Black History
Chesapeake NAACP Turns Focus To Ending At-Large Voting
Reflecting on historical parallels and the Trump legacy, Black voters stand poised to assert their political power in the upcoming 2024 election, echoing past triumphs of civil rights movements.
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New Journal and Guide Staff
CHESAPEAKE
The Chesapeake NAACP is shoring up its efforts to put forth a referendum to bring single member district voting to the city. An informational town hall meeting on May 23 will be followed by group attendance at the Chesapeake City Council meetings on May 28 and June 11, both at 6 p.m.
President Dr. Shirley Auguste said in announcing the town hall, “It is time for another election and some of our communities will not have any representation on the City Council or School Board. We want to support all areas and people by ensuring everyone has proper representation on the City Council and School Board.
“As a result, we are taking a stand and will be demanding that the Chesapeake City Council put a referendum forward to go to ‘A Single Member District.’ Norfolk and Virginia Beach have already adopted this system and it is working.”
The Chesapeake NAACP plans to be present at City Council on Tuesday, May 28, at 6 p.m. to speak out on support for the referendum for Single Member Districts. This will be the first of two City Council meetings. The second is on Tuesday, June 11, 6 p.m. when they plan to return.
Single Member Districts are also known as the ward system, as in Norfolk which has seven wards representing the city’s citizens and the mayor is elected at-large.
Dr. Auguste noted that Chesapeake is the Commonwealth’s second-most-populous city with 255,173 residents. According to worldpopulationreview.com, the demographics are: White: 57.28 percent; Black or African-American: 29.29 percent; Two or more races: 7.13 percent; Asian: 3.68 percent; Other race: 2.4 percent; Native American: 0.17 percent; Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.06 percent
Chesapeake has 353 square miles of land mass and the following communities/districts: Deep Creek, Western Branch, Cavalier, Southern Chesapeake, Rivercrest, South Norfolk, Indian River, Greenbrier, and Great Bridge.
The Town Hall on May 23rd will be held at 7 p.m. at New Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, 1765 S. Military Hwy., Chesapeake.
