America's New Majority-Minority Congressional Districts

Join me for a tour through the 120 House districts where nonwhite voters hold electoral power.

Following the most recent round of redistricting, 120 House districts are majority minority districts. (House districts where less than 50% of the district population identifies as White.) This is actually a slight decrease in the number of majority minority House districts when compared to maps drawn after the 2010 redistricting cycle. (That cycle was responsible for 122 majority-minority House districts.)

This stands as a current example of our country’s persistent struggle with structural racism. When looking at the 2020 census, the percentage of White residents in America dropped by over 10 percentage points from 72% in 2010 to 61% in 2020. So despite representing less of the total country’s population, White Americans gained increased representation in Congress following redistricting. 🙄

The following posts dive into the political dynamics to complete a tour of America’s many racial and ethnic communities. I divided the districts into a set of five groups and dove into the nuances in each post. In creating grouping I looked at three primary factors: race/ethnicity, geography and history, and ultimately separated them into the five following groups:

Urban Coalition

These House districts are truly the most diverse in the country and exemplify the “melting pot” caricature of America. In many of these districts there is no single racial group that is large enough to claim a majority. These districts also typically possess a lot of ethnic variation within racial groups. (e.g. “Black” can include not only Black American citizens but also immigrants from the Caribbean or West Africa.) Due to this multiculturalism, voters in these districts are forced to create coalitions across racial and ethnic backgrounds to see political success.

Black Belt

These districts are exclusively in the American South and are places where descendants of American slavery makeup a majority. It’s much more accurate to call these districts “majority Black” rather than “majority minority” as African Americans typically makeup clear majorities in these districts. Many, if not most, of these districts are represented by members of the Congressional Black Caucus and explicitly advocate for the well-being of Black voters across the country.

Old West

This group is formed less on its racial and ethnic background and more based on their geography and history. These districts are located in states that were once called “the West” but are now labeled Midwest. Historical migrations explain the presence of this small group of majority-minority districts best. From the Great Migration of African Americans in the early 20th century all the way to refugee resettlement seen today, these districts’ existence is reliant on both domestic and international immigration.

New West

The New West districts are defined by the higher prevalence of Asian Americans and Native communities seen in the Western United States. These majority-minority districts are also buoyed by international immigration primarily from countries in Asia. The geography of these districts also produces a greater commitment to environmentalism as more of the land’s natural beauty has been protected from industrialization.

Southern Border

The fifth and final group is defined by both its high prevalence of Latine Americans and its proximity to the US-Mexico border. Like the Black Belt, it’s more accurate to call these districts “majority Latine” rather than “majority minority” as many of these districts hold few other racial minority groups in large concentrations. Buoyed by immigration from Central and South America, it’s increasingly common that these districts hold bilingual political campaigns as Spanish-language outreach is necessary to reach the full electorate.