The Countdown June 2010
Charlotte Regional Census Center Newsletter Supporting the 2010 Census in Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia
In This Issue
The March to the Mailbox blitz generates a lot of buzz in hard-to-count neighborhoods. Pages 2 - 3.
Take 10 Region takes lead in Take 10 mail participation rates. Page 3.
Student posters decorate Kentucky capitol. Page 3.
What now? 2010 Census to yield vital numbers for years to come. Back page.
23,316 Regional Partners 1,056 Complete Count Committees in 5 states Countless Individuals ...we couldn’t have done it without you!
e w c , o y u a nt! d o T
Partners Count Regional Director’s Update
Many tasks are left before the census ends, but today my most urgent duty is to thank you, our 2010 Census partners, who supported us every step of the way. You could have said you didn’t have time, but you found the hours to help recruit census workers and the space to train them. You could have said no, but you said yes and opened your doors for questionnaire assistance centers and census events.
Fill it out! Mail it back! To the mailbox! To the mailbox!
T
William W. Hatcher
You might have thought the world was too noisy to listen, but your trusted voices influenced “You might have people to believed you answer the census and couldn’t make a cooperate difference, but with census YOU made the takers.
difference.”
The Charlotte Region’s states surged ahead of their Census 2000 mail participation rates early in the mailback period. From March 22, soon after questionnaires were mailed out, through April 28, just before census takers began going door to door, our region consistently stayed ahead of the national mail participation rate. Thank you! The numbers gathered in the census will disclose the truest portrait of America we’re likely to achieve. This data will guide decision makers at all levels of government and in the private sector to administer wisely and fairly. And the numbers the Census Bureau publishes in the next few years can be used by anyone to define concerns and elicit needed change. You might have believed you couldn’t make a difference, but you made the difference. We couldn’t have done it without you.
hat was the chant heard ‘round the region on April10 and the days leading up to the April 16 mailback deadline. Nearly 30,000 volunteers and 1,800 partner organizations shared in hundreds of “March ToThe Mailbox” events across the Charlotte Region. The goal of the nationwide undertaking in low mail-participation neighborhoods was to encourage people to return their 2010 Census questionnaires. What happened along the march were electric events filled with song and dance, parades and marches, dedication and determination. Here are highlights:
Kentucky: In Morehead, census supporters joined 500 volunteers for a “Repair Affair” and visited low-income neighborhoods to help residents repair their homes. In Murray, about 260 runners wearing census T-shirts gathered for a 5K run-walk as 300 people cheered them. North Carolina: In Greenville, 450 students from East Carolina University’s Greek Life went door-to-door in several hard-to-count areas. In Winston-Salem, 100 volunteers from Loaves and Fishes distributed flyers and hot dogs to the homebound, homeless, and to people deemed illiterate. The event likely reached 500 people who had not yet answered the census. South Carolina: In Columbia, Allen University students canvassed neighborhoods and U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, House majority whip, gave the keynote address at the kickoff. Bobby Bowers, research director for the State Budget and Control Board, inspired the crowd. Bowers’ agency took a mobile billboard bearing the message across South Carolina to dozens of rural hard-to-count
communities. In Greenville, the S.C. Complete Count Committee sponsored five radio stations’ live broadcasts from the Hispanic Festival, as well as other events around the state. Tennessee: In Clarksville, the Rev. Tommy Vallejos and volunteers from HOPE, NAACP, APSU, Lincoln Homes Council, Mt. Olive Cemetery Preservation Society and LEAP canvassed low-income housing complexes with the support of a city fire truck. In Memphis, a parade, the collaboration of Action News 5, Hickory
Charlotte Region Took ‘Take 10’ Challenge to Heart From March 22 through the mail-back period, the Take 10 interactive map tracked the percentage of 2010 Census questionnaires mailed back throughout America. The interactive map at www.2010Census.gov was designed to encourage people to take 10 minutes to answer the 10 questions on the census questionnaire. People in the five-state Charlotte Region took “Take 10” seriously. Early in the process, four states in the region met or exceeded their Census 2000 rates. By April 16, the last publicized date to mail back the census form, Virginia had joined the group. Of the six states in the nation that had exceeded their 2000 rates by April 16, five were in the Charlotte Region – a 100 percent regional success! This map shows mail participation rates for the Charlotte Region as of May 3 in the 2010 Census with comparable mail participation rates from Census 2000. On May 1, Census takers began visiting households that did not return or did not receive census questionnaires. The door-to-door, nonresponse follow-up operation will continue into the summer months. State population counts must be delivered to President Obama by Dec. 31, 2010.
