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Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce • 485 Madison Avenue, Suite 401, New York, New York 10022, United States • 2127514691
The Shape Of Things: NC-06
The district: North Carolina's current 6th Congressional District represented by Mark Walker. It recently underwent its second redraw of the decade, meaning its shape is shifting ahead of 2020. But the fact that it took two redraws to get to where we are is a testament to the commitment of map manipulators to do whatever it takes to maintain a partisan advantage.
How was it gerrymandered? With ruthless partisanship. After a federal court ordered the district to be redrawn because of racial gerrymandering in 2016, state legislators then decided to implement a partisan gerrymander. That district line split the campus of North Carolina A&T State University, the nation's largest historically black university, in half. Students might literally wake up in their dorms in one district and go to class in another. If a student moved across campus between their freshman and sophomore years -- they may have moved into a different district. This precise cracking of communities of interest in the district ultimately gave Republicans a 93.1% chance of retaining the seat each election.
Our Shape of Things series raises awareness about the barriers to political representation in local communities like at North Carolina A&T and provides an opportunity to support our fight for their representation. Will you consider adopting NC-06 with a recurring donation of any amount?
Who is Mark Walker? He represents the current 6th district. You may not have heard of him, but not for his lack of trying. He recently joined two dozen of his colleagues as they stormed a secure room in the U.S. House where committee members were conducting secure interviews as part of their work to investigate potential corruption within the Trump Administration. The press conference these members held was a political stunt that didn't serve the students of NC A&T, or the rest of the 6th district in any meaningful way. One of the most destructive elements of gerrymandering is that it has eliminated moderate elected officials on both sides of the aisle and removed any incentive to stand up to one's own party.
What's next? The story of North Carolina's 6th Congressional District is still being written. Last month, after a court order declared the old map couldn't be used in 2020, the General Assembly passed a new congressional map intended to remedy the previous partisan gerrymander. Although the new map still contains some partisan gerrymandering, it is an improvement and could mean that Mark Walker may face his toughest reelection yet.
In fact, instead of running in a fair 6th district, a reporter has suggested that Walker might even consider running in a more conservative district where it would be easier to win reelection. His antics as a congressman in a gerrymandered district caused his record to be so extreme that he'd rather run against a fellow Republican in a primary than appeal to moderate voters in a less "safe" district during the general election. This is what gerrymandering does. It's why it's so dangerous to our democracy.
It's also why we need to get involved. We're proud of the All On The Line community in North Carolina for making calls, attending hearings, and submitting public comments that applied pressure to legislators while they redrew the voting lines -- thanks to our strong grassroots response and the arguments of allies, the North Carolina A&T campus will be completely in the 6th district.
AG Holder said when the latest congressional map in North Carolina passed that "Citizens have a right to a fair map and we will not stop fighting until the people have an opportunity to elect a delegation that represents their will."
Will you adopt NC-06 with a recurring donation to respond to AG Holder's call to keep up the fight in North Carolina and states like it?
Thanks for reading,
Team AOTL
All On The Line is the grassroots advocacy campaign supported by the National Redistricting Action Fund.
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The district: North Carolina's current 6th Congressional District represented by Mark Walker. It recently underwent its second redraw of the decade, meaning its shape is shifting ahead of 2020. But the fact that it took two redraws to get to where we are is a testament to the commitment of map manipulators to do whatever it takes to maintain a partisan advantage.
How was it gerrymandered? With ruthless partisanship. After a federal court ordered the district to be redrawn because of racial gerrymandering in 2016, state legislators then decided to implement a partisan gerrymander. That district line split the campus of North Carolina A&T State University, the nation's largest historically black university, in half. Students might literally wake up in their dorms in one district and go to class in another. If a student moved across campus between their freshman and sophomore years -- they may have moved into a different district. This precise cracking of communities of interest in the district ultimately gave Republicans a 93.1% chance of retaining the seat each election.
Our Shape of Things series raises awareness about the barriers to political representation in local communities like at North Carolina A&T and provides an opportunity to support our fight for their representation. Will you consider adopting NC-06 with a recurring donation of any amount?
Who is Mark Walker? He represents the current 6th district. You may not have heard of him, but not for his lack of trying. He recently joined two dozen of his colleagues as they stormed a secure room in the U.S. House where committee members were conducting secure interviews as part of their work to investigate potential corruption within the Trump Administration. The press conference these members held was a political stunt that didn't serve the students of NC A&T, or the rest of the 6th district in any meaningful way. One of the most destructive elements of gerrymandering is that it has eliminated moderate elected officials on both sides of the aisle and removed any incentive to stand up to one's own party.
What's next? The story of North Carolina's 6th Congressional District is still being written. Last month, after a court order declared the old map couldn't be used in 2020, the General Assembly passed a new congressional map intended to remedy the previous partisan gerrymander. Although the new map still contains some partisan gerrymandering, it is an improvement and could mean that Mark Walker may face his toughest reelection yet.
In fact, instead of running in a fair 6th district, a reporter has suggested that Walker might even consider running in a more conservative district where it would be easier to win reelection. His antics as a congressman in a gerrymandered district caused his record to be so extreme that he'd rather run against a fellow Republican in a primary than appeal to moderate voters in a less "safe" district during the general election. This is what gerrymandering does. It's why it's so dangerous to our democracy.
It's also why we need to get involved. We're proud of the All On The Line community in North Carolina for making calls, attending hearings, and submitting public comments that applied pressure to legislators while they redrew the voting lines -- thanks to our strong grassroots response and the arguments of allies, the North Carolina A&T campus will be completely in the 6th district.
AG Holder said when the latest congressional map in North Carolina passed that "Citizens have a right to a fair map and we will not stop fighting until the people have an opportunity to elect a delegation that represents their will."
Will you adopt NC-06 with a recurring donation to respond to AG Holder's call to keep up the fight in North Carolina and states like it?
If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.
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Team AOTL
All On The Line is the grassroots advocacy campaign supported by the National Redistricting Action Fund.
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