Making Sense of the Census
By Jennifer Jones Austin, Chief Executive
Officer and Executive Director of
FPWA and Julie Menin, Director of NYC
Census 2020
As the first Black woman elected
to Congress in 1968, Shirley Chisholm
has been an icon for those in the
struggle for civil rights and equality
for more than a generation. Throughout
her career, her advocacy for her
community and her historic run for
the presidency has rendered her as
an inspiration for countless activists,
politicians, and community leaders
ever since.
Congresswoman Chisholm blazed
another civil rights trail, too.
Two years after she was elected to
Congress, she chose to become a census
taker (or “enumerator”) in New
York City. It was not common then for
one of the nation’s most prominent
and powerful legislators to be pounding
the pavement across the streets
of Brooklyn to take stock of her community,
and it certainly isn’t common
now.
So why did she do it? Because Congresswoman
Chisholm knew that the
census is about money, power, and respect
for all of our communities — especially
those that have been historically
undercounted.
Despite the fact that the census was
(and remains) the very foundation of
how the federal government allocated
many millions of dollars ($1.5 trillion
today) for education, healthcare, housing,
jobs, infrastructure, and transportation
across the country— and the
very basis on which seats in Congress
were (and still are) allocated state by
state — Black communities across the
country had either been long undercounted
by or chose not to participate
in the census — and many thought for
good reason, given the nation’s ignoble
history with race.
As a result of the many challenges
associated with conducting a complete
count in 1970, many enumerators actually
quit their jobs, but for Chisholm,
the daughter of immigrants from
Barbados, the census held the key
to the very empowerment, freedom,
and equality that Black communities
across the nation and in New York
City had been fighting and indeed dying
for, especially during the preceding
two decades.
Today, the need for a complete
count is just as, if not more, important,
to ensure an equitable recovery
Shirley
Chisholm
Knew the
Importance of
the Census.
Now We Must
Continue Her
Work.
from the COVID-19 pandemic. The layered
health, political, and economic
crises that New York City is currently
experiencing have further exposed
severe racial and ethnic disparities
both in terms of health outcomes and
economic need. The census will determine
how many millions we will get
from the federal government for housing,
healthcare and access, education,
and local job growth in communities
of color over the next 10 years. Without
a complete and accurate count, we will
be forgoing the money and political
representation that is rightfully ours,
and at a time when such a loss cannot
be afforded. For many Black and
Brown New Yorkers, these resources
will be critical for their well-being.
In 2010, many majority-Black
neighborhoods in New York City, from
The Bronx to Queens to Brooklyn, had
census self-response rates that were 10
or more percentage points behind the
citywide average, meaning that these
communities have been missing out
on millions of dollars for critical services
and the full political representation
they are entitled to, from City
Council to the U.S. Congress.
Though the census self-response
rate gap has noticeably narrowed
for many of the same neighborhoods
this year, and certain Black-majority
neighborhoods, such as Co-op City in
The Bronx (69%) and Starrett City in
Brooklyn (64%), far outpace the citywide
average of approximately 53%
(as of June 29), much more work needs
to be done to ensure New York City receives
its fair share of $1.5 trillion in
federal funds every year and does not
lose what could be up to two congressional
seats.
“The institutions of this country
belong to all of the people who inhabit
it,” Congresswoman Chisholm
reminded us. “Those of you who have
been neglected, left out, ignored, forgotten,
or shunned aside for whatever
reason.” And the census is one of the
most important ways we can reclaim
that power.
This year, let’s honor Congresswoman
Chisholm’s incredible legacy
and continue her fight for Black communities
in New York by filling out
the 2020 Census at my2020census.gov
and doing our part to help make sure
our communities are fully counted.
“Making Sense of the Census” is a
weekly column from Julie Menin, Director
of NYC Census 2020.
Schneps Media July 23, 2020 13
/my2020census.gov