Letters: Time is running out to draw fair districts; Queer and Black communities must unite for justice, change
Time is running out to draw fair districts
June 9th was a day of action by local members of Fair Districts PA, a nonpartisan citizens group working to stop gerrymandering and to create a transparent and fair redistricting process in Pennsylvania. Frustrated by the continued lack of response from our elected officials, supporters again flooded offices in the Pennsylvania House and Senate with thousands of emails, posts and phone calls pressuring them to bring to a vote the redistricting bills that they have been sitting on for years. You may have heard the blast of car horns as ardent supporters also circled Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman’s office with messages attached to their cars. These bills (HB22/23 and SB1022/1023) establish an independent citizens commission to draw fair district lines that reflect real communities in our state and to abolish the unfair practice of political leaders meticulously cutting up the map and drawing district lines to benefit their own party. Time is running out! If there is no vote before the summer recess, it will be too late to draw fair district lines in 2021 and it will be another 10 years before reform can be revisited.
Two-thirds of registered Pennsylvania voters from both parties support redistricting reform. This is not a red or blue issue. Make today your day of action and contact your elected officials. Together we can end rigged elections in Pennsylvania. Enough is enough!
Queer and Black communities must unite for justice, change
This weekend, Centre County celebrated our first Pride festival and participated in our third Black Lives Matter protest of the month. On behalf of Centre LGBTQA Support Network, I am calling for increased coalitional activism during this critical moment. For too long, LGBTQ+ and racial justice movements have remained separate despite their ties. This Pride, following the murder of George Floyd, we stand with our Black communities, queer and otherwise, in protest against police brutality and anti-Black racism. However, this is not enough. We must work to heal the wounds inflicted within and between our communities. Black and queer lives are under attack in this country — two inextricably connected realities. The Trump administration’s recent roll-back of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act is part of a direct crusade against queer, Black and immigrant lives. In addition to eliminating trans health care protections, this action also authorized sex stereotyping and repealed protections for those who have had abortions and those who are not fluent in English. These are not disparate repeals. They are calculated, cruel attacks on our communities, dating back to a history of discriminatory medical malpractice — primarily against Black women and gender-nonconforming individuals. Given this country’s history and the pandemic’s disproportionately devastating effects on Black communities, the repeal of Section 1557 is an open assault on Black and trans lives. In response, our queer and Black communities and allies must unite to fight for justice, equity and radical change. Together we can change the world.