Read the article at: https://thepublicsradio.org/article/new-bedford-voting-districts-redrawn-to-shift-power-toward-black-and-hispanic-voters

CSJ has been working on helping to draw more equitable districts and the ideas is gaining traction.

New Bedford is served by five members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. All of them are white, and three live outside the city….

But the proposal would consolidate some of New Bedford’s most diverse neighborhoods into a single district where urban voters are expected to have a more direct say over who represents them. The parts of downtown New Bedford and the North End united by the proposal are currently split into separate districts that stretch deep into the surrounding suburbs.