This lecture closed the 2013 symposium by touching on the historical battle to ensure Blacks and Latinos are able to participate equally in the political process and elect their candidates of choice. Given the legacy of voting rights violations by the state of Texas, whereby the state has had to appear in court to defend every Congressional redistricting plan they proposed in the last four decades, this lecture touched on the ways that Texas' discriminatory history of infringing on the rights of voters of color has implications in communities of color across the U.S. This lecture discussed the propensity for coalition-districts, the statutory constraints on multi-ethnic coalition building, the implications of a winner takes all attitudes, and the role of discriminatory purpose as both an underpinning and barrier to legal strategies.