alabama law expressly empowers
city councils, like Pleasant Grove’s, to alter their electoral method through a simple
majority vote.6 We write to urge Pleasant Grove to pursue this fair and prudent course of

officials.” United States v. Marengo, Cnty. Comm’n, 731 F.2d 1546, 1568–69 (11th Cir. 1984).
4
52 U.S.C. § 10301(a).
5
City of Pleasant Grove v. United States, 479 U.S. 462, 469 (1987). As the Supreme Court explained,
Pleasant Grove “has a long history of racial discrimination . . . . Suffice it to say that in housing, zoning,
hiring, and school policies [city] officials have shown unambiguous opposition to racial integration, both
before and after the passage of the federal civil rights laws.” Id. at 465; see also Stout v. Jefferson Cty. Bd. of
Education, 882 F.3d 988, 993 (11th Cir. 2018) (describing Pleasant Grove’s past resistance to integration).
6
See Ala. Code § 11-43-63 (2014) (Division of municipality into single member districts), stating:

Any city or town council of this state not currently electing its members from single-member
districts pursuant to state law may, not less than six months prior to the regular general municipal
election, by ordinance adopted by a majority of the membership of the council, divide the
municipality into single-member districts (wards) of not less than five nor more than seven districts
(wards). Provided, however, that the number of districts (wards) in any Class 1, 2, or 3 municipality
may not exceed nine districts (wards). Such ordinance shall be considered only after two weeks
public notice has been given, outlining generally the voting districts under consideration. The
ordinance shall provide that candidates for election for a place on the council, where the council
has been divided into districts, shall reside within the boundaries of said district (ward) for which
he or she seeks election, and shall continue to reside in the district he or she represents so long as
he or she remains a member of said council and further that candidates for election to a place on
the council shall have resided within the district from which he or she seeks election for a period of
90 days immediately preceding the date of the election. Only electors residing within a district shall
be entitled to vote for candidates seeking election for said district.

The ordinance establishing the districts shall describe the territory composing the district by metes
and counts, or census tracts, and the municipal clerk, within five days after the adoption of the
ordinance, shall file with the judge of probate of the county or counties in which the municipality
lies a certified copy of such ordinance accompanied, by a map or plat of the city or town, showing
the boundaries of all such districts.

Single-member districts are a common remedy to dilutive at-large voting schemes. See, e.g., United States v.
Ltr. to Mayor Brasseale
March 22, 2018
Page 3 of 7

action, in order to avoid the potentially costly7 and lengthy8 litigation that may be required
given the facts at issue to ensure Pleasant Grove’s compliance with Section 2 and other
laws.9

Section 2 prohibits voting standards, practices, or procedures, including at-large

methods of election, that were either enacted with racially discriminatory intent, or that
have racially discriminatory results.10 One of the chief purposes of Section 2 is to prohibit
“minority vote dilution.”11 Vote dilution occurs when, as may be the case here, an at-large
electoral system denies Black voters the opportunity to participate equally in the political
process because racially polarized voting12 permits the white voting majority to cancel out
the votes, and defeat the candidates of choice, of Black voters.

Specifically, under the Supreme Court’s seminal decision interpreting Section 2’s
result standard, courts looks principally at three factors in analyzing whether an at-large
electoral scheme constitutes illegal vote dilution: (1) whether Black voters are sufficiently
large and geographically compact to constitute a majority in at least one single-member

