This District Built On Civil Rights Legacy Has Gone Months Without Representation

Algenita Scott Davis is overcome with emotion whenever she thinks about the Nov. 4 special election for Texas’ 18th Congressional District.

The seat had been held for three decades by U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, one of the longest serving Black women in Congress, who represented the Houston area and died while in office in July 2024. Davis remembers that Jackson Lee, a Democrat, was able to “personalize” leadership.

When Davis’ parents’ home burned down in 2011 and her mother was being treated in the hospital, Jackson Lee had the head of the Memorial Hermann Health System help the family within minutes of arriving at the medical center.

“[Jackson Lee] went to that hospital every day that my mother was there,” Davis, 75, told Capital B, her voice catching. “It didn’t matter if it was 11 o’clock at night — she went there. When my mother was in an unsatisfactory room, [Jackson Lee] got with the nurse, and they pushed my mother’s bed down the hall to another room.”

Davis, an attorney, said that many residents had a similarly deep connection to Jackson Lee. This is the kind of leadership that Davis is looking for in the next person who represents the district that is 32% Black and includes inner city Houston and parts of surrounding Harris County.

“That’s what a congressperson is supposed to be able to do, to touch the people — the constituency — they serve,” she said. “Without that ability to personalize, people feel even further disenfranchised.”

Davis’ sentiments highlight the emotional attachment that many voters have to the 18th Congressional District seat, a platform through which Jackson Lee, a 15-term congresswoman, emerged as a national political figure and a champion for equality and civil rights for Black Americans.

The district has recently seen a series of Democratic leadership changes. After Jackson Lee’s death, her daughter, Erica Lee Carter, held the seat until her mother’s term expired in January 2025. Then, Sylvester Turner, the former mayor of Houston, represented the district until his death in March of this year. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called a special election to be held in November 2025.

After almost eight months without representation, residents in the area are hungry for a leader who will continue to be an outspoken advocate for them on Capitol Hill. 

This is even more important to some now because the district has been affected by Texas Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting. The new map shifts the boundaries of the district south and east of Houston, diluting Democratic Rep. Al Green’s 9th Congressional District. The redrawn map could be in effect for the March 2026 primary, if upheld by federal judges.

The most competitive candidates in a crowded field are Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee and former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards, both Democrats. If no one meets the 50% threshold, the top two performers will advance to a runoff.

A district shaped by the Civil Rights Movement

To 69-year-old Debra Blacklock-Sloan, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of the district. It was shaped by map-drawing that occurred after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and ushered in decades of Black Democratic rule.

Barbara Jordan — the first Black woman from the South elected to Congress — represented the district from 1973 to 1979. Mickey Leland succeeded Jordan, serving from 1979 until his death in a plane crash in Ethiopia in 1989. Craig Washington represented the district from 1989 until Jackson Lee took over in 1995.

“This district was created specifically to represent Black Americans,” Blacklock-Sloan told Capital B. “So my point is: Black and brown people, get out and vote.”

Blacklock-Sloan, who does historical research and genealogy for a living, is a native Houstonian, and fifth-generation Texan — her enslaved ancestors came to the Lone Star State around 1849. And while she has never been called the N-word or experienced the kind of anti-Black discrimination that her forebears did, she now feels disenfranchised.

“We need representation — I don’t think that this [not having a representative for months] would happen to a predominantly white district,” she said. “Paying taxes but not having any representation? Hell no. It’s very disrespectful.”

Erica Cheng, a writer who was born and raised in the district, is curious to see whether a future representative will be able to advance Jackson Lee’s civil rights legacy. Cheng told Capital B that she’s hopeful that whoever wins won’t only talk the talk but also walk the walk.

This feels especially important, Cheng said, because John Whitmire, the mayor of Houston, has drawn backlash for advocating for a keep-your-head-down approach in the face of President Donald Trump’s attacks on cities run by Democrats.

“I want somebody in office who will stand against threats like that,” said Cheng, 28. “One of the frontrunners, Menefee, was endorsed by Democratic U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett [of Texas]. She is very upfront. To me, the fact that he’s been endorsed by her shows that he means business.”

Cheng, an Asian American, also said that Houston has a history of being a sanctuary city, but now that reputation seems to be eroding in the current political climate. She wants a leader who can ensure the district’s inclusivity and protect the rights of everyone.

“Calls to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] have jumped up like 1,000% [since Trump took office this year],” Cheng said. “As a city that really prides itself on diversity — racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity — that’s one of the major issues people are concerned about in Houston.”

Caught in the nationwide redistricting battle

It’s possible that Texas Republicans’ attempts to redraw the state’s congressional map and take five Democratic seats could reshape the district in the spring of 2026. These actions illustrate the precarious state of Black political power in Texas, Valencia Richardson, legal counsel for the Campaign Legal Center’s voting rights division, told Capital B.

“To recreate these districts, they packed [minority voters into] Congressional District 18 by cracking minority voters from other districts,” said Richardson, referring to how Green’s district would be absorbed into the vacant district and become less heavily Black. “The Texas congressional map is an obvious racial gerrymander.”

Green’s current district includes a portion of the Greater Houston area, and the Black voting-age population is estimated to drop from 39% to 11% under the proposed map changes.

More than anything, Richardson said, the mid-decade redistricting battle is leaving Black voters out in the cold. She added that this fight also sheds light on the continuing importance of the Voting Rights Act when it comes to protecting Black voter strength.

Green, who has represented his district for two decades, isn’t running in the special election but has publicly hinted that he might run in the District 18 primary in March. Green’s office didn’t respond to Capital B’s request for an interview.

To Blacklock-Sloan, it’s “unbelievable” how Green is being treated through the redrawing of his district. 

“He and others have been fighters for us — on women’s issues, on civil rights issues, on criminal justice issues,” she said. “They’ve gotten funding for Houston whenever there have been floods here. I’m just aggravated more than anything, and we need somebody who’s going to fight, who’s not afraid.”

Davis echoed Blacklock-Sloan’s sentiments, underscoring the need for someone who can boldly be the face of District 18.

“This district is important, and the people and contributions the person representing this district must place on their back and carry forward are important,” Davis said.

“District 18 has made America greater, and it will continue to do so, no matter who’s elected — because the constituents will demand that the person representing us serve this nation well.”

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