Draw the Line

Ellen McGirt

The Supreme Court has gutted the Voting Rights Act

On April 29th, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Louisiana v. Callais, a case which purported to examine whether Louisiana’s latest congressional map was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Design Observer was already in this story when it landed, and I want to tell you why and what we know.  The 6-3 ruling, written by Justice … Continued

The Observatory Newsletter

Ellen McGirt

The line, now drawn

I spent last week watching redistricting in action In his recent oral arguments, Chief Justice John Roberts described Louisiana’s newly defunct 6th Congressional District as a snake, a caustic nod to the way it wound across the state, spanning some 200 miles connecting parts of Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Alexandria, and Lafayette.  

Arts + Culture

Martín Zabaleta|Peru’s Sacred Valley

Designing with the Andean principle of Ayni: “What will we choose to give back?”

How the Quechua word for reciprocity can guide a new design philosophy