By: Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper | By now, we all are aware that the President of the United States is leaving no stone unturned in his effort to hold onto power by attempting to increase Republican seats in the House of Representatives in the coming Midterm elections. While historically, Congressional Districts are redrawn after the 10-year census, mandated by the Constitution, we have just seen the Republicans in Texas redraw their Districts in an effort to create five additional seats in the House of Representatives. At present they hold control by less than five seats.
The process of drawing boundaries so as to limit the voting strength of some i.e., Blacks and Browns, while increasing the voting power of what would otherwise be a smaller number of Republicans. This is Called Gerrymandering. In response to this effort, the State of California, which has a Congressional Delegation of 52 with 12 Republicans, has, by special order of the Governor and the legislature, moved to redistrict California so as to convert as many as possible of those Republican seats to Democratic, thereby neutralizing the Texas effort to keep control of the House. The Republicans are attempting to identify other states in which to repeat this effort. If this is to be one of our first steps in stopping Trump, then every voter needs to be not only informed but also prepared to vote against this effort to change our representation in the House of Representatives in order to keep this president in power.
It is the Black Press and not social media that will keep our communities informed on this effort to set us back to pre-Voting Rights Act. The idea is to undo our social and economic gains. This is a continuation of what he is doing in every area of government. His cuts to healthcare and the dismantling of social services are but a small example of what he has in mind for those who are not among his supporters.
As the Black Press leads the charge to keep us informed, we must act on the information provided by our papers. We must energize those among us who think voting is unnecessary. We must do our part to stop every plan he brings that violates our constitutional rights. Redistricting must become one of our chief weapons against Trump as we seek to make sure that no one he supports gets elected. Let’s not sit this one out and find ourselves put out.