The topic of redistricting and its impact on communities with large minority populations in New Jersey was the focus at a free forum Saturday hosted by the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. (NCBW 100) Bergen/Passaic Chapter.

How the 2010 Census Affects Your Everyday Life: Voting, Education, Taxes, Redistricting, Government Services, Business and Healthcare drew a larger-than-expected number of people to the Richard Rodda Community Center, organizers said.

Thanking those in attendance for helping to spread the word about the event, Deborah Witcher Jackson, president of the Bergen/Passaic Chapter of the NCBW 100, said she was “really surprised” by the turnout of more than 75 people.

“Someone who works with the commission that has to do with redistricting said that this is the largest African-American turnout that they have had,” she said.

The forum included a panel discussion and a question-and-answer segment featuring:

• Ardie Walser, president of the Teaneck Board of Education
• Assemblywoman Elease Evans of the 35^th District
• Arnold Brown, an attorney and African-American historian
• Whittona Burrell with the U.S. Census Bureau
• Donita Judge, attorney and project director of redistricting for the Advancement Project
• Assemblywoman Nellie Pou of the 35^th District
• Cid Wilson, vice chair of the Board of Trustees at Bergen Community College

“When you completed your 2010 Census, you probably did not realize that your questionnaire was done and that you made a statement about what kind of resources you possibly need not only in the state but in your immediate community,” Burrell said.

She said the information gathered from the census decides how $400 billion dollars is allocated for projects such as new schools, hospitals and roads.

“The first set of data that’s really impacting you from a political or voting standpoint is the information for redistricting,” she said.

Judge explained that redistricting is about drawing districts.

“As a result of the population decrease in New Jersey, New Jersey has lost one congressional district,” she said. “Once you have a shift in population, you then need to guarantee under the constitution of the United States that you have a one-person-one-vote. No person’s vote should have more weight than another. So therefore on the congressional, state and local levels, you will then need to redraw those districts to guarantee that each person’s vote has the same weight.”

She explained how race can only be a factor in drawing the districts, but not the only factor.

“You have to start looking at what makes us a community because race is not going to fly,” she said. “Really start to look at your local districts and the elected officials. They need to understand that they are there to reflect your interest and not their own. That is why redistricting is important to our community – to guarantee that we have a voice and who’s going to be elected and who’s going to represent us over the next 10 years.”

Speaking on how the census is related to education, Walser said it’s important that communities get the funding they deserve for educating their children, but they can only get those resources if the community’s residents are counted.

“When we talk about the census and we talk about voting – all of these things – impact our children and therefore impact us, our future and all of the things we believe in,” he said.

Brown spoke about how the 2010 Census is a “wake-up call” to the black community.

“It shows the decreasing number of African-Americans living here in this area,” he said. “They’re moving south; they’re going home. They’re going where the taxes aren’t high, cost of living is less, and there are job opportunities in the South that were not available years ago. What does that mean for us? We have to form our coalitions, so that the needs of our community can be answered in total.”

Brown added that community involvement needs to be increased so that African-Americans can have more political power.

Moderator Thom Jackson, president of the Garden State Bar Association, which along with the United States Census Bureau was a partner in hosting the forum, encouraged attendees to voice their opinions to the redistricting commission.

“Between now and April 4, the maps are being submitted to the 11^th member of the commission,” he said. “The commission has a website where they are taking comments, and those comments apparently go directly to the 11^th member. So, you want to make sure that he hears that we want minority opportunity districts; we do not want to lose the number that we have. In fact, with 40 percent of the population made up of communities of color, we should be gaining representation.  We should see more Latinos, more African-Americans and more Asians in the legislature, not less.”

He also urged attendees to encourage people to fill out the census the next time around and that elections have consequences.

“If we do the redistricting right and if we do the census right but we don’t vote, then we should’ve stayed home on everything,” he said. “There is no excuse for not voting. Especially in New Jersey where there’s no-fault absentee voting – you can mail it in and you don’t even have to have a reason.”

Teaneck resident Stephanie Stokes, who is also a member of the local NCBW 100, said she wasn’t familiar with how much of an impact the census had on redistricting before attending Saturday’s forum.

“It was a big eye-opener. I really didn’t realize that it affected so many different aspects of the community,” she said.

Stokes hopes that more events like this one are conducted statewide prior to the next census so residents can realize they have a voice in their future representation.

“It’s affecting education, it’s affecting the budget, it’s affecting everything – the laws, the less fortunate,” she said. “We can make a difference by just filling out the form.”

To email officials in charge of redistricting, you can find contact information here.