Update from OneVirginia2021
To our community:
It has been a very difficult time for so many in Virginia and across the globe. To our supporters and friends that are working towards ending racism and injustice, please know that OneVirginia2021 echoes your simple but powerful message of solidarity: Black lives matter.
In the aftermath of the violence against George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Nina Pop, Marcus-David Peters (and too many others), the recent demonstrations have once again brought issues of systemic racism to the forefront of national discourse.
Historian Brent Tarter’s 2019 book “Gerrymanders: How Redistricting has Protected Slavery, White Supremacy, and Partisan Minorities in Virginia” reminds us that the link between overt racism and electoral district boundaries has not been a secret throughout American history – it remains inextricable and impossible to ignore.
This is one of the biggest reasons why our organization has been working towards reforming this broken process for so long. Finding a better way to draw fairer district maps is one small, but important part of fixing an institutionally racist electoral system in Virginia and across the United States.
With that, OneVirginia2021 and OneVirginia2021 Foundation would like to announce the following tangible actions we are taking, and we call upon our supporters to join us in these efforts:
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First, we will soon be co-hosting a virtual town hall meeting to discuss the past, present and future of racial gerrymandering in Virginia. This community discussion will be moderated by Bobby Vassar, a member of our Foundation’s board and longtime Congressional legal counsel. Our hope is to bring together scholars, subject matter experts and community members to continue this important ongoing dialogue. This will be happening in the coming weeks, and additional details are forthcoming.
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Second, if you are able, we urge you to volunteer your time, money and/or talents to organizations fighting for social justice and voting rights in Virginia and across the country – many of which are partners with us in the fight for fairer maps. Some of these organizations include the ACLU of Virginia, Brennan Center for Justice, Campaign Legal Center, Equal Justice Initiative, FairVote and the Virginia NAACP State Conference.
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Third, we want to redouble our existing efforts to listen to and learn from national experts about the ills of racial gerrymandering, with an emphasis on lifting Black voices.
As a start, we have provided additional educational resources below:
Further, in the spirit of ongoing dialogue, we encourage anyone reading this note to share your ideas, suggestions, questions and personal perspectives on how our organization can work more effectively to empower Black Virginians across the Commonwealth. You can reach us at director@onevirginia2021.org.
We are committed to continuing this important conversation and, by extension, the emotional work facing all of us ahead.
Thank you for listening to our thoughts. Now we’d like to listen to yours.
OneVirginia2021
