Christian Carlos. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
Every ten-year term, Alabama legislators meet to redistrict the state's districts; in order to give Alabama's votes equal weight and ensure that all communities have equal access to the decision-making processes critical to funding schools, hospitals and essential services provided by the state.
Population data shows dramatic changes in how Alabama's population is made up. That's why Ethnic Media Services released a briefing on how Alabama's grassroots organizations and coalitions have come together to ensure that state legislators develop fair maps and advocate for a voice that includes all Alabama residents, especially historically underrepresented groups, get the proper representation and resources they deserve.
Evan Milligan, Executive Director of Alabama Forward, Alabama Civic Board, said it is important that eligible Alabamians "become actively and civically involved in ensuring the proper functioning of the institutions charged with preserving the Democratic state of Alabama" in order to better represent the diverse ethnic makeup of the population.
Milligan noted that Alabama's population has grown, since 2010, by 6.3 percent, which translates into a population increase of nearly 5 million people after 10 years, according to data from the 2020 census. In Alabama, he points out, 212 seats are contested for state representative positions, of which, he denounced, 80 percent belong to the white population, compared to 36 percent in African descent and other ethnicities.
The redistricting process, Milligan says, is a multicultural movement and aims to "elect people who are sensitive to the current contrasts in Alabama, people who care about the growth of the state and know how to reflect the interests of diverse sectors of the population and do it fairly" and thereby prevent the migration of people from their hometowns because of an adverse economy.
Rodreshia Russaw, executive director of The Ordinary People Society (T.O.P.S.), a partner organization of the Alabama Election Protection Network, said it is vitally important to be clear about what redistricting is all about. "This process affects your quality of life at every level," she said. In addition, he pointed out the voting issues for people who are currently deprived of their liberty for legal reasons.
"They are our districts, we are Alabama, and we are citizens of our state, we know the landscape of our communities," Rodreshia Russaw urged to be a part of the democratic processes that directly affect the people.
Felicia Scalzetti, CROWD member of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice for the Alabama Election Protection Network, said, "You don't have to be a subject matter expert to figure out what the current needs of the population are.
Therefore, he called on the residents of the state of Alabama to "participate in the redistricting process in order to inform and give tools to the population about their current situation, because what happens in the various communities is very important to build a better future for Alabama".
Ana Espino, Executive Director of the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, said it is important to pay attention, as an ethnically diverse community, to the redistricting process that will take place very soon in the state of Alabama, as decisions will be made that affect diverse sectors of the population, especially for the immigrant community.
"We call for a holistic approach where all those responsible for overseeing the state of Alabama's democracy can participate in its process and, of course, share as much information as possible about the redistricting process," he said.
JaeYeon Irene Do, of the Alabama-Korea Educational and Economic Partnership (AKEEP), has promoted access to information about the democratic process in Alabama. In addition to the Korean population, Asian Americans should also be considered for representative office because, Do says, language is a barrier to participation for some 20,000 Koreans living in Alabama.
"I would like, in terms of education and organization, for Korean people to be able to access the services that are rightfully due to them and that many need in Alabama through the redistricting process," he said.
