Redistricting silences Black voters

Black Hoosier voices – and our vote – are under attack.

Following Texas, Indiana is the latest state where the Trump administration has called for our state legislature to redraw our Congressional districts five years early because Doanld Trump wants even more power and tighter control of Congress.

The Constitution mandates the government to conduct a census every 10 years, not five. The purpose is to count how many people live in each state and city and “draw” Congressional districts according to those population changes – so everyone is counted and represented fairly.

In Indiana, we currently have nine Congressional districts. Two are held by Democrats, and seven are held by Republicans. Donald Trump now wants to make all nine districts Republican, and white-out the two districts with the largest minority populations in the state.

I’m proud to serve as the Dean of the Indiana delegation, and the only Black Member of Congress from Indiana. My colleague, Democratic Congressman Frank Mrvan, represents a large, vibrant Black community, including Gary. This district is also targeted by redistricting.

Mid-decade redistricting is unfair.

It will dilute and disenfranchise Black and Brown voters.

It will block us from electing a representative of our choice, to serve our own communities of interest.

It will disenfranchise historic communities and rip apart urban communities.

It’s just as wrong as denying the vote by race. Unfair redistricting is one of the most urgent voting rights issues for Black Americans since the Jim Crow era.

It was just 60 years ago in August that the United States passed the Voting Rights Act. A law to give me the right to vote. A law to give YOU the right to vote. A right that is sacred, non-negotiable, and ours – not Donald Trump’s to take away.

The Voting Rights Act was a long-fought battle. Freedom fighters marched for change – and today, it’s our turn.

There are frightening similarities between today and 62 years ago.

The National Guard has taken over our nation’s capital, targeting Black and Brown communities. Masked ICE agents are snatching people off the streets. The administration is shutting down DEI, federal civil rights protections, and minority business programs. It continues to ignore the law and our Constitution. They are abusing the authority that the American people have entrusted to them. Instead of serving our fellow Americans, they threaten, bully, and intimidate the American people. Donald Trump has threatened to use the military against Americans in other states, including Indiana.  

Meanwhile, MAGA extremists are using their power to benefit billionaires, not the middle class. They are slashing programs like Medicaid and SNAP and trying to privatize Social Security. The cost of living has gone up dramatically – while the ultra-wealthy get even richer. Black and Brown Hoosiers are being torn apart from their families and detained without due process.

Censoring dissent is a key to Trump’s strategy — especially smart, talented Black public servants. A weaponized Department of Justice is now investigating New York Attorney General Leticia James, who obtained convictions against Trump on 34 felony counts of fraud.  Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, with a Ph.D. in Economics and the first Black woman to ever serve as a Governor of the Federal Reserve, is the latest victim of a politically motivated investigation. She’s fighting back by suing the president.

Now, this redistricting scheme threatens to further silence MAGA’s political opponents.

These are hard times for our country. But we still have our vote and our voice. We still have the power to fight back.

The sheroes and heroes of the civil rights movement didn’t know they were making history. But they saw injustice, and they never stopped fighting to overcome that injustice.

In the coming weeks, the governor will decide whether to hold a special session in the Indiana Statehouse to vote on mid-decade redistricting. Contact the governor and your representatives at the statehouse. Make your voice heard, loud and clear: no new districts.

We need to send a message that Hoosiers will not stand for this power grab of our beloved state.   

We need to work with allies and people of goodwill across the state to speak up for what’s right. Civic groups, faith groups, fraternities and sororities, and professional groups – we need everyone’s help.

This is a fight for our whole state.  It’s a fight for fairness, something near and dear to every Hoosier – Black and white.

Our democracy is made up of the people. We the people, for the people, and by the people – and the people have power.