December 18, 2009

For Immediate Release

Black Leaders Vow to Fight For Fair Count in 2010 Census

Unprecedented gathering of leaders hold meeting with U.S. Secretary of Commerce to address historic issue of undercounting of Blacks in Census

Washington, DC –The National Urban League and other civil rights organizations banned together to advocate for an accurate count of blacks in the 2010 Census during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke on December 16, 2009. While thanking Locke for his engagement and acknowledging efforts already made by the Obama administration such as additional stimulus funds, leaders say that even more steps and efforts must be made to ensure that blacks are accurately counted.

“We appreciate Secretary Locke sitting down with us. He listened intently and even extended the meeting so we could discuss all of our concerns,” said National Urban League president and CEO Marc H. Morial, who also chairs the 2010 Census Advisory Committee. “There have been efforts to improve Census counting but a lot more needs to be done so that we can be comfortable there is an accurate count. The message for the meeting was designed to be constructive but one of seriousness. We must get this right.”

The unprecedented number of black leaders in the meeting included Morial; Ben Jealous, president and CEO, NAACP; the Rev. Al Sharpton; the Rev. Jesse Jackson; U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), chairwoman, Congressional Black Caucus; Danny Bakewell, president; National Newspapers Association (NNPA); Melanie Campbell, executive director and CEO, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation; John Payton, president, director-counsel, NAACP Legal Defense Fund; Georgia State Representative Calvin Smyre, president, National Black Caucus of State Legislators; U.S Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO) and others.

The results of the Census determine how more than $400 billion in federal resources are distributed and how Congressional districts are drawn. The undercounting of blacks has contributed to predominately black communities not receiving an accurate amount of federal funds for important services and facilities and negatively impacted representation in the House of Representatives.

“We cannot continue to fight for equality and fairness without an accurate count in the Census next year,” said Rev. Sharpton, president of the National Action Network. “We want what is ours as citizens.”

Leaders spoke to Secretary Locke and U.S. Census Bureau leadership about issues they felt were prohibiting an accurate count of blacks, including lack of paid advertising with the African-American press, the counting of inmates and distrust of Census takers in black neighborhoods.

“We are enthusiastic about the possibilities, but discouraged about the plan in place,” Bakewell said. “The current planned media buy with African-American press is meager and the targeted markets in the plan miss some very important black communities, many of them considered hard to count.”

Leaders are also asking for changes in how inmates are counted. Jealous said instead of inmate currently being counted where they are incarcerated, the Obama administration should separate inmates and assign them back to their communities where they live.

Counting inmates where they are incarcerated, Morial said, represents and automatic undercount, particularly as black men are disproportionately represented in the nation’s prison system.

“It’s a civil rights violation,” said Rev. Jackson, “and it requires emergency legislation.”

The U.S. Census Bureau hires census takers to go door-to-door in communities where households don’t return forms. Leaders at the press conference said the Bureau should make a great effort to hire people who represent the neighborhoods where they are counting to help cut down on distrust of the Census that greatly exists in black neighborhoods, particularly in immigrant populations.

“The plan is robust but relies only on government workers,” said Campbell, who also heads the Unity/Diaspora Coalition. “We need to convene groups who have credibility and trust in those communities. In DC and Maryland there is a large Ethiopian population and we have people that know where those people are and they have our trust. We want to be aligned with what the government is doing and make sure our immigrant populations are counted.”

While making sure the government is held accountable for an accurate count, leaders used the press conference to say they are committed and use whatever resources they have to help ensure an accurate count.

“We don’t want to make sure that every black household is counted,” Sharpton said. “We want to make sure every black, Latino, white, Native American…every household is count.”

“We have the core of what can be the most accurate count in the history of America”, added Bakewell, “Depending on what happens this will benefit us or haunt us for the next 50 years.”

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CONTACT:
Veronica Clemons, 773-543-2259
veronicaclemons@att.net

About National Urban League
The National Urban League is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities. Founded in 1910 and headquartered in New York City, the National Urban League spearheads the efforts of its local affiliates through the development of programs, public policy research and advocacy. Today, there are more than 100 local affiliates in 36 states and the District of Columbia, providing direct services that impact and improve the lives of more than 2 million people nationwide. Visit www.nul.org.