Greetings, Family, Friends, And Future Constituents:
Our stance on redistricting speaks to Arkansas’ Second Congressional District (AR-02), as well as reverberates across the nation. At this moment, Democrats hold the presidency and control both chambers of Congress. That can shift and stand on a tightrope as redistricting congeals and will be tested come the General Election.
Nationally, Republicans are creating trifectas of power and hold the majority in more state legislatures unlike any time in American history. As a result, state and federal power is held in the party’s grip. Furthermore, the consequences of their redistricting are not limited to the 2022 Congressional Midterms or the 2024 Presidential Election. They reach onward, forward, upward, and outward for a decade or more.
Civic Education
We must expand civic education and inform the citizenry of their collective megaphone. The Democratic Party must get engaged in such a way that our presence brings about greater systemic, structural, sustainable change. The Republican Party does not fear or is intimidated by the heroism of marching. What strikes a chord at the heart of democracy is voter activation and turnout. That is where Democrats ought to centralize and coalesce its focus.
The 2020 Census And Its Link To Suppression
We must address the need for an accurate census. The 2020 census undercounted Native Americans and individuals of Hispanic and African descent. There was overcounting of whites and Asians Americans. There will be sociopolitical and economic consequences to this dilemma. The most chiefly is congressional seat distribution, the impact on the Electoral College, and how redistricting maps were drawn. Secondly, the allocation of federal monies to localities are determined by the census numbers. Therefore, we are facing population suppression alongside voter suppression which is also the sentiment of Urban League Chief Executive Officer Marc Morial. National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund Chief Executive Officer Arturo Vargus expressed he had never seen the vast undercounting of the Hispanic population in his thirty-five (35) years of following the census. Additionally, Native American communities are set to lose $300 million in federal funding due to undercounting.
Partisan Gerrymandering
Partisan gerrymandering is not a new matter in the United States of America. This issue poses constitutional arguments that may be folded into the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. We are reminded that all government power is derived from the people. According to the Supreme Court Of The United States syllabus of Rucho et. al. v. Common Cause et. al., gerrymandering debases and dishonors our democracy and enables politicians to entrench themselves and their party in office.
Urban centers and the counties they are located throughout the country are divided. Arkansas' Second Congressional District (AR-02) is under the same pressures and realities. Unfairly drawn maps fling open the door and takes off the hinges to voter suppression. Local and state legislative districts were redrawn and impacted as well. The gerrymandered maps are a mirror to America which shows that discriminatory practices exist, and they are designed for people of color to lose their voice.
America will reckon with gerrymandering and its outcomes far into the future. Our democracy is literally in crisis mode. It is going to take litigation, legislation, and mobilization to address this matter. Map manipulation has happened and solidified in many states. We needed a transparent process. We needed fair representation.
Subjects around disenfranchising and minority voting are as old as America itself. The issue before us and a real and present disquietude is that when those in power feel encroached upon, they change the playing field and cheat their opponent. Instead of Republicans competing in urban America, they divide it and dilute the African American and Hispanic American voting blocs.
As Americans become more favorable to Democratic policies, the Republicans are seizing power. Let us shift the conversation and put the opposition on offense. Let us tell the truth. The Republicans cannot compete in urban America. Democrats are sitting back waiting for poor whites and those which are high school educated to rush in, but it is highly improbable. Today’s Democratic Party is racially and economically diverse and more inclusive of individuals from varying walks of life. The Democratic Party is a truer reflection of America, as well as places emphasis on enfranchisement and empowerment of minorities and women.
It is time for Democrats to have a vast field of victories. It is time to thrust ourselves into the consciousness of the country. It is time to awaken the minds of millions all over the nation. It is time for courageous conservatives to step forward and not be fretful of being primaried but stand for enfranchisement. It is time for the ideals of democracy to be bipartisan. It is time for the genuineness of goodwill to be restored. It is time for prompt improvement of people’s lives, and it must be concentrated around suffrage. It is time for constitutional interpretation and the judicial system to speak louder on the topic of redistricting and gerrymandering. It is time for state representatives and senators to search for legislative solutions to heal the soul of society. It is time to organize in a way that compels the majority and minority to listen. It is time to disallow the clock to roll back on voting rights. It is time to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and For The People Act.
The Black Vote And Cracking
The pulse and power of Arkansas’ Second Congressional District (AR-02) is held in the African American vote. The District lost approximately 22,000 black votes when the maps were redrawn. That is a travesty. Cleburne County should not have been added to the Second Congressional District. This seat as increasing become more competitive for Republicans to remain in power. Therefore, they stacked the deck to favor themselves. This is about allocation of power and activism in such a way that decides who gets elected. They seek to limit the impact of voters of color. The state's ruling party skewed the District more conservative and white deliberately.
Cracking refers to legislators splitting up voters in disparate districts to dilute the vote. I am boldly predicting that if We the People do not fight harder in the courts and at the ballot box, the division is only beginning. It will rear its head again in 2030. Gradualism is their game and was during the Civil Rights Movement.
We ought to seriously and with intentionality utilize the exceptional work of Arkansas Political Cartographer Kwami Abdul-Bey. He has masterfully constructed federal, state, and local maps in such a way which reflects our state's diversity and inclusiveness. The African American elected officials of the Reconstruction Era would likely give a nod to his work.
We the People must show the Republican Party that they cannot and will not hold power forever. Arkansas is changing. America is changing. In the words of my mentor, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., "The South belongs to Democrats." We the People must rise up and vote come May 24 and November 8. People of color and liberal leaning whites are Americans, too. We are patriots, too. We have strong work ethic, too. We love America, too.
Special Acknowledgements: Redistricting
I would like to give special appreciation and acknowledgement to Sen. Linda Poindexter Chesterfield, Sen. Joyce Elliott, Sen. Clarke Tucker, Rep. Vivian Flowers, and Ms. Diane Curry. Your service embodies the best of our state and nation. This campaign is built on the work and foundation you have laid. Thank you for holding up the banner on redistricting and expanding personal civil liberties and rights.
Additionally, I would like to thank the historic National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the American Civil Liberties Union for standing up against conservatives and legal theories on redistricting. Your timeless efforts to bring equality, promotion of political freedom, and eradication of discriminatory practices are to be highlighted and matched by all Americans and Arkansans.
According to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his work, Why We Can't Wait, he stated, "When such a people begin to move, they create their own theories, shape their own destinies, and choose the leaders who share their own philosophy. A leader that understands this kind of mandate knows that he must be sensitive to the anger, the impatience, the frustration, the resolution that have been loosed in his people. Any leader who tries to bottle up these emotions is sure to be blown asunder in the ensuing explosion.”
We the People of conscience ought to cultivate a path that creates opportunity for ourselves and shape a brighter destiny. We the People define how power is gained and exercised in this country. We the People must push back against the multipronged assault on democracy and suffrage. We the People must hold elected officials accountable to the promises of free and fair elections. We the People must ensure our state and nation live up to its highest ideals.
I ask that you join our journey to make Arkansas’ Second Congressional District (AR-02) blue again. With your help, we will continue to grow our momentum, shake up the district, and have a strong advocate for all the people.
Notes-
1. Our campaign will be hosting a major political rally on the steps of the Arkansas State Capitol Building in Little Rock on Sunday, May 22, 2022, at 2pm-5pm. It is centered on our slogan, “Let’s Go Onward, Forward, Upward, And Outward!” More information is forthcoming.
2. If elected, Dr. Quintessa Hathaway will break a glass ceiling for the state of Arkansas as the first person of color and African American woman to ever win a congressional seat from the state.
