Power in Numbers, Silence in Maps: A Mid-Decade Redistricting Fight for Racial Justice in Texas, by Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

Power in Numbers, Silence in Maps: A Mid-Decade Redistricting Fight for Racial Justice in Texas

by 

Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

The Houston hearing on redistricting was especially animated—you can listen to it here. The community has spoken. To get a sense of perspective, here is the demographic breakdown that typically informs redistricting—albeit not mid-decade redistricting decisions, which makes the current moment an alarming outlier. This deviation is directly attributable to Donald Trump, who explicitly called on Texas lawmakers to redraw maps in his favor by securing more white, Republican-leaning seats in Congress. 

The goal? To tip the fragile partisan balance, so that Donald Trump can shield himself from political accountability, and entrench minority rule in a state whose population growth has been overwhelmingly driven by communities of color. In essence, this maneuver seeks to weaponize redistricting—not as a reflection of demographic reality—but as a tool for partisan and racial power preservation.

As I describe in an earlier post, these are sin vergüenza, or shameless, politics. Heck yeah, people are angry.

Texas gained 4 million new residents between 2010 and 2020—the largest numerical increase of any U.S. state during that decade. Here's the racial and ethnic breakdown of that growth:

• 1.98 million were Latino or Hispanic

• 613,092 were Asian American

• 550,887 were Black

• 187,252 were white (non-Hispanic)

In other words, over 95% of the state’s growth came from communities of color. Latinos alone accounted for nearly half of that increase, while Black and Asian American populations also grew substantially. In stark contrast, white (non-Hispanic) Texans made up fewer than 1 in 20 of the new residents. These numbers reveal a profound demographic transformation: the population growth that earned Texas new congressional seats and political clout was overwhelmingly driven by people of color.

Yet despite this reality, current redistricting efforts—particularly this mid-decade attempt—continue to sideline the very communities responsible for the state’s expansion. Partisan gerrymandering tactics like packing voters of color into a limited number of districts or cracking them across many remain prevalent, effectively diluting their political voice. 

When district lines are drawn in ways that suppress representation rather than reflect it, the process becomes not just politically manipulative—it becomes racially discriminatory. Such actions fundamentally violate the principles of democratic fairness and challenge both the spirit and the letter of the law of the Voting Rights Act.

Even more concerning is the continued overrepresentation of white Texans in political power structures. Although they accounted for less than 5% of the state’s growth, redistricting proposals often seek to preserve or expand white-majority and Republican-leaning districts. 

This creates a deep misalignment between the population and its political representation, reinforcing long-standing patterns of racial exclusion. In doing so, redistricting becomes a tool not for fair governance, but for protecting the power of a shrinking demographic at the expense of an increasingly diverse majority.

At the end of the day, we must get these folks who are protecting their own incumbencies and colluding with Trump to tip the scales in Congress—out of power. This is why these hearings—and our voices—matter.