January 13, 2022
Redistricting: Fresno Unified Adopts Community-Driven Map Authored by CNC EF Organizer
The adoption of the Angeles de la Vivienda map is a huge win for Fresno families
Fresno, CA – Last night, the Fresno Unified School District Board of Trustees selected a final map as a conclusion to their redistricting process. The chosen map, titled Angeles de la Vivienda, is a community-driven map, authored and submitted by Communities for a New California Fresno Organizer, Pedro Navarro Cruz using input from the CNC EF Angeles de la Vivienda committee that focuses on housing issues in Fresno.
The Angeles de la Vivienda map will guarantee an additional and third Latino CVAP majority district for the next decade. Of the 6 maps submitted, the Angeles de la Vivienda map surpasses the 50% mark and puts District 4 with a 53.15% Latino CVAP. This map also uses highways and major avenues as boundaries amongst the districts, making it easier to distinguish the voting districts for residents.
On this massive victory for Fresno Unified students and families, Pedro Navarro Cruz said, “This is a great victory for the Angeles de la Vivienda committee and every CNC EF volunteer that has fiercely advocated for their families, communities, and representation during this redistricting cycle. Our committee had to work incredibly hard to gain traction for our maps, without the added benefit of an independent redistricting commission to aid our efforts.”
Cruz added, “The real redistricting experts are the residents who live, work, struggle, and play in Fresno. The selection of the Angeles de la Vivienda gives our families a greater opportunity to be properly represented and puts the future of Fresno Unified back in the hands of constituents. We want to commend our committee members for their hard work towards getting the Fresno Unified School District Board of Trustees to unanimously adopt our map; this moment is only the beginning of our fight for more positive and community-oriented outcomes in the future.”
The Angeles de la Vivienda committee is a Spanish-speaking neighborhood committee that focuses on issues related to improving their neighborhoods by working on issues such as affordable housing, increasing home-ownership, and homelessness. Their work on this redistricting map comes on the heels of year-round work addressing the housing crisis. Many of their stories are captured here.
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Communities for a New California Education Fund is building a new power in the San Joaquin, Coachella, and Imperial valleys by inspiring working-class Californians to engage, activate and fight for social change in their neighborhoods. With the help of staff and volunteers from the very neighborhoods we serve, CNC EF organizes and mobilizes residents on public policy issues that impact our rural families and organizes to improve our neighborhoods.