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.   
 TIMESLEDGER   |   QNS.14     COM   |   JULY 24-JULY 30, 2020 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
				
/my2020census.gov