Mingus Mapps is a Taubman Center doctoral fellow.  His dissertation, "The New Color Line: Race-Based Redistricting and Black Representation in State Legislatures," explores the impact racial gerrymandering has had on state legislative elections in the post-civil rights era.  This work shows that in redistricting there are tradeoffs between maximizing black office holding and maximizing the substantive representation of black interests.  His study also identifies reforms that can partly resolve these tensions.  His main research interests revolve around race politics, elections, parties and state politics.  Mapps received his B.A. from Reed College and is completing his Ph.D. with the Cornell University Government Department.