Are the Proposed Redistricting Lines For Fort Greene-Clinton Hill 'Racist'? [POLL]

Far from being sure of who they're voting for, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill residents aren't even sure about who they can vote for these days.

With proposed court-drawn lines excluding the neighborhoods----from the heavily black voting bloc of Central Brooklyn, nothing seems certain.

Still, one unanswered question sticks out: Why did federal Magistrate Judge Roanne Mann cut out Fort Greene-Clinton Hill from neighboring Bed-Stuy and knit the neighborhood together with mostly-white oceanside enclaves like Gravesend and Gerritsen Beach?

At a rally today in front of the U.S. Federal Courthouse, Councilman Charles Barron, D-East New York, had an answer.

"It's obvious that the new drawings are racist," said Barron, who was joined by fellow Towns opponent, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, D-Fort Greene.

According to Barron, the new proposed 8th C.D. (sans Fort Greene and Clinton Hill) would be 54 percent, down from the 67 percent in the current 10th C.D. Meanwhile, he also claimed the percentage of whites in the new district would rise from 24 to 31 percent.

While no one else at the event went as far as Barron, it was clear among many attendees at Thursday's rally that race was a major issue--even four decades after the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

So what do you think? Are racial considerations swaying the hand of court-appointed line redrawers like Judge Mann? Or is it simply impossible to please every group when it comes to the tricky problem of redistricting?

Let us know what you think. Vote in our poll below and share your thoughts in the comments.