The Georgia Youth Justice Coalition (GYJC) issued the following statement concerning the Cobb County School District board maps:
The Georgia House has pushed through a redrawn Cobb County School District map on a party-line vote. Originally struck down in December by a federal district judge who said it was very likely to be gerrymandered, the map unfairly packs Black and brown voters into Cobb County’s southernmost districts, leading to a 4-3 Republican majority in the school board even though the County has voted heavily Democratic in recent elections. The new map, drawn by Republican Senator Ed Seltzer, does as little as possible to reduce gerrymandering in the district.
Over the last few years, we have witnessed how Cobb has attempted to usurp and sidestep the voices of its students. Even at the Cobb school board meetings, students must be 18 to testify without a parent, which effectively silences the voices of Cobb’s over 100,000 students from engaging with the school board. The redistricting process in Georgia broadly has been clouded and undemocratic.
“You say ‘One team, one goal: student success.’ It’s championed all over this building and your website and our schools, but to really show you care about student success you should first listen to your students for what they need to be successful. Students have spoken time and time again: Success in our schools looks like a welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ students instead of hostile attacks on our identities. Success looks like having more counselors to talk to instead of cops to police us. Success in our schools looks like a diverse, representative curriculum that uplifts Black history instead of censoring it.” ~High schooler Ava Bussey’s testimony at Cobb’s Jan. 18th school board meeting.
“As a Cobb County student, I have seen countless attempts to diminish the power of minority students like myself. From censoring our voices at school board meetings through age restrictions to limiting representation through banning books, our superintendent and board have attempted to silence the voices of minority students. This is why we stand up against gerrymandered maps: we cannot allow oppression to win.” – Maariya Sheikh, Senior at Campbell High School
We have stood up against book bans and restrictive legislation, we’ve seen the attempts to minimize young people’s voices, and are disappointed by the deliberate moves by our school board and our state legislature to minimize and dismiss our voices. From promises of future book bans after two titles were torn from shelves last semester to ongoing refusals to acknowledge worsening islamophobia in our schools, the school board continues to take actions that sidestep student voices. And now, our state legislators have maintained the status quo with Cobb’s new school map, ensuring that students continue to see elected officials who won’t listen to what they have to say.
Young Georgians deserve district maps that fairly and accurately represent themselves and their communities. White supremacy has no place in our school boards or governing bodies that are made to represent us, and Cobb’s use of gerrymandering packing is unacceptable. Students in Cobb County and across Georgia demand a different redrawn map in place of the Republican map passed yesterday–one that ensures equal voting power for Black and brown people and a future where the officials on our school board truly represent the diverse interests and needs of our county.
###
Georgia Youth Justice Coalition (GYJC) is a statewide collective of Black, brown, LGBTQ+, & working young Georgians organizing from the classroom to the Capitol to the ballot box.
