Here is Where I Draw the Line: Redistricting in VA
By Kayla Lipscomb
When I tell people I work at Planned Parenthood, people typically are surprised. I don’t wear scrubs or have a medical degree, but I organize every day to expand access to health care as the Black Organizing Community Organizer for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia.
People are usually confused while the ‘mhm’s gather on their tongues, and those who try to care ask questions. Mostly, I see the look of relief on someone’s face when they realize that I am a nonjudgmental person they can trust if they are one of the 1 in 4 women who have an abortion in their lives.
During that connect-the-dots block of time I explain what I actually do, like voter registration, organize for political and issue campaigns, host events and build power. The confusion disappears and the engagement begins. Sometimes you may meet a new supporter or potential volunteer.
As a Black woman in advocacy, it’s exhausting and rewarding to fight for rights we should have already had. I have to explain what I do all the time because people don’t understand my job is to save the world. Also organizing is an emotional job especially since my work reflects my community, the Black community.
We speak to state legislators that help support access to health care, create events to educate, and so much more. In my role, I began to realize the importance of access to health care and voting in the Black community because these laws affect our lives the most.
There’s more to how people access health care than you think. Health policy is controlled by state legislatures that decide the policies and what citizens receiving care should do. This influences what we are able to do to our own bodies everyday from abortions to birth control to inclusive primary care to medicaid expansion. The way we put our power behind health care, and most issues that impact us on a daily basis, is by voting and selecting our state legislators.
In Virginia, recently the legislature passed the Virginia Voting Rights Act. This act will increase voting power among minorities, but that doesn’t mean that every vote counts equally. We are still in a fight for voting equality. Every Black vote needs to have the same influence on the make up of the legislature as a white vote. We need to have an equal say in choosing who makes these laws. Unfair redistricting is public enemy number one to Black voters.
So let’s take a step back. What is redistricting? Voters elect representatives from their respective districts. Redistricting happens every 10 years after the census and is the remapping of electoral boundaries, so elections are reflective of current populations and their diverse needs. In Virginia, gerrymandering, or unfair redistricting, has been used to unfairly create voting districts, and silence Black votes and voices in elections.
The Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of redrawing the map, specifically after seeing that there was illegal packing of twelve districts with Black voters in Hampton Roads. This kept Black voters in districts where they had less of an impact and kept them from having the same level of influence as their white neighbors.
Black votes can’t count equally if we aren’t in districts where our votes can make a difference. Predictive voting is not a true reflection of democracy. Too often Black citizens feel like their vote doesn’t matter allowing Black people to have an excuse not to vote or care less for voter education. Let’s change that narrative and hold our state government accountable.
We need every vote to count equally. To diminish unfair redistricting, Virginians voted to create a redistricting commission that has political diversity. And now we all need to make sure that this commission’s feet are held to the fire. We need them to see that our community will not be silenced and will fight against racist redistricting that takes away the power of our votes.
The title of an organizer has no limitations and any person can fill that role. We work in the realm of advocacy and still have the same process of work as creatives. Organizing is a social art for us and it’s how we paint a world we would want to see. I love advocacy for giving Black voices and people power. In this space, I can proudly say everything that’s messed up in the world and fight back. You can too!
~Kayla Lipscomb, Black Organizing Program Organizer, Planned Parenthood Advocates for Virginia. Kayla Renee’ Lipscomb, a recent graduate, from the illustrious Hampton University from New Jersey. My life callings are to coordinate and promote events, public speaking, social advocacy, and marketing. Kayla is working as the Black Organizing Program Organizer at PPAV. She looks forward to mobilizing the African American community through events and advocacy.
