Social Justice in Charlotte: Gerrymandering

Monday, August 1, 2022

4:30 PM – 5:15 PM EDT

Location: 207AB - Convention Center

Speaker(s)

CM

Courtney McClain
Mark A. Thomas, MLIS

GIS Specialist and Librarian for Economics
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina, United States

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Moderator(s)

Brandy King, MLIS

Owner
Knowledge Linking
Wilmington, Massachusetts, United States

PDF

This is the fourth in an annual series of programs focused on a social justice issue in the host city of our conference. SLA Carolinas Community members have indicated that gerrymandering is an important social justice issue in Charlotte in 2022. Every 10 years, states create new legislative boundaries based on census data to ensure there are equal amounts of people in each region. North Carolina's maps had to be redrawn in 2016 and again in 2019 after they were found unconstitutional, having based district lines on race and other factors. Our two speakers will explain what gerrymandering is, why it is a social justice issue and how information professionals have been involved in work to identify unfair districting.

Learning Objectives:

Define gerrymandering
Describe how gerrymandering has been problematic in North Carolina
Understand how information professionals contribute to improved processes and policies to prevent gerrymandering