(l-r) Johanna López, Member of the Orange County School Board, District 2; Kira Romero-Craft, Director of the Southeast Region, Latino Justice PRLDEF; Reverend Jose Rodriguez, Jesus of Nazareth Episcopal Church in Oviedo, Florida

Politics in the United States – a subject that has become the talk of every party, gathering, and discussion today. This new critical lens on politics has identified pitfalls of our democracy and how it fails to serve growing minority populations in certain regions.

Redistricting has become the new talk of the town. Where California seems to have excelled in creating equitable maps that would allow fair representation for communities, Florida has taken a more closed-door approach with an ‘open-door’ facade.

Census data show Florida’s largest growth over the last decade has come from Latinos and other communities of color. Latinos now comprise over 25% of the state’s population. In a press briefing hosted by Ethnic Media Services, experts discuss the impact of the new political maps poised to be approved by the Florida legislature. Speakers share that the new maps deny fair and equitable representation at the state and federal levels for the next decade, further widening the socio-economic disparities that already exist within the state.

Speakers:

  • Kira Romero-Crofts, Executive Director, Latino Justice
  • Johanna Lopez, Orange County School Board member
  • Cecilia Gonzalez, a community member of Osceola County
  • Father Jose Rodriguez, Jesus of Nazareth Episcopal Church, Oviedo, Fl.

The panelists share that the current maps poised to be approved by state legislation will work against the growing Latino community in Florida. Speakers highlight that with the current redistricting tactics, Florida blocks out communities of color and underrepresents the community at the state and federal levels.

The actions Florida took against the Latino community start with making commentary and public discussions inaccessible. Shutting the voices down by shunning Spanish speakers for their language barriers and avoiding public hearings altogether lead some in the community to believe that the maps were drawn in a closed-door environment, as pointed out by Cecilia Gonzales.

The current maps constitute inequitable districts leading to a more marginalized voice for the Latino community. Kira Romero-Crofts points out that vote dilution is a cause of concern from the maps. With vote dilution, the new political maps will pack Latinos to certain districts and limit power. Father Jose Rodriguez talks about division being a major concern with the new maps. By dividing the community into different political districts, Latinos’ voices will be diminished leading to a lack of necessary resources and lack of proper representation. The same holds for schools as well.

According to Johanna Lopez, there is already a significant resources gap in the Orange County, Florida school district. She also points out that this is the 9th largest school district in the nation, however, they face budget and resources issues due to a lack of proper representation.

Kira notes that the community is simply asking to slow down the process and get an opportunity to testify the maps for a more equitable representation. Speakers urge Florida legislators to consider that the lack of proper representation and a proper voice in the democracy could lead to significant repercussions for communities of color in Florida.

Looking at schools in Orange County, Florida, because of improper funding and the resource gap, veteran teachers and staff didn’t receive their well-deserved raises because of the funding lock from the state. 51% of the schools’ budget comes from the state. In-school initiatives and programs have also taken a hit and become limited due to the lack of funding.

With equitable voting rights presently taking the hot seat in our nation’s politics, redistricting political districts in states have a major impact on equal distribution of power and a fair voice for all communities. As moderator Pilar Marrero sums it up, this isn’t a battle between Democrats and Republicans, redistricting impacts everyone.

The solution is simple. The community wants to show up and participate in the democracy. Ideally, politicians should be working for their community and the community should have the power to give power to politicians or even take it away if needed. Every speaker, however, echoed one message to combat voice suppression – getting educated, properly informed, and actively participating in our democracy.