Civil Rights Imagery in Anti-Redistricting Mailers Draws Outrage in Virginia

A political action committee opposing Virginia’s April 21 redistricting referendum is facing sharp criticism after sending mailers to voters over the weekend that invoke imagery and language from the civil rights movement — a tactic voting rights advocates and state officials say distorts history and risks misleading voters.

The mailers, distributed by a group called Democracy and Justice PAC, led by former GOP Delegate A.C. Cordoza, feature black-and-white imagery reminiscent of 1960s civil rights demonstrations. One piece shows a photograph of a large march, with protesters, many of them Black, carrying signs as they walk down a city street.

A political mailer opposing Virginia’s April 21 redistricting referendum uses imagery from the civil rights era, including a historic march, alongside the message “Our ancestors fought to represent us.” Civil rights groups and state officials have criticized the mailer campaign as misleading and inappropriate. (Courtesy of Matt Royer)

Across the top, bold lettering reads: “Our ancestors fought to represent us.” Beneath the image, the mailer claims: “Now Richmond politicians are trying to take our districts away.”

The piece then urges recipients to “Vote No and return your ballot immediately to ensure your voice is heard!” and includes a disclaimer stating it was “Paid for by Justice for Democracy.”

The imagery and messaging, which critics say echo the language and symbolism of the civil rights era, triggered swift backlash from civil rights organizations and Democratic officials.

Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, the state’s first Black attorney general, said the mailers draw on a painful chapter of American history that should not be used as a political tool.

“I take very seriously the history that is being invoked in these mailers,” Jones said in a statement. “Reports indicate that a group opposing the redistricting referendum has sent materials to Black voters that misuse imagery from the Civil Rights Movement and even invoke Jim Crow while falsely suggesting the measure threatens Black representation.”

Jones referenced his family’s personal experience with segregation in Virginia.

“My parents and grandparents lived through the reality of Jim Crow in Virginia. They experienced firsthand what it meant when the law and the political system were used to silence Black voices,” he said.

“That history is not a political prop, and it should never be exploited in a misleading attempt to confuse voters.”

He added that voters deserve accurate information about the referendum and warned that invoking the sacrifices of civil rights activists while spreading misleading claims disrespects those who fought for voting rights.

“Virginians deserve honest information about the choices before them,” Jones said. “Invoking the pain and sacrifice of the civil rights movement while spreading misleading claims about this referendum disrespects the very people who fought to secure the right to vote and have their voices heard.”

House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, also criticized the mailers, saying the civil rights movement should not be used as a political tactic.

“The civil rights movement is not a prop,” Scott said in a statement. “The blood, sacrifice, and courage of those who marched, who were beaten, who died for the right to vote – that legacy belongs to all of us, and it will not be hijacked by shadowy GOP political operatives to deceive the very communities it was meant to protect.”

Records reveal little about group behind mailers

There appears to be little publicly available information online about a group called Justice for Democracy, the organization listed on the mailer disclaimer. But state records show that a separate political action committee — Democracy and Justice PAC —  was created on March 3 and shares the same address, according to the group’s statement of organization filed with the Virginia Department of Elections.

Both groups list their address as 123 Bulifants Blvd. in Williamsburg, the same address used by the Campaign Compliance Center. Christopher Woodfin, the firm’s head, is listed as treasurer for Justice for Democracy, and his law firm has provided legal and compliance services to Republican candidates and committees in Virginia in recent years, totaling more than $366,000.

In an email to The Mercury, Woodfin initially declined to discuss the work of the groups he represents and to identify who is behind them.

“Due to attorney-client privilege concerns, I cannot speak on any of my client’s activities short of confirming that they are a client,” Woodfin wrote. “I will forward your information to my clients.”

Later Monday, Woodfin shared a statement from Cordoza, whom he identified as chairman of both Democracy and Justice PAC and Justice for Democracy.

Former GOP Del. A.C. Cordoza of Hampton Roads is the chairman of the group responsible for the controversial mailers invoking civil rights imagery in Virginia’s redistricting referendum fight. (Photo by Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)

Cordoza, who represented Hampton Roads and was the sole Black member of the House Republican caucus until losing his reelection bid in November after serving two terms, defended the mailer campaign and argued the referendum would weaken Black voting power.

“Richmond politicians have ripped apart majority minority districts in order to increase the number of white representatives from northern Virginia,” Cordoza said in the statement.

