His Father Bankrupted the Klan. Now He’s Going to Congress to Continue the Fight.

By Brandon Tensley, Capital B

It’s the start of a new political era in Alabama.

In November, Shomari Figures, a Democrat, won his race against his Republican rival Caroleene Dobson to represent Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, which had recently been redrawn to be majority Black after the U.S. Supreme Court decided in 2023 that the previous map likely violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

This triumph is, in crucial ways, a coda to the work of Figures’ father, the late Alabama state Sen. Michael Figures. He was revered in Alabama and beyond for having bankrupted the United Klans of America in 1987 through a civil suit after two of its members kidnapped and murdered Michael Donald, a Black 19-year-old. The younger Figures told Capital B earlier this year that his father’s commitment to racial justice was instrumental in helping him to choose a path, because when your father has a reputation like that, then you must find a way to improve people’s lives, too.

Now, Figures has the opportunity to do precisely that, as he prepares to kick off his first term in Congress. He and his Democratic colleagues will face an uphill battle in the House, given that Republicans enjoy a narrow majority in the lower chamber (they also flipped control of the Senate).

Keep reading to learn Figures’ campaign goals.

Discover activists that came before Figures.

More Black news.