(COLUMBUS, OHIO 8/17/2021) – On Wednesday, August 11, 2021, and Saturday, August 14, 2021, the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) hosted redistricting education and mapmaking workshops at the Dayton Mercy Society and the Midpointe Library West Chester to advocate for equal districts that fairly represent the Muslim community.
CAIR-Ohio hosted around 30 Dayton community members and 15 Cincinnati community members to share how redistricting works and how it directly impacts the voting power of the Muslim community. The events also included a workshop on creating maps representing the perspectives of Muslim residents using a 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 events, 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. Local resident and former CAIR-Ohio intern Amina Wase also helped organize the Dayton event and encouraged community members to get involved and give testimony at upcoming public hearings. CAIR-Ohio provided food and drinks from Bella Sorella Pizza Food Truck in Dayton and Q Barbe Q in West Chester.
CAIR-Ohio is a proud member of the Ohio Citizens’ Redistricting Commission, Equal Districts Coalition, and the Equal Districts – Grassroots Mobilization Subcommittee. The organization has been engaged in the fight for fair maps this summer through community events, training citizens on mapping submitting community maps, distributing educational materials, testifying at hearings, and speaking at town halls.
Community members can fight for fair maps and against gerrymandering by:
- Learning more about redistricting in Ohio at cair-ohio.com/redistricting-resources.
- Attending an Ohio Redistricting Commission Public Hearing. Hearings are scheduled across the state from Aug. 23-27. View the full schedule here.
- Submitting testimony in the official redistricting process and ensuring your perspective on your community is heard. Contact CAIR-Ohio Policy Director Tala Dahbour at tdahbour@cair.com or 614-401-2920 if interested.
