“Everyone Counts” - The 2020 Census
It happens April 1, 2020 and it’s a really big deal. It is required by the Constitution and its goal is to count all the people living in the country and to record basic information like age, sex and race.
Your participation in the Census will shape many different aspects of your everyday life like overcrowded schools, bad roads, health clinic placement, law enforcement and more.
Unfortunately, Black households and communities are at risk of being undercounted and have been historically undercounted. In fact:
- The 2010 Census undercounted the African-American population by more than 800,000.*
- Approximately 7 percent of young African-American children were overlooked by the 2010 Census, roughly twice the rate for young non-Hispanic White children.**
- African-American men have been historically undercounted in greater numbers than men of other racial or ethnic groups.***
- Today, more than one in three African Americans live in hard-to-count census tracts.****
Bounce encourages you to participate in the 2020 Census because “Everyone Counts”!
Your participation can affect the future of a city, state and nation for a lifetime. Check out these informative videos from the 2020 Census department.
*Authors’ calculations based on “Census Bureau Releases Estimates of Undercount and Overcount in the 2010 Census.” U.S. Census Bureau. Available at https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/2010_census/cb12-95.html; “Table DP-1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010: Census Summary File 1.” U.S. Census Bureau, Retrieved 3 January 2018. Available at https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/SF1DP1.
** O’Hare, William P. “The Undercount of Young Children in the U.S. Census.” Springer Publishers, 2015. Table 3.2, Page 34.
***Robinson, J. Gregory, Arjun Adlakha, and Kirsten West. “Coverage of Population in Census 2000: Results from Demographic Analysis.” U.S. Census Bureau, 2002. Available at https://www.vrdc.cornell.edu/info7470/2007/Readings/2002PAA_DApaper_April29.pdf
****Based on calculations from the 2010 Decennial Census mail return rates.
