OLBCF President Shayla L. Davis issues response to the National Redistricting Crisis and What It Means for Ohio

What we are witnessing across the South is not a coincidence. It is a coordinated rollback of Black political power, made possible by a Supreme Court that has spent the last decade dismantling the Voting Rights Act.

Tennessee carved up its only majority-Black congressional district. Louisiana just passed a map eliminating another. South Carolina is moving to break apart Congressman James Clyburn's district. Alabama is positioning to revert to maps federal courts already said violated the law. This is not redistricting. This is redlining with a different name.

The Southern playbook is louder, but it is not the only playbook. Our own map delivers 12 of 15 congressional seats to one party in a state where the vote share is closer to 55-45, packing Black voters in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo, Akron, and Youngstown into districts designed to contain our political power rather than reflect it. The result is the same: Black Ohioans absorbing policy decisions made without us at the table.

The Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Foundation will not pretend this moment is normal. Our Policy in Action book bridges our community and the legislative process, so Black Ohioans know what is moving at the Statehouse and how it touches their lives.

Our State of Black Ohio: The Voter's Voice survey is how we build the 2027 State of Black Ohio Policy Agenda, shaped by what Black communities tell us they need.

To Black Ohio: the answer is not retreat. The answer is to be louder, more organized, and more strategic than the people drawing these lines ever expected us to be. Please support us by giving your time, your talent, or your treasure to OLBCF. This is the work, and we cannot do it without you.