Activism

NAACP Warns Redistricting Commission Ready to Take Legal Action Over Mapping

“We believe that maintaining the integrity of Black community boundaries is integral to electoral representation of Black residents in California and urge the Commission to consider the long-term implications of weakening historically Black-led coalition legislative districts,” wrote Rick Callendar, president of the California-Hawaii NAACP. “The iteration of the latest maps erases the culture of diversity that is ingrained in the fabric of California.”

Published

4 years ago

December 8, 2021

Oakland Post

Rick Callender, NAACP California/Hawaii president. Courtesy photo.

By Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌ | California‌ ‌Black‌ ‌Media‌

The California/Hawaii State Conference of the NAACP has informed the state’s Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC) that it is “prepared to take legal action” should the current iterations of maps stay the way they are currently drafted.

Rick Callendar, president of the California-Hawaii NAACP, said the Assembly and Senate maps the commission is proposing for Los Angeles County and areas of the East Bay will weaken Black political power.

Los Angeles County and the East Bay are regions in the state where the highest numbers of African Americans live.

“We believe that maintaining the integrity of Black community boundaries is integral to electoral representation of Black residents in California and urge the Commission to consider the long-term implications of weakening historically Black-led coalition legislative districts,” Callendar wrote. “The iteration of the latest maps erases the culture of diversity that is ingrained in the fabric of California.”

The California-Hawaii NAACP pointed out that while maps may seem to represent fair and equitable representation for communities of color, they will actually have unintended consequences in three areas of concern: minimizing Black representation, a loss of seats that will end Black political power and eliminating African-American voter influence.

“Due to rising housing costs, Black residents throughout the state of California are experiencing homelessness in record numbers and aren’t being counted in the Census. This means we lose much-needed political representation,” Callendar said in the statement released December 3.

Every 10 years, California must redraw the boundaries of its electoral districts so that the state’s population is evenly allocated among the new districts. In 2008, California voters passed the Voters First Act, authorizing the creation of CRC to draw new district lines.

On November 10, the CRC released draft maps for the state’s Congressional, Senate, Assembly, and Board of Equalization districts ahead of the California Supreme Court mandated November 15 deadline.

“These are not intended to be final maps and we strongly encourage Californians to continue weighing in until we get it right,” said CRC Chairperson Trena Turner. “A global pandemic and delayed census data would not stop this commission from delivering on its promise to create maps that encourage fair representation. We will have final maps completed and certified by the December 27, 2021, deadline.”

“This is not equitable and is a violation of the African-American community’s equal protection rights under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” Callendar wrote to CRC’s executive director Alvaro E. Hernandez. “It is also completely unnecessary and avoidable to dilute Black representation in Los Angeles.”

Callendar warned the CRC that if the maps are not equitable the next step would be litigation.

“The California Hawaii State Conference of the NAACP will not stand by and watch our communities suffer due to maps which will disenfranchise Black voters and representation,” Callendar said. “We are prepared to take legal action to ensure that our communities are protected, remain whole and strong, and our political power is preserved.”

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

6 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

2 weeks ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.