BATON ROUGE — The NAACP Louisiana State Conference called for the resignation of Senator John C. "Jay" Morris III on Saturday following the approval of the state's new congressional map.

The organization claimed in a letter written to Morris that Louisiana's redistricting process raised concerns "that the voices of Black voters and other historically underrepresented communities are being disregarded for political advantage."

In the letter, NAACP Louisiana State Conference President Michael McClanahan said that the issue is not the map but whether elected officials will protect the principle of fair representation.

"At a time when Louisiana should be strengthening public confidence in democracy, your efforts are widely viewed as undermining the voting strength of Black communities and disregarding the hard-fought progress made toward equal representation," McClanahan said. 

McClanahan claimed that Morris' actions "cannot be separated from Louisiana's long history of racial discrimination and voter suppression," saying that officials have a responsibility to move the state forward, not backward.

"The people of Louisiana deserve leadership that protects democracy, respects equal representation, and serves all citizens fairly," McClanahan wrote. 

WBRZ has reached out to Sen. Morris for comment.