Dallas County Comm’n, Dallas County, Ala., 850 F.2d 1433, 1441 (11th Cir. 1988).
7
See, e.g., Brief for Avila et al. as Amici Curiae, 2013 WL 432963, at *20-21, Shelby Cnty., Ala., 570
U.S. 2 (2013) (detailing the actions of Charleston County, South Carolina, which fought, unsuccessfully, to
oppose a Section 2 challenge to their at-large election system at the cost of two million dollars in public
funds); Federal Judicial Center, 2003-2004 District Court Case-Weighting Study, Table 1 (2005) (finding that
voting cases consume the sixth most judicial resources out of sixty-three types of cases analyzed).
8
See, e.g., Voting Rights Act: Section 5 of the Act – History, Scope, and Purpose: Hearing Before the
Subcomm. on the Constitution of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 109th Cong. 92 (2005) (“Two to five years
is a rough average” for the length of Section 2 lawsuits).
9
LDF and Mr. Blacksher have successfully litigated dozens of Section 2 cases against jurisdictions
with discriminatory at-large elections in Alabama and elsewhere. See, e.g., Terrebonne Par. Branch NAACP
v. Jindal, 274 F. Supp. 3d 395 (M.D. La. 2017) (successfully challenging the at-large elections for the
parish’s judgeships); Ga. State Conf. of the NAACP v. Fayette Cty. Bd. of Comm’rs, 118 F. Supp. 3d 1338
(N.D. Ga. 2015) (successfully challenging at-large election systems for the county’s commission and school
board); Dillard v. City of Greensboro, 956 F. Supp. 1576 (M.D. Ala. 1997) (settling a successful challenge to
the city’s at-large method of election); Dillard v. City of Foley, 926 F. Supp. 1053 (M.D. Ala. 1995) (same).
10
52 U.S.C. § 10301(a).
11
See Thornburg v. Gingles, 478 U.S. 30, 43-46 (1986).
12
See Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama, 135 S. Ct. 1257, 1273 (2015); United States v.
McGregor, 824 F. Supp. 2d 1339, 1346 & n.3 (M.D. Ala. 2011); James Blacksher, et. al., Voting Rights in
Alabama: 1982-2006, 17 S. Cal. Rev. L. & Soc. Just. 249, 276-77 & nn.186-91 (2008) (“Highly racially
polarized voting patterns persist in present-day Alabama.”) (collecting cases and citations).
Ltr. to Mayor Brasseale
March 22, 2018
Page 4 of 7

district; (2) whether Black voters in the community are politically cohesive; and
(3) whether racial bloc voting usually prevents Black voters from electing their candidate
of choice.13 Here, all three conditions appear satisfied. First, over 40 percent of Pleasant
Grove’s voting-age population is Black,14 and one or more single-member majority-Black
districts could be drawn. Yet, even as Black voters have cast their ballots for Black
candidates (demonstrating political cohesion), no Black person has ever been elected to the
City Council (indicating racial bloc voting).15

In addition to these three key factors, the Supreme Court has also instructed courts
to consider the nine so-called “Senate Factors” as additional sources of relevant evidence
in analyzing vote dilution.16 Here, the Senate Factors appear to support the conclusion that

13
Gingles, 478 U.S. at 50-51; see also Ga. State Conf. of NAACP v. Fayette Cty. Bd. of Comm’rs, 775
F.3d 1336, 1342 (11th Cir. 2015) (“[I]t will be only the very unusual case in which the plaintiffs can establish
the existence of the three Gingles factors but still have failed to establish a violation of § 2 under the totality
of circumstances.”).
14
According to 2010 Census estimates, Pleasant Grove’s Black population is 40.35 percent of the total
population of 10,110. 2010 City of Pleasant Grove, Alabama Demographic Data, U.S. Census Bureau,
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml.
15
In 2016, in addition to Ms. McWilliams’ loss, four other Black candidates (Audrey Rutledge Boles,
Yolanda Lawson, Marria McKinney, and Robert Sellers) also ran and lost elections for mayor and city
council. Virginia Martin, Birmingham Watch, 2016 City Elections, (Aug. 26, 2016)
https://birminghamwatch.org/pleasant-grove-results/. In 2008, Veda Agee was a Black candidate who ran
unsuccessfully for Mayor and won only 11 percent of the vote. Fox6 WBRC, Pleasant Grove Mayor,
http://www.gowbrc.com/election/2008aug26/race141.htm. Sherian Minor, a Black candidate, ran
unsuccessfully for Place 4 and received 11 percent of the vote. Fox6 WBRC, Pleasant Grove District 4,
www.gowbrc.com/election/2008aug26/race144.htm. Angela Lewis, another Black candidate, lost a race for
Place 2, and received just 17 percent of the votes. Fox6 WBRC, Pleasant Grove District 2,
http://www.gowbrc.com/election/2008aug26/race143.htm.
16
Gingles, 478 U.S. at 36-37. These factors include:

1. the extent of any history of official discrimination in the state or political subdivision
that touched the right of the members of the minority group to register, to vote, or
otherwise to participate in the democratic process;

2. the extent to which voting in the elections of the state or political subdivision is racially
polarized;

3. the extent to which the state or political subdivision has used unusually large election
districts, majority vote requirements, anti-single shot provisions, or other voting practices
or procedures that may enhance the opportunity for discrimination . . .;

4. if there is a candidate slating process, whether the members of the minority group have
been denied access to that process;
Ltr. to Mayor Brasseale
March 22, 2018
Page 5 of 7

