(COLUMBUS, OHIO 7/15/2021) – On Saturday, July 10, 2021, the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) hosted a mapmaking workshop to advocate for equal districts that fairly represent the Muslim community.
CAIR-Ohio hosted more than 80 central Ohio community members to create maps representing the perspectives of Muslim residents on a mapmaking software called Districtr. The community maps allow citizens to tell their own stories and demonstrate to official map drawers why and how communities should be kept together.
The maps were submitted to the Public Submission Portal of the Ohio Citizens’ Redistricting Commission (OCRC), a non-partisan commission of volunteer community leaders, including CAIR-Ohio Outreach Director Amina Barhumi. The community maps will be used to create a final map and “unity report,” which the OCRC will submit as public testimony in the official redistricting process.
At the event, CAIR-Ohio Community Affairs Director Whitney Siddiqi gave a presentation on the redistricting process and why it is critical that Muslim community members are not left out, split up, or ignored in the redistricting process. CAIR-Ohio provided food and drinks from Khyber Halal Gyro and Rolling Kitchen Food Truck.
The event was organized by CAIR-Ohio summer internship development program students. Over the course of six weeks, a group of five interns have been responsible for developing redistricting educational materials, promoting public hearings, and training others on how to create community maps. Other interns participated in consolidating educational resources, policy research, and legal work. Our internship program offers students an excellent opportunity to learn, interact, and grow in a friendly and diverse environment. The program is career-oriented, based on grassroots activism, and servant-leadership.
Our Fall Semester Internship application window will open at the end of July. Contact Amina Barhumi at abarhumi@cair.com or call 614-763-6557 for questions or interest.
To learn more about redistricting, visit www.cair-ohio.com/redistricting-resources.
