STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, SEPT. 15, 2011…..Religious leaders and advocates for minority communities called on Gov. Deval Patrick Thursday to reject any redistricting maps that fail to “amplify” the voice of black, Latino and Asian residents of Massachusetts, arguing that they have long been underrepresented in Congress and in the state Legislature.

Through prayers and pointed pleas, members of the Boston clergy – including Rev. William Dickerson and Rev. Jeffrey Brown – joined former Green Rainbow candidate for governor Jill Stein, Rep. Denise Andrews (D-Orange) and redistricting activist Kevin Peterson to demand “fairness” and “justice” for minorities as lawmakers redraw political boundaries.

“I believe, and I am praying, that the plans that come out are going to be fair and equitable,” said Tito Jackson, a member of the Boston City Council.

Participants in the “faith-based event” stood in front of the Robert Shaw Civil War Memorial and pointed collectively at the State House to emphasize at whom their message was aimed.

Members of the Legislature’s Redistricting Committee are eyeing an October release of a proposal to redraw the state’s Congressional and state legislative districts, a task complicated by the loss of one of the state’s 10 Congressional seats due to national population shifts. The committee has held more than a dozen hearings around the state this year to gather feedback on potential district boundaries.

The Black Empowerment Coalition, which organized Thursday’s event, has submitted proposed maps to lawmakers and reiterated demands for an “incumbent-free” and “majority-minority” district based in Boston. Backers argued that “race-based gerrymandering” has disenfranchised minority voters, pointing out that there are no black state senators and has never been an African-American member of the U.S. House from Massachusetts.

Other event organizers included the Green Rainbow Party and the New Democracy Coalition. Backers of the groups called on lawmakers to redraw legislative districts to double from 10 to 20 the number of communities likely to elect minority legislators.

In a phone interview, Rep. Carlos Henriquez (D-Dorchester) said he supports the goal of “equity” espoused by the groups at Thursday’s event. Although some members of those groups questioned the process that lawmakers have engaged in as they develop their plan, Henriquez defended the Redistricting Committee, and in particular its chairman, Rep. Michael Moran (D-Brighton).

“I think he’s met with almost all of these organizations more than once,” Henriquez said. “He’s probably received more maps than Magellan, at this point. He came to me even as a freshman early when the process first kicked off … I don’t think there’s an organization out there that can say that they have not had an opportunity to meet with the chairman and be heard.”

Gov. Patrick, the state’s first black governor and the nation’s second elected, has largely eschewed wading into the details of the redistricting debate, deferring to lawmakers. But in brief comments to reporters earlier this week responding to questions about his redistricting views, Patrick used similar language to describe his broad approach to the issue.

“This is fundamentally a legislative approach, but legal requirements of one-person one-vote and an adequate opportunity for people to be heard are certainly things I’m going to be looking for,” he said.

Patrick’s wait-and-see approach to redistricting differs markedly from his predecessors. Gov. Jane Swift, for example, made specific demands about preserving “communities of interest,” particularly in the Merrimack Valley. In August 2001, Swift threatened to veto any plan that broke up the Lowell-based 5th Congressional District, occupied at the time by Martin Meehan. Govs. William Weld and Paul Cellucci, who also were in office during portions of the last two redistricting processes, also took active roles.

Asked about the difference on Monday, Patrick said, “It’s hard to insert yourself in the abstract.”

The Legislature, he said, has “got to come up with a plan and give me something to react to. And I think they’ve had a very open and transparent process with all these hearings in the commonwealth and tried to bring people in, and presumably they will base their plan on that feedback.”