Pleasant Grove’s at-large elections violate Section 2. For example, Pleasant Grove’s
history of racial discrimination in voting, education, and employment and the existence of
racially polarized voting satisfy the first, second, and fifth Senate Factors. Under the third
Senate Factor, Pleasant Grove’s use of other voting practices, such as the requirement that
City Council members run from numbered posts,17 and the requirement that candidates
must win by majority vote18 likely enhance the discrimination that the Black residents of
Pleasant Grove experience due to at-large voting.19 In addition, the ninth Senate Factor,
which addresses the tenuousness of the policy underlying Pleasant Grove’s use of at-large
elections, is likely met because few jurisdictions in Alabama now use at-large elections.20

Despite the underrepresentation of Pleasant Grove’s Black community, the City

Council continues to make important decisions—such as, city budgets, hiring, contracts,
permits, and programming, and the adoption and enforcement of safety, health, and zoning

5. the extent to which members of the minority group in the state or political subdivision
bear the effects of discrimination in such areas as education, employment and health,
which hinder their ability to participate effectively in the political process;

6. whether political campaigns have been characterized by overt or subtle racial appeals;
[and]

7. the extent to which members of the minority group have been elected to public office . . .

[8.] whether there is a significant lack of responsiveness on the part of elected officials to
the particularized needs of the members of the minority group [and]

[9.] whether the policy underlying the state or political subdivision's use of such voting
qualification, prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice or procedure is tenuous.

Id. at 36-37. However, “there is no requirement that any particular number of factors be proved, or that a
majority of them point one way or the other.” Id. at 45,
17
Ala. Code § 11-43A-32 (2014).
18
Ala. Code § 11-46-55 (2014).
19
See Dillard, 640 F. Supp. at 1353 (coming to the “inescapable” conclusion that the numbered place
laws in Alabama were adopted with “the specific intent of discriminating against black persons” and
explaining that “a minority might be able to elect one or more representatives, even in an at-large system, if
the election is by a plurality without numbered places”); see also United States v. Osceola Cty., 475 F. Supp.
2d 1220, 1233-34 (M.D. Fla. 2006) (identifying the county’s numbered place law as “[o]ne factor that
enhances the opportunity for discrimination and contributes to the lack of [minority] success in elections”).
20
See Blacksher, Voting Rights in Alabama, 17 S. Cal. Rev. L. & Soc. at 264-65 (listing the almost
two hundred county commissions, city councils, and school boards that no longer use at-large elections).
Ltr. to Mayor Brasseale
March 22, 2018
Page 6 of 7

codes—which have enormous effects on the lives of Black people and other residents.21
That such critical decisions are made without sufficient representation of Pleasant Grove’s
Black voters is alarming. Precisely because at-large election systems have all too often
operated as structural walls of exclusion to effectively exercising the fundamental right to
vote, which is “preservative of all rights,”22 such systems in jurisdictions with large Black
populations, as in Pleasant Grove, have often been struck down as violative of Section 2.

We urge the City Council, under your leadership, to consider the vote dilution that
Black voters are likely experiencing in Pleasant Grove’s city elections and, accordingly, to
quickly take the actions necessary to change its election system. Such a change to comply
with Section 2 and other applicable laws would benefit all of Pleasant Grove’s residents.

We welcome the opportunity to work with you to resolve this important matter
amicably. Please respond to this letter in writing by Thursday, April 5, 2018. Feel free to
reach out to us directly with any questions.

Sincerely,

/s/ James Blacksher

James Blacksher
(205) 591-7238
jblacksher@ns.sympatico.ca

/s/ Deuel Ross

Deuel Ross
NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE
AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC.
(212) 965-7712
dross@naacpldf.org

cc: William Bullion, council member, 908 14th Court, Pleasant Grove, AL (by mail)
James Crumpton, council member, 85 Bel Air Cir., Pleasant Grove, AL (by mail)
Kenneth Hatfield, council member, 1131 9th Ct., Pleasant Grove, AL (by mail)
Phillip Houston, council member, 933 12th Ave., Pleasant Grove, AL (by mail)
Paula Johnson, council member, 1400 14th St., Pleasant Grove, AL (by mail)

21
Alabama municipalities have a wide range of general powers. See, e.g., Ala. Code § 11-43-43
(2014) (powers and duties generally of municipal council); Ala. Code § 11-47 (2014).
22
Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533, 562 (1964).
Ltr. to Mayor Brasseale
March 22, 2018
Page 7 of 7

Appendix

Yolanda Lawson

Priscilla McWilliams

Rev. Robert Sellers