We want to thrive, not just survive. This was the resounding refrain from all the community of interest (COI) conversations we held throughout California this summer. At the California Black Census and Redistricting Hub (aka: CA Black Hub), a coalition of over thirty Black-led and serving community organizations, we wanted to listen deeply to the voices of our local Black communities across the state. More importantly, we wanted to share what we heard with our redistricting commissioners and you.
CA Black Hub coalition members had fifty-one conversations with over 435 Black folks across the state of California. We listened intently to the redistricting aspirations and concerns in historic and emerging Black communities–from East Oakland to Fresno, to Los Angeles, to the Inland Empire, to Southeast San Diego. Our hope is that the voices of our Black neighbors will be heard as our state prepares to redraw the Assembly, Senate, and Congressional boundaries that will define how representation and resources are distributed across California.
In these COI dialogues, we identified several communities of interest that we shared with the CA Redistricting Committee. These communities include all or parts of the following:
Inland Empire: City of San Bernardino, Rialto, Fontana, Victorville, Moreno Valley, Palm Springs, Rancho Cucamonga, Hemet, Corona, Ontario, Desert Hot Springs, Riverside
Los Angeles County: South Central, Leimert Park, Inglewood, Compton, Watts, Gardena, Hawthorne, Skid Row, Long Beach, Altadena, North Hollywood, Palmdale, Lancaster, Northwest Pasadena
San Diego County: City of San Diego (esp. City Council District 4 & 9), Lemon Grove, Spring Valley, El Cajon, South Bay
Central Valley: Bakersfield (esp. Southeast), Fresno (West/Southwest, Old Fig), Stockton, Hanford, Lemoore
Sacramento Valley: City of Sacramento
Bay Area: Oakland (City Council Districts 3, 6, and 7), Antioch, Pittsburg, Baypoint, Richmond, San Pablo, Rodeo, Vallejo
While our coalition covered a broad and diverse swath of California, we wanted to lift up the experiences of five Black community members who hosted conversations in their neighborhoods. Together, these conversations represent a handful of the themes emerging from the many stops on Our Road Trip: Listening to Black California.