The Map Is The Message: Why Redistricting Is A Black Issue

What’s happening and why it matters right now!

Ohio is redrawing political maps for the Statehouse and Congress. How those lines are drawn will decide who speaks for our neighborhoods, who gets resources, and whether our votes actually translate into power. We’ve lived this before: when maps are drawn to split Black communities (“cracking”) or stuff us into as few districts as possible (“packing”), our power gets watered down on purpose. That’s gerrymandering and it steals our say without taking our right to vote on paper.

Based on this current climate we must name what’s at stake and give people a clear path to act.

This is not new: a brief history we carry with us

From Black Reconstruction to today, when Black voters organize, new barriers follow. Poll taxes and literacy tests were one era. Map manipulation is the modern one. In Ohio, courts have already said recent maps were unconstitutional. Still, the cycle repeats: lines get drawn that slice through Black neighborhoods in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, Akron, Youngstown, Lima, Sandusky leaving us with representatives who don’t live near us, don’t share our priorities, and don’t have any desire to listen.

That’s why we say: the map is the message. It tells you who belongs inside the circle of power and who’s kept out.

What “loss of representation” really means 

Fewer champions at the table: It becomes harder to elect leaders who know our communities and will fight for them.

• Less leverage over laws: Policies on housing, policing, schools, transit, and health move forward without our needs centered.

• Fewer resources: Funding is not given to support projects that meets our needs, grants, and corporate giving skip us all together.

Confusion by design: One neighborhood gets split into multiple districts; people don’t know who to call, and that confusion is the point. If we don’t choose our maps, we don’t truly choose our future.

What this looks like in real life

• A single Black neighborhood carved into three districts each rep claims “you’re not my priority.”

• Districts stretched 50–100 miles to breakup city voters with distant areas that don’t share our needs.

• Black-majority areas represented by officials who rarely show up and ignore our real community issues until election time.

• Laws pass that hurt us and even with high turnout, we can’t vote out the people responsible because the map protects them.

  
  

What we can do together, right now

1) Testify—your story on the public record

We must tell our own truth. Short, powerful testimony moves people and builds the record for challenges.

How to testify (simple steps):

• Write 1–2 pages (or a 2–3 minute statement) that covers:

  • Who you are and where you live.

  • How past maps have split your neighborhood or silenced your vote.

  • What you need from fair maps (share your lived experience, keep communities intact, representation, competitive districts).

• Include a specific ask: “Keep [your neighborhood/ZIP] whole in one district” or “Stop pairing our city with distant counties.”

• Submit written testimony and, if possible, speak live

Where to watch and prepare:

• The Ohio Channel — live hearings & archives: www.ohiochannel.org

• OLBCF will help you draft and submit testimony office@olbcfoundation.org.

2) Tell the Redistricting Commission what you want

• Review drafts and submit comments: redistricting.ohio.gov

• Ask direct questions:

  • Why is my neighborhood split among multiple districts?

  • Why does this district stretch far outside our city?

  • How does this map increase—not reduce—Black voting strength?

3) Contact your Statehouse leaders

• Share your testimony with your State Representative and State Senator (find them via the Ohio General Assembly site).

• Tell them: “Keep our community whole. We expect a map that strengthens not weakens, Black political voice.”

4) Organize your block

• Host a quick testimony night at church, the rec center, or your living room.

• Help elders and first-time voters submit statements.

• Use one page of shared talking points so we sound unified and strong.

  
  

What fair maps should look like 

Keep communities intact: Neighborhoods and municipalities, especially Black communities, should not be sliced apart.

• Compact and sensible: No more bizarre shapes and long stretches that make no geographic sense.

• Reflect the data: Districts should mirror real population and racial demographics not partisan voting.

• Accountability built in: Clear, public criteria and transparent hearings, with responses to public testimony on the record.

  
  

Why OLBCF matters in this fight

We are here so our people don’t have to decode policy alone. We translate the process, train neighbors to testify, and push for maps that make our votes mean something. Our mission is simple: protect and build Black political power in Ohio. That means this map fight is our fight.

We know our history. We recognize the playbook. And we cannot sit out. If the map is the message, then let our message be: keep our communities whole, respect our voice, and let our votes choose our leaders not the other way around.