Chattanooga likely will be keeping only three majority black political districts when the City Council draws new lines before the end of the year.
When the current lines were drawn after the 2000 U.S. census, the city’s majority black districts were 5, 7, 8 and 9.
Based on preliminary plans unveiled Tuesday night, the next decade’s majority black districts might be 5, 7 and 9. The plan would leave District 8 with a majority of minorities, though no longer a majority of blacks, said Councilman Peter Murphy, who is chairman of the committee tasked with drawing the new map.
Every decade, the city must redraw political districts based in part on population shifts and minority percentages. A map based on 2010 census figures is due to the state by Jan. 1.
Since 2000, downtown areas in District 8 have become more white, making it difficult to draw that district as majority black, said Councilman Peter Murphy.