Tell the Media: Expose Racial Gerrymandering

Across Southern states, new redistricting maps are once again dividing and weakening communities of color through racial gerrymandering. By carving apart neighborhoods, diluting voting power, and reshaping districts to favor partisan outcomes, these maps do more than alter elections—they fracture communities that have fought for representation and political voice for generations.

Yet too much media coverage treats these battles as abstract legal disputes or partisan maneuvering rather than examining the human impact. When districts are redrawn to split Black and minority communities apart, the consequence is not theoretical: communities lose representation, local concerns are diluted, and voters are stripped of collective political power. Framing this as technical redistricting obscures the real democratic harm.

We call on major news organizations to cover racial gerrymandering clearly and aggressively—showing how communities are being broken apart, who benefits from the maps, and what it means for voting rights and representation. The public deserves reporting that explains how political power is manipulated long before Election Day arrives.