On Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, a virtual briefing titled “Behind the Political Firestorm Over Redrawing Texas Maps” brought together Texas State Representative Gene Wu, civil rights attorneys, activists, and community leaders. The speakers warned that proposed maps under debate in the Texas Legislature could strip minority communities of fair representation for the next decade.
Wu, speaking from out of state after he and fellow Democrats have been staying since walking out of the special session, did not mince words. “Gerrymandering and redistricting, all that stuff, I understand, is very complicated,” he said. “And you don’t need to understand it completely to understand people are trying to cheat.”
“What they’re trying to do is rewrite the rules in the middle of the game, because they know that they’re going to lose,” Wu continued. He pointed to the most recent census data. “After the 2020 census… 96% of the growth was Black, Latino [and] Asian. But the two new congressional district seats that were created were majority white. How did that happen?”
Wu said the stakes could not be higher. “If the Republicans go through with this… your voice carries only one-fifth the power of a white vote,” he warned. “Our people will die… if we can’t ask for services, we can’t ask for support. Money doesn’t come, people die.”
Carla Maradiaga, a voting rights attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, described the public outrage she witnessed. “At [the Houston] hearing, we had almost 1,000 people register to speak… The testimony lasted all day… People were very concerned on the ground,” she said. But she criticized the lack of transparency: “This process… should be transparent… At these hearings, the maps had not been released.”
Melissa Allala, a resident of District 29 and a former census worker, said her community was left vulnerable. “Congressional District 29… currently… looks like an elongated backwards C… The new redrawn map actually creates… a box… and you can absolutely tell that there are very significant portions of it… intentionally left off,” she said. “It still favors Republicans.”
For Allala, the issue comes down to staying engaged despite daily struggles. “I’m so glad I’m representing myself, but I hope this lights a fire under everyone’s ass… to stay involved… to actually be involved… to know what’s on the table—and to know that you’re also on the menu.”
Carmela Walker of the Houston Area Urban League added that the changes would mute minority voices across the state. “The stakes are high because we know that minority communities are going to have their voices muted,” she said. Her conclusion was blunt: “No one’s coming to save us. We’re going to have to save ourselves.”
For Wu, the bottom line is democracy itself. “If there’s any hope of us making America better… we have to have the power to actually change the future… If they are allowed to do this… It is game over. The end. That’s it.”
