Austin, Texas – This week, the Texas state legislature approved redrawn electoral maps in an attempt to cement Republican control of the state for the next decade through gerrymandering. While 95 percent of the population growth in Texas since the 2010 census is attributed to Black and brown communities, the power of these communities has deliberately been diluted in the new maps.
Juan J. Martinez-Guevara, Texas Advocacy Associate of United We Dream, said:
“Right now, millions of Texans continue to struggle as a result of Governor Abbott’s failed leadership. He neglected us during the February winter freeze and continues to fail us through a COVID-19 response that puts politics over people. Yet, rather than help Texans in need, Governor Abbott and the Texas state legislature have decided to prioritize disenfranchising Black and brown people.
The redrawn congressional maps approved by the Republican-led state legislature do not reflect the communities in Texas. Under these new maps, non-Latinx white Texans will be the majority in 60 percent of Texas Congressional districts while accounting for just under 40 percent of the Texas population. These maps are racist gerrymandering in action. Now is the time for the United States Congress to step up to ensure that Black and brown communities in Texas, and across the country, have a say in choosing who represents us to make crucial decisions that affect our everyday lives.”
