APA VOICE Redistricting Task Force
Caribbean Equality Project is a leading coalition member of the Asian Pacific American Voting and Organizing to Increase Civic Engagement’s (APA VOICE) Redistricting Task Force. This year will mark the first time New York will have an independent advisory commission for redistricting neighborhoods and APA VOICE wants to make sure shared interests are reflected. Caribbean Equality Project joined the APA VOICE coalition to ensure that the interests of Indo and Afro-Caribbean immigrants are centered in legislative districts. In 2010, advocates rallied for Richmond Hill/ South Ozone Park to be united into one Assembly district and one Senate District. 10 years later, Richmond Hill/ South Ozone Park was divided into 7 Assembly Districts (Assembly Districts 23- Amato, 24- Weprin, 27-D. Rosenthal, 28- Havesi, 31- Anderson, 32- Cook, and 38- Rajkumar).
What is Redistricting?
Every 10 years after the decennial census, New York draws new maps for city, state, and congressional districts. This process, known as redistricting, is critical for ensuring fair representation and access to resources like healthcare, education, transportation, jobs, housing, and public safety for all New Yorkers. For the first time, New York will have an Independent Advisory Commission for this year’s redistricting process for state and congressional districts. The New York State Legislative Task Force Demographic Research and Reapportionment (LATFOR) is a 10-member advisory commission consisting of two members appointed by the president of the state Senate, the speaker of the state Assembly, the minority leaders of the state Senate and state Assembly and the other eight commissioners. The Independent Advisory Commission will hold public hearings this summer and fall to hear what is at stake for our communities and why our communities should be kept together.
Mohamed Q. Amin, Founder and Executive Director, Caribbean Equality Project
Our founder and Executive Director, Mohamed Q. Amin, represented the Caribbean Equality Project for the launch of the APA VOICE’s Redistricting Task Force. The Launch was held on Mar 26, 2021, in front of the Queens Public Library at Elmhurst, Queens. Press Release.
“New York City is home to both the largest South Asian and Indo-Caribbean (Guyanese, Trinidadian, Jamaican, Surinamese, etc.) diasporic populations, a contributor to the city’s economy, and language and cultural diversity, and a growing political power machine. The Indo-Caribbean population has grown exponentially in Queens and the Bronx. Richmond Hill, also known as Little Guyana, is home to the largest Indo-Caribbean community, with the Castle Hill section of the Bronx coming in second in NYC. Unfortunately, the census data will not adequately reflect the total Indo-Caribbean population in NYC. This complex history of belonging and migration have led to inadequate Census counts because some Indo-Caribbeans were forced to classify themselves as Asian, while some selected "other" on government documents. Due to this complicated history, there are discrepancies with locating the total amount of Indo-Caribbeans in NYC.” - Mohamed Q Amin- Founder & Executive Director
Why is Redistricting important?
In 2021, Caribbean Equality Project is committed to continue building Caribbean Political Power in NYC and Redistricting is one way for us to do so. For the next 10 years, redistricting will impact access to Covid-19 relief, funding for our schools, fair immigration policy, support for small business and nonprofit services and so much more. Caribbean immigrants (documented and undocumented), Caribbean-Americans, and LGBTQ+ people must be visible and active in this process to ensure our concerns are not ignored.
Little Guyana Redistricting Press Conference
On Thursday, July 22, 2021, the Caribbean Equality Project joined our APA VOICE: Voting and Organizing to Increase Civic Engagement coalition partners for a redistricting press conference at Chhaya Community Development Corporation's office in Richmond Hill, Queens. To amplify political disenfranchisement in immigrant communities, members of the APA VOICE Redistricting Task Force highlighted inequalities in Indo-Caribbean, South Asian, and Asian communities, including the importance of testifying at the New York Independent Redistricting Commission's public hearings. Currently, Little Guyana and Little Punjab (Richmond Hill and Ozone Park) are unjustly divided into 7 Assembly districts, which are 23, 24, 27, 28, 31, 32, and 38.
To promote political education among youth, our Director of Civic Engagement, Ramdat Singh was one of the lead organizers for the APA Voice’s High School art contest, with the theme of “This Is Where I Belong.” At the press conference, Ramdat, who is also a proud queer public school teacher announced the winners from Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. All the winners spoke powerfully about their pieces and places in their neighborhoods that make them feel like they belong.
As part of our nonpartisan civic engagement work, we are a leading coalition member of the APA Voice redistricting task force, which supports our organizing to encourage voter participation and education, as we continue to build Queer Caribbean political power around NYC.
We need your help to build immigrant political power in New York State! Please complete the following survey, so that we can get helpful insights into the current districts that you live in, tinyurl.com/apavoicesurvey. If you do not know which legislative districts you live in, you can find out at https://www.mygovnyc.org.
