Redistricting and race

By Vivian J. Paige

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli made headlines last fall when he said the state should not need pre-clearance of its redistricting plan from the U.S. Department of Justice, as required under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Earlier this month, it was reported that Virginia's congressional representatives had agreed to a redistricting plan that would protect all of their seats, which includes one minority-majority district among the 11.

At the redistricting hearing held Monday evening in Norfolk, it was reported that there were "repeated calls" for "new legislative district lines calculated to increase black representation in the General Assembly and Congress."

While the focus on redistricting has been at the state level, it should be noted that localities also will be affected. In particular, cities such as Norfolk, which employs a ward system, will need to redraw lines to accommodate the changes in their population.

A quick look at the U.S. Census numbers for Norfolk indicates that each of the small five wards should have a population of about 48,500. The question is whether there can be - or should be - another minority-majority ward in the city.

Speakers at Monday's hearing argued that blacks remain under-represented at the state level. Approximately 20 percent of Virginians are black, but they occupy only 12.5 percent of the state Senate seats, 12 percent of the House of Delegates seats and 9 percent of the congressional seats.

Norfolk is about 43 percent black. Overall, the city is 53 percent minority. The current council has a 5-3 white majority; the makeup is similar for most of its appointed boards.

Of the eight members of the council, the mayor is elected at large, two members each represent half of the city (superwards) and the remaining five each represent one area.

As currently configured, the two small wards currently represented by black members of council are 66 percent and 71 percent black and encompass more than 62 percent of all of the city's black residents. This virtually guarantees that those two council seats will be represented by a black member. The opposite is also true: The other three small wards, all with black populations under 30 percent, will more than likely be represented by a white member.

In a perfect world, none of this would matter. Candidates would be elected on the strength of their platforms and demonstrated ability to get the job done. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world.

In our imperfect world, there remains a need to level the playing field. It is why Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is permanent and prohibits voting practices and procedures that have a discriminatory impact.

In our imperfect world, minorities continue to be under-represented in elected office. It is why the Justice Department's pre-clearance of the redistricting plans for Virginia and most localities, including Norfolk, is required.

In our imperfect world, minority-majority districts help to ensure an equal opportunity to participate in the political process.

Norfolk and Virginia would do well to consider how to create a more perfect world.

Vivian J. Paige writes about local politics and other topics at blog.vivianpaige.com. Email: blog@vivianpaige.com.