Texas For All Coalition Condemns Redistricting Scheme Passed in House Without Flood Relief
AUSTIN, Texas – Today, the Texas For All coalition released the following statements condemning Greg Abbott and Donald Trump’s redistricting scheme — passed in the Texas House without a drop of flood relief for Central Texans.
“The Texas AFL-CIO and our more than 250,000 members strongly condemn this redistricting scheme and the corrupt process behind it,” said Rick Levy, president of the Texas AFL-CIO. “This fight is far from over. The way things are is not the way things have to be. We urge every person of conscience to speak out, put workers over billionaires, and fight back alongside us across the country — because working people can and must win.”
“Tens of thousands of Texans have made their voices clear: focus on flood relief, not voting maps. Yet here we are, while Texans are still picking up the pieces of their devastated communities, with no movement on flood relief. Abbott and state leadership have time to listen to Trump, but not to Texans’ needs. Governor Abbott, our message is clear: put Texans first,” said Drucilla Tigner, Executive Director of Texas For All. “For the Texans who are unsure at this moment, know this: the fight is not even close to over. State leadership is so scared of our power that they want to cheat and rig the rules to try to silence us. But together, we will fight and we will win.”
“Our fight for Texas’ future becomes clearer every day. Texans must come together to dethrone self-appointed kings and return power to the people,” said Stephanie Gomez, Political Director of MOVE Texas Action Fund. “MOVE Texas is ready to meet our communities to help them move forward in this moment. Even when they slam the door on us in the Senate, we will be there: in the chambers, in the streets, in their inboxes, exposing their actions and insisting they answer to the real needs of Texans.”
“Texas Republicans know that when we fight, we win. They’re so terrified of our power that they’ve abandoned Texans devastated by the July floods, wasted taxpayer dollars going after true leaders who broke quorum, and even held a Black representative hostage because she refused to be put under police surveillance,” said Felicia Martin, Executive Director of Texas Freedom Network. “Our state’s extremist leaders would rather let Trump take over Texas than do anything to serve the people. But no racist gerrymandering scheme can ever stop our growing, fierce movement for change that’s begun. In the face of authoritarian rule, we are building our power. We will fight. We will win. It is our only option. No map gets to decide our future. We do.”
“It doesn't take a demographer to know that squeezing five more seats out of Texas can only be done by dragging us back to an era of racial segregation and poll taxes, and adopting what would be the most racially discriminatory maps our state has seen in ages,” said David Chicanchan, Policy Director of Workers Defense Action Fund. “Folks are still reeling from the floods in Kerr County, millions of Texans are on the verge of losing their healthcare, and we've already seen our first heat-related deaths of the year. While Texans are dying, suffering, and hurting, this is how our leaders are choosing to spend their time. The least they can do for Texans who entrusted them with these positions is to do what's right by Texans and put an end to undermining our Texas democracy immediately."
“Gerrymandering our Texas map mid-decade is a power grab. This is an oppressive tactic by a broken system that favors white supremacy to silence the Black and Brown vote, especially the youth,” said Crystal Zamarron, Communications Director of Deeds Action Fund. “Young Texans are being used as pawns in a political game that would only encourage our rage to be heard. The youth deserve to live in a state where they can vote for their politicians and not a corrupt Republican cherry-pick their vote. We make decisions over our futures!”
“Republican lawmakers are intentionally diluting the rich culture and diversity of Texas’ 38 congressional districts by moving to implement these maps. This mid-decade redistricting process has been rushed from the start, and not allowing for public comment on this most recent version of the maps is unacceptable.Texans deserve better, we deserve fair maps that reflect the rich history of our state and the collective power of our vote,” said Rochelle Garza, President of the Texas Civil Rights Project.
“Representative Nicole Collier brought the repository of courage needed in this moment, allowing others to borrow from it until they were ready to stand with her,” said Shellie Hayes-McMahon, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Texas Votes. “She refused to let this racist redistricting scheme pass in silence, and her courage inspired Texans across the state to rise up and turn this into a national moment. We won’t allow this moment to fade. It moves to the courts, the streets, the ballot box, and will go down in history as the moment Texas Republicans chose white supremacy over representation, and a Black woman—as so many have before—stood up to power and lit the way forward for all of us.”
“Before passing any disaster relief, Gov. Abbott and his legislative allies redrew voting maps behind closed doors to further disenfranchise Black, Brown, and Asian American voters,” said Oni Blair, executive director of the ACLU of Texas. “It’s disgraceful that Texas lawmakers chose to advance President Trump’s extreme agenda while turning their backs on the thousands of families still reeling from one of the deadliest floods in state history. Every Texan deserves fair representation — because in a democracy, voters pick their leaders, not the other way around.”
“It is incredibly disheartening to have your elected officials refuse to listen to you—even more so when we’re all saying the same thing.” said Brad Pritchett, Interim CEO of Equality Texas. “In this case lawmakers have bent over backward to ensure that whole communities are cut out of hard won representation. Whether Black, brown, or queer, we are all Texans. A government by, for, and of the people cannot exist when lawmakers manipulate the system to secure their own power. This builds on a long history of lawmakers ignoring Texans’ voices, but it won’t shut us up. We’re only getting louder.”
“Let’s be clear, this isn’t some accident or misstep. This is how white supremacy is supposed to work,” said Brianna Brown, Co-Executive Director of TOP. “These maps are a deliberate tool to keep Black and Latino Texans out of power. They’re not broken, they’re working exactly as intended. When you see Republicans drawing maps to erase Black and Latino communities, don’t call it a failure, call it what it is: White supremacy doing exactly what it’s supposed to do. They want us silent and invisible. But we know what’s going on, and we’re not going anywhere. We’ve survived worse, and we’re not shutting up or backing down now.”
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Texas For All and Texas For All Education Fund are statewide coalitions building a democracy in which all Texans are represented, engaged, and thriving. Texas For All works collectively to defend democracy, protect access to the ballot box, and ensure that education and healthcare are accessible. Our goal is to mobilize the majority of Texans who want to create a state that works for all communities.