Faith leaders gathered in Kansas City said the effort to redraw Missouri’s congressional maps will diminish Black voices in politics.
The National Baptist Convention convened in Kansas City on Wednesday, as Republican lawmakers in Jefferson City inch closer to passing the so-called "Missouri First" map.
At the behest of President Donald Trump, Republicans are targeting Kansas City as they seek to split up the current 5th Congressional district and redraw Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II out of his seat.
The goal is to create a 7-1 Republican Congressional majority in Missouri, which Gov. Mike Kehoe and other leaders say more accurately reflects the state's values.
Delaware Pastor Dr. Chris Bullock, who grew up in Wichita, Kansas, is the director of the National Baptist Convention’s Social Justice Commission.
“We say to this Republican governor and this Republican legislature: Don't get clever with Cleaver’s seat,” Bullock said. “His seat should not be determined by gutter politics, but by the people's voice. The people matter.”
The GOP map proposes splitting the 4th and 5th Congressional districts along Troost Avenue, a historic racial and economic dividing line in Kansas City. The Historic Northeast, a diverse community of Black and brown immigrants and refugees, would also be split up into the new 4th, 5th and 6th districts if Republicans succeed.
Linden Bowie, president of the Missionary Baptist State Convention of Missouri, said Trump’s right-wing politics have superseded the needs of residents across the state.
“What we see now are politicians attempting to pick their voters, rather than voters picking their politicians,” he said.
Edgar Palacios, founder of local nonprofit Revolución Educativa, said the redistricting efforts are about power.
“It is about silencing Black and Latino communities, breaking apart neighborhoods that have stood together for decades, and diluting the political strength of voters who refuse to be ignored,” Palacios said.
Palacios connected the Republican gerrymandering efforts to the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing federal agents to continue carrying out Trump’s immigration crackdown in Los Angeles. The ruling said federal agents can stop and detain people based on their race, the language they speak and the type of work they do.
“The Supreme Court ruling and Missouri's gerrymander shared the same purpose: to weaken democracy by targeting communities of color,” Palacios said. “One attacks our bodies, the other attacks our ballots. Together, they tell a dangerous story that Black and brown lives are expendable and that Black and brown voices are optional.”
The National Baptist Convention also called on its 31,000 member churches to increase voter registration and democratic participation ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
“We say vote like your life depends on it,” Bullock said. “Guess what? It does.”
