LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — The Louisiana chapter of Black Voters Matter, a voting rights organization, partnered with several other civil and voting rights organizations in the state to host a virtual press conference Tuesday to call for a veto of the recently-redrawn legislative maps.
The Louisiana legislature redrew the maps during the Redistricting session. Black Voters Matter (BVM) says that the new maps are racist, and the legislature failed to protect Black people’s voting power. BVM also said that the redistricting session adjourned without one map that added an additional majority-minority district.
BVM and its partners held the virtual press conference to announce the “Point ‘Em Out” campaign. Among the campaign’s purposes are raising awareness about elected officials’ roles in pushing the maps and holding them accountable for what BVM calls racism that went into the drawing of the maps.
The Louisiana Legislature not only voted for the new maps but also rejected other proposals to create fairer voting maps, BVM said.
BVM and partners are calling on Gov. Edwards to veto the maps, and they’re also pushing the Point ‘Em Out campaign to let Louisianans know which lawmakers helped block the fairer maps. They say those lawmakers include the following: Sen. Regina Barrow, Rep. Marcus Bryant, Rep. Jason Hughes, Rep. Ken Brass, Rep. Adrian Fisher, and Rep. C. Travis Johnson.
Rev. Wilfred Johnson, a New Iberia pastor, said that it’s important to be activists and inform the community in order to bring about change.
“How do we hold them [the aforementioned lawmakers] accountable? We get out in the streets and we let the people know what they did,” said Johnson. “If you don’t act in the way we need you to, we’re going to get you out of office.”
Civil rights advocates are asking that Edwards veto the maps and consider fairer ones. They say that doing this will protect Black voters in Louisiana.
“I remember when Black communities mobilized to elect our governor and now we’re asking that he veto the maps to protect Black voters,” Omari Ho-Sang, the Louisiana coordinator for BVM and director of All Streets All People (ASAP) said.
“We got our phone banks ready, we got our scripts ready, and if we have to go back to the Louisiana capitol I guess we’re going to get ready for that,” said Keturah Butler-Reed, a regional organizer with BVM.
The BVM partners that were represented at the press conference were the following organizations:
- All Streets, All People (ASAP)
- A New Chapter PUSH
- NAACP
- The Jeremiah Group
- Lead Louisiana
- The United Ballot PAC
- The People’s Promise
- A Bella La Femme Society
To learn more about Black Voters Matter, text WEMATTER to 25225, or visit their website.