Latino Voting session focuses on redistricting

Fred Kuhr
May 14, 2001
PROVIDENCE -- According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the Latino population in Rhode
Island almost doubled over the last decade.

But who is going to make sure that Latinos will be represented accordingly in the state
legislature and Congress after the upcoming redistricting and legislative downsizing?

With that question in mind, staff members from the New York City-based Puerto Rican
Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF) came to Providence this past weekend to
help form the Statewide Latino Voting Rights Committee of Rhode Island.

The establishment of this committee was just one part of the Latino Voting Rights
Conference of Rhode Island, held on Saturday at the Center for Hispanic Policy &
Advocacy (CHisPA) on Elmwood Avenue in Providence.

The PRLDEF has already facilitated such conferences and established similar committees
in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Florida.

Local activists praised the idea of crafting a committee that would help to ensure better
political representation of the state’s Latino community.

"Part of our mission here at CHisPA is to look at this issue strategically," CHisPA
Executive Director Luisa Murillo said. If we can ensure that the [district] lines are drawn
to better represent our community in the legislature, that benefits CHisPA and our entire
community."

Noting that the conference brought out a very multicultural crowd, Tomas Avila,
treasurer of the Rhode Island Latino Political Action Committee, said, "We may call
it the Latino Voting Rights Project, but redistricting doesn’t know race or ethnicity.
It affects everyone."

Redistricting is the process by which lawmakers redraw district lines for seats in the state
Senate, state House, and U.S. Congress. The process, which takes place every 10 years, is
based upon new population data garnered from the U.S. Census.

This year, the General Assembly has also been given the charge to downsize itself, further
complicating the redistricting process. Angelo Falcon, PRLDEF’s senior policy
executive, impressed upon those in attendance that redistricting is not merely a political
issue, but also a civil rights issue.

While Falcon noted that redistricting is an exercise in "€community empowerment,"€ he

cautioned that it is not a cure-all. "We must also vote, field candidates for office, and raise
money," he said.
Part of the new emphasis on increasing the Latino presence in different levels of
representative government comes from Census numbers showing tremendous growth in
the Latino population.

From 1990-2000, the Latino population grew 57.9 percent nationally and 98.5 percent in
Rhode Island. Latinos now account for 8.6 percent of the state’s population.

Central Falls has the heaviest concentration of Latinos in the state, with 47.8 percent of
the city’s population identifying as Latino. Providence is second with 30 percent.
Pawtucket is third at 13.9 percent.

"Part of our problem used to be that we were invisible," said Falcon. "Now with Ricky
Martin and salsa, I guess we’re visible," he joked.

State Sen. Robert Kells, a Providence Democrat, represents the most Latino Senate
district, with 49.7 percent of the district’s residents identifying as Latino. State Rep.
Anastasia Williams, another Providence Democrat, represents the most Latino House
district, with 55.7 percent of the district identifying as Latino.

The problem for some activists, however, is that a number of the most highly Latino
districts are not represented by Latinos. In many cases, this is because the districts
include many non-Latino neighborhoods in neighboring cities like Cranston and Johnston
which have very little in common with the Latino precincts.

This is where redistricting has civil rights implications, explained Falcon.

Even on the congressional level, Latinos can play a pivotal role in redistricting, he said.
In District 1, which includes Pawtucket, Central Falls and the rest of the Blackstone
Valley and is represented by Patrick Kennedy, the Latino population amounts to 7
percent. In District 2, represented by James Langevin, Latinos account for 10.2 percent of
the population.

Due to population shifts, District 1 must give up 2.6 percent of its population to District
2. Falcon explained that since the line separating the state’s two congressional districts
cuts right through heavily Latino neighborhoods in Providence and other communities,
where the line gets moved could have a significant impact on how Latinos are
represented in Congress.

For more information, call the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund at 212-
739-7501 or 800-328-2322, ext. 9+7501, or call the Center for Hispanic Policy and
Advocacy at 467-0111.

©The Pawtucket Times 2001