NEWARK – A coalition of racial justice organizations will hold a virtual press conference on Tuesday to present its proposed congressional redistricting map (“the Racial Equity Map”) that prioritizes racial equity and fair representation for communities with shared interests. The Racial Equity Map, which was submitted to the Congressional Redistricting Commission on Sunday, includes six people of color majority districts.
Congressional lines are redrawn every ten years based on the latest Census data.
The organizations supporting this map include the Association of Black Women Lawyers – NJ; Fair Share Housing Center; Faith in New Jersey; the Inclusion Project at Rutgers Law School; Latino Action Network; Latino Coalition of New Jersey; League of Women Voters of New Jersey; Make the Road New Jersey; NAACP State Conference; New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice; New Jersey Appleseed; New Jersey Black Issues Convention; New Jersey Institute for Social Justice; New Jersey Working Families; SALDEF, Salvation and Social Justice and United Black Agenda (the “Racial Equity Map Coalition”).
“According to the latest Census, New Jersey is now over 48% people of color, yet our political maps far from represent that reality. We now have a once in a decade opportunity to correct that,” said the Racial Equity Map Coalition. “With white supremacy on the rise and policies sweeping the country that suppress the vote and harm communities of color, prioritizing racial equity in our map is more important than ever.”
The Racial Equity Map Coalition added, “Last cycle, the Redistricting Commission adopted a map that over-represented white communities. Over the last decade, all the population growth in the state has been from people of color – and our map should reflect that. We urge the Commission to adopt the Racial Equity Map we have submitted so that communities of color and communities that share interests are given fair representation in New Jersey.”
The Racial Equity Map will be available online when the press conference begins at www.njisj.org/redistrictingnj
WHAT: Virtual Press Conference to release Racial Equity Map for congressional redistricting
WHERE: Register and join virtual press conference at: bit.ly/RacialEquityMap
WHEN: Tuesday, December 7, 2021 at 4 p.m.
Coalition members will be available for comment.