Over the last two years, we have watched an extraordinary battle unfold over who holds political power in America. Political maps have been redrawn again and again, dividing communities that have spent decades building civic and political power. Black and Latino voters have been the hardest hit and left to bear the brunt of the consequences.
This is not simply a fight over maps. It is a fight over whose voices count and whether our government will truly reflect the people it represents. Those trying to diminish the political influence of Black and Latino Americans are missing a fundamental reality.
Our voices will not be silenced. Our political power is growing and will continue to grow. Within the next decade, Black and Latino Americans will account for more than one-third of eligible voters nationwide.
That growing political clout cannot simply be redrawn out of existence. Over the past year alone, states across the country have undertaken a wave of mid-decade congressional redistricting rarely seen. Texas became one of the most visible battlegrounds, with political leaders redrawing congressional districts to gain additional seats in Congress.
But Texas isn’t the whole story. From North Carolina to Florida, Louisiana, Alabama and beyond, congressional lines have shifted outside the normal post-Census redistricting cycle. In several Republican-led states, predominantly Black communities have been divided among districts or absorbed into majority-white districts.
When communities are divided on a map, their concerns do not disappear. Families still have to afford groceries, housing and childcare. Parents still worry about whether their children can receive quality health care and a good education.
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