“Dan Helmer, Don Beyer and others diluted African American vote strength to increase their own power. Plain and simple, some things never change. They help themselves, my community gets left behind.”

Campaign finance filings initially showed a $10,000 contribution to Justice for Democracy from William Fralin, an attorney and former Republican state lawmaker from Roanoke. But Woodfin said that the listing was the result of a filing error.

“William Fralin was a donor to the No Gerrymandering Virginia PAC,” Woodfin wrote, referring to a different group opposing the redistricting referendum that he also works for. “This is a completely different PAC unaffiliated with Justice for Democracy and Democracy and Justice.”

He said the donation had been incorrectly recorded and would be corrected in state filings.

In a phone interview on Monday, Fralin also said the contribution was mistakenly attributed and said he had no connection to the mailers.

“It’s a mistake, I did not donate to them,” Fralin said. He said he gave $10,000 to No Gerrymandering Virginia, which he described as a bipartisan organization.

“It got brought to my attention because these ads are misleading,” he said of the mailer campaign, adding that he strongly objected to messaging that invoked race.

“I don’t want anybody being misled, and certainly not with any sort of racial overtones,” he said. “So I disavow that.”

NAACP, voting rights advocates condemn mailer campaign

The NAACP Virginia State Conference also condemned the mailers, accusing the group behind them of using racially charged messaging to discourage Black voters from supporting the referendum.

The organization said it denounced “the manipulative mailers sent by a MAGA-aligned political action committee aimed at deterring Black voters from supporting this referendum, which falsely compare this important measure to Jim Crow — a brutal system that stripped Black Americans of their voting rights.”

The Rev. Cozy Bailey, president of the NAACP Virginia State Conference, said the referendum debate should be conducted honestly.

“While the NAACP is nonpartisan, we are deeply engaged in political advocacy to safeguard our communities,” Bailey said. “This referendum is crucial for ensuring fair representation for all communities and countering the manipulative tactics that threaten our civil rights.”

A coalition supporting the referendum, Virginians for Fair Elections, also criticized the mailer campaign, saying the materials appear designed to confuse voters about the measure.

Keren Charles Dongo, the group’s campaign manager, said the use of civil rights imagery and references to Jim Crow was offensive and deceptive.

“A MAGA-linked group is sending mailers to Black voters misusing imagery from the civil rights movement and even invoking Jim Crow — weaponizing one of the darkest chapters in our history to scare people into voting no and help Republicans rig the 2026 midterms,” Dongo said.

Dongo added that the referendum is intended to counter aggressive redistricting moves in other states and ensure congressional elections remain competitive.

Debate over referendum draws historical parallels

Still, comparisons to the civil rights era have surfaced elsewhere in the referendum debate.

Del. Tom Garrett, R-Buckingham, invoked similar themes in an interview with Cville Right Now published Wednesday, arguing the referendum could dilute conservative voters’ influence.

“This is intentionally drawing lines in order to silence minority voices,” Garrett said.

Garrett framed conservative voters as a minority in Virginia’s political landscape and suggested the redistricting plan could disenfranchise them.

“So, if we tell the truth, I don’t know how that wins,” Garrett said. “I have confidence that people from both sides of the aisle will see this for what it is.”

Speaking at a redistricting forum hosted by the Albemarle County GOP the next day, Garrett again referenced the Jim Crow era when discussing redistricting.

“If it was wrong to draw (a) line to disenfranchise people under Jim Crow … it was, right?” Garrett said. “How is it not wrong to draw lines to disenfranchise people now?”

“We’re discriminating just like we discriminated in order to get an outcome,” he added. “It’s only different based on the criteria against which we are describing, and I think it’s indefensible.”

The referendum at the center of the debate would allow Virginia lawmakers to adjust the state’s congressional districts ahead of the 2026 elections. Supporters argue the move is a defensive response to aggressive mid-decade redistricting efforts in other states that could reshape the balance of power in Congress.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, recent GOP redistricting efforts in Texas could lead to “an unprecedented loss of representation for Black and Latino communities” in that state.

“With the new discriminatory map in place for 2026, Black and Latino communities in Texas are on track to see the first legislatively enacted reduction in their electoral power since the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965,” the organization said.

Early voting for the Virginia referendum began Friday, with Election Day scheduled for April 21.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include that former Republican Delegate A.C. Cordoza issued a statement in his role as the chairman of the Democracy and Justice PAC and the Justice For Democracy PAC.

by Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury

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