The start of the week at the Georgia State Capitol brings many Georgians downtown for various reasons. On Monday, Dec. 4, a group of middle school students were on a tour while supporters of House Bill 161, which is also known as the “Pediatric Health Safe Storage Act”, handed out fact sheets while stationed near the ground floor security entrance. Upstairs on the fourth floor in room 450 there was a group of people gathered and information exchanged.
Octavia Coleman and her five-year-old daughter Zora were also inside the Gold Dome Monday. They were there on a business trip, according to Coleman, who is running for a seat in District 13, which is currently represented by longtime United States Representative David Scott.
“She wouldn’t let me leave the house,” Coleman joked about her daughter and not going to school that morning. “She said she was coming with me today.” Zora’s presence would come in handy, however, as she filmed her mother talking to the committee with her cell phone.
Days earlier the Georgia General Assembly, which has a Republican majority, released a first draft of the Congressional map that has not been universally supported due to how some districts with majority Black voters are being represented. U.S. District Judge Steve Jones asked that there not be new majority Black districts be created at the expense of other majority Black districts.
The Georgia Senate Redistricting Committee held a hearing in response to the backlash from both politicians and grassroots organizations. Following the hearing, there were public comments made and there were a number of people that stepped up to speak their minds while representing organizations, and in the case of Coleman, her home.
In an interview with The Atlanta Voice following the public comment phase of the hearing, Coleman expressed that District 13 is an agricultural district and shouldn’t be split up in any way. “It’s almost a slap in the face,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense, it feels like there’s a hidden agenda.”
Coleman didn’t get into what that hidden agenda was but hardly had to explain herself. The committee voted minutes earlier and voted 7-4 to leave the map as is. Only State Senators Tonya Anderson, Gloria Butler, Harold Jones II, and Ed Harbison voted in favor of redrawing the map. All four representatives are Black.
Rashidah Hassan, representing the League of Women Voters of Georgia said, “We have several concerns on the proposed Congressional maps,” during her opportunity to speak to the committee. Hassan, a member of the organization’s DeKalb County chapter, added, “Throughout the inception of this process we have consistently sought and continue to request; number one, changes to the map be limited to this required to address the remedy ordered by the court; number two, the committee should reject any and all attempts by members of either party to incorporate other changes for partisan and political purposes.”
Some of the majority Black districts that were up for discussion that morning were districts 4, 5, 6, and 13.
“When reviewing this map it is clear it does not comply with the judge’s order,” Hassan said.
Stephanie Ali, Policy Director with the New Georgia Project, said it would be important for the committee to “think about if we don’t want to spend more taxpayer money in court,” or have the map redrawn by a Special Master, and that is what will happen if the Friday, Dec. 8 deadline isn’t met. “I think this map is not going to pass muster and I hope that our committee can and will do better. We still have time to make these adjustments.”
Common Cause Georgia Executive Director Aunna Dennis also made an appearance and said there can be a middle ground met in this process. “We definitely do believe we can come together as advocates, community, and electives, we can definitely get redistricting right and make it look a little different here in Georgia,” Dennis said.
Dennis said there has been a disregard of what Judge Jones has asked the committee to do. Then added that splitting Gwinnett County in four ways would negatively impact voters of color. “We are really urging the committee to re-look at these maps and let’s try to get this right and then as we move forward in the future, let’s work on independent redistricting commissions all together.”
Along with Ali, Coleman, Dennis, and Hassan, John Moyer, senior director of policy at the Urban League, Cindy Battles with Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, and Fair Districts Georgia Chairman of the Board Ken Lawler were also given the opportunity to speak to the committee.
“On the racial demographic test we believe this map fails the test,” Lawler said. He stated that Districts 5 and 6 were already majority Black districts and didn’t need to be redrawn. “By losing District 7 as a minority district, we believe it does not pass muster, it does not meet the requirements of the court order,” he said.