On Aug. 23, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 4, which granted 5 additional seats to Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives. Student activists have been leading the charge against SB 4.

Racial gerrymandering violates the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment, while partisan gerrymandering is constitutional per Rucho v. Common Cause.

Levi King, a student activist who attends Crockett High School in Austin, said he believes that the gerrymandering occurring in Texas is primarily racial in nature, rather than partisan.

According to Rep. Vince Perez, the bill weakens Black and Latino voting power in Texas to a fifth and third of their white counterparts. 

“Texas has been sued and lost multiple times because its congressional maps have been found to be racially gerrymandering the majority minorities that reside in this state, and these maps are another example of this,” King said. “Blatant packing and cracking are present within these congressional maps, and they blatantly underserve Latinos as well as the Black Texans in our state.”

King testified against SB 4 on Aug. 17, and described his testimony as a “nerve-wracking” experience, particularly due to an incident of racial insensitivity. King, who is part Taiwanese, said the experience made him feel unsafe.

“A man on my panel has a walker that he uses, and on it, as well as the flag of the United States, was the Confederate flag,” King said. “He was also donning a shirt with more messages, including bible verses and the Confederate flag once more. A woman who testified earlier raised her hand and stated how signs were not allowed during testimonies, but then he started yelling at her. After it died down, the committee did absolutely nothing about his hateful symbolism.”

King’s mother, Carrie, got involved in testifying before state legislators in June 2022 when Roe v. Wade was overturned. Carrie King said that attending a redistricting hearing with his mother and younger brother Kevin initiated Levi’s activism. 

“Once he heard the passion and conviction of the Democrat Senator in the room, he was hooked,” Carrie King said. “He wrote his testimony on the spot. He’s since testified twice more.”

While Carrie King said that being present for her children at times poses challenges to her activism, it also fuels it.

“Being a mom caused my passion for advocacy to grow from a single flame into a bonfire,” Carrie King said. “In my heart, when I communicate with legislators, I’m speaking on behalf of all children. That said, where my children are directly affected, my level of engagement definitely ramps up accordingly.”

For Carrie King, redistricting is an issue where her level of engagement increases. In raising her children to be civically-minded, she hopes that she’s doing her part to make positive change for future generations.

“I definitely think our country is ready for a huge handing over of the torch to young people,” Carrie King said. “Yes, us goldie oldies are good for some things, but we need the courage, freshness, and innovation of youth. Now more than ever.”

Another one of the criticisms of SB 4 is that Gov. Greg Abbott, who endorsed it, directed attention away from efforts to help victims of the July 4 Kerr County floods. Gov. Abbott originally announced the special session primarily to provide flood aid, sending out an 18 item agenda on which the first four items are flood-related. 

For student activist Charlotte Becker, who attends McCallum High School, this bill isn’t just about politics; t’s a lost opportunity to lift up a grieving community. 

Becker organized an open mic night at Cherrywood Coffeehouse on Aug. 3 to raise money for flood survivors, bringing in musicians from her performing arts high school. Becker herself is a musician, and she originally intended the open mic to be a place where members of her songwriting class could show off pieces they had worked on over the summer. However, Becker revamped the showcase into a benefit after the Kerr County floods.

“After July 4, I wanted to bring people together over music and raise some money for the charities helping out those who lost so much during the floods,” Becker said. 

Becker said that getting to organize an event she was proud of was a highlight of her summer. But Becker also said that the Texas Legislature’s focus on disenfranchising communities of color instead of helping Kerr County families is a symptom of deeper issues within Texas politics.

“Republican lawmakers will take any opportunity to contribute to their own goals and policies. They truly don’t care about actual Texans in the slightest,” Becker said. “The redistricting is a stepping stone of fascism, and as a Latina I’m disgusted that people of color are being so openly attacked in a state where Tejano and Black culture are so integral.”

This article was written for the Yale Daily News’ 2025 Summer Journalism Program for high school students.