general
The Principles for Equitable and Inclusive Civic Engagement: “In our more disadvantaged communities, decades of neglect and disinvestment, along with economic and racial inequality, have robbed these communities of healthy civic engagement supports. This results in bleak engagement environments that often separate vulnerable residents from opportunities to make a difference in their communities. Further, inadequate support for engagement weakens their ability to influence the policies that drive community investment. Residents in these communities have been deprived of the resources necessary to collaborate effectively to ensure justice and create meaningful opportunities to succeed through investments in schools, parks, fresh and affordable food, preventative health care facilities, day care, community policing, block watches, credit for home improvements and green weatherizing, community gardens, and a host of other opportunities.”
Unequal Opportunities for Civic Participation: Barriers to participation include home ownership, trust in government, differential treatment of voters and differential outreach to specific voters to participate in civic-minded activities. “Education, income, and occupation. When education, income, and occupation are held constant, African Americans participate in most political activities (campaigning, contributing, contacting elected officials, registering, and voting) at a rate equal to or greater than Whites. On the other hand, even controlling for these factors, Latinos are less likely to participate in political activities, in part because of naturalization and residency requirements. The same findings hold for non-political civic engagement, such as charitable work and contributions. Because African Americans and Latinos as groups have lesser educational, income, and occupational opportunities than Whites as a group, their civic participation rates are predictably lower.”
voting rights
Get Voter Registration Facts in Maine: this tool breaks down voter registration by state, race, and age. See where Maine is at in comparison to the rest of the country. Take notice where and with what demographics there are disparities.
ACLU Voter Suppression Facts: Get some quick facts on what laws and policies can mitigate voter suppression. When Maine passed laws fighting voter suppression in 2008, it was one of the states with the highest voter turnout.
Project FiveThirtyEight Interactive Map: This resource shows what proper redistricting should look like, what districts who have been gerrymandered look like, and breaks down data by race and population. Check out Maine’s data & districting.
Southern Poverty Law Center Voting Rights: Learn more about voter suppression in the United States, which is more pervasive in predominately black communities.
The Twisted History of Gerrymandering in American Politics: Learn about the history of gerrymandering and its role in politics today.
Minority representation
Pew Research Center: Blacks have made gains in U.S. political leadership, but gaps remain: “Data from the past 50 years reveal the upward yet uneven trajectory of black political leadership in America. In 1965, there were no blacks in the U.S. Senate, nor were there any black governors. And only six members of the House of Representatives were black. As of 2019, there is greater representation in some areas – 52 House members are black, putting the share of black House members (12%) on par with the share of blacks in the U.S. population overall for the first time in history. But in other areas, there has been little change (there are three black senators and no black governors).”
Pew Research Center:The changing face of Congress in 6 charts: see how the demographics of Congress have evolved over time. Good news: the 116th Congress is the most diverse in the country’s history. However, “Despite this growing racial and ethnic diversity, Congress still lags the nation as a whole: The share of nonwhites in the United States is nearly double that of the country’s legislative body (39% vs. 22%).”