Hill Community Redevelopment Corp. and World Overcomers Church, drew 100 volunteers, floats and thousands of spectators. About 100 people, including a judge, as well as Upward Bound and Accelerated Learning students, rallied at Lemoyne Owen College. Virginia: In Richmond, the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club and the Mustang 7 Car Club rode all day from the Northside to the Southside, ending with festivities and free food at Sandra’s Soul Food. Radio celebrity Clovia Lawrence led the parade and broadcast live from seven locations. In Northern Virginia, Radio Fiesta broadcast live from rallies in Woodbridge, Dumfries and Manassas. In Alexandria, city officials, congressional reps and community leaders led a census road tour stop. Radio One announcer Flava updated listerners. A ping-pong tournament in Herndon yielded a promotional bounce.
Kentucky 2010 Census - 75% Census 2000 - 70%
Virginia 2010 Census - 76% Census 2000 - 73%
Tennessee
North Carolina
2010 Census - 74% Census 2000 - 69%
2010 Census - 74% Census 2000 - 66%
South Carolina
United States
2010 Census - 73% Census 2000 - 65%
2010 Census - 72% Census 2000 - 72%
Rates as of May 3, 2010
125 Posters decorate Ky. capitol: The walls of the heavily used Capitol Annex Tunnel in Frankfort displayed 125 of the hundreds of posters entered by K-12 students across Kentucky in a contest to promote the census. Partners played a key role, and the young participants received kudos from school boards, elected officials and media.
‘Big Form’ Sends Big Message: Whooaaa. That was one big census form that toured the Charlotte region. In fact, the inflatable replica of the 2010 Census questionnaire stood 20 feet high, 16 feet wide and 4 feet deep, looking part of the uptown Charlotte, N.C., cityscape.
Tom Joyner’s Census Tour: The nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show, in partnership with the Census Bureau, visited 14 U.S. cities during a national live broadcast tour to rally the African-American community. The tour, from March 30 through April 16, included three cities in the Charlotte Region: Columbia, S.C., and Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C.
Also: National radio celebrity Michael Baisden also took the census message throughout the region during his 72-city “One Million Mentors Campaign to Save Our Kids” road tour.
Wh at N ow? 2010 Census to yield vital numbers for years to come
The census doesn’t end in 2010. Although the collection work will be over, the task of sorting through the numbers and publishing them in usable formats will continue for years to come. Here is a timeline for the release of selected data. For more information, contact the Charlotte Region Information Services at (704) 936-5330.
Dec. 31, 2010 State population counts delivered to President Obama for reapportionment.
Feb. - March 2011 State population counts for race, Hispanic ethnicity, and housing unit counts available for redistricting by states.
May 2011 Demographic Profile: Selected population and housing characteristics
June - Aug. 2011
The Countdown is published by the Charlotte Regional Census Center. William W. Hatcher Regional Director Somonica L. Green Deputy Regional Director Michael A. Hall Assistant Regional Census Manager Partnership Program B.J. Welborn Editor Ryan Burkhart Graphic Designer If you would prefer to receive a PDF of The Countdown via e–mail please send your request to: ryan.m.burkhart@census.gov To submit an article to appear in The Countdown, please contact the editor:
Charlotte Regional Census Center 3701 Arco Corporate Drive, Suite 250 Charlotte, NC 28273-7007 Phone: 704-936-5330
Summary File 1: Population counts for 63 race categories, Hispanic ethnicity, and American Indian/Alaska Native tribes
Dec. 2011 - April 2012 Summary File 2: Population and housing characteristics providing details about race, ethnicity and American Indian/ Alaska Native tribes
Dec. 2011 American Indian/Alaska Native Summary File: Population and housing details
Jan. 2013 Congressional District Summary File: Details for newly redistricted U.S. House of Representatives districts for 113th Congress
June 2013 State Legislative District Summary File: Details for newly drawn state legislative districts
July – Aug. 2013 Refine Core-Based Statistical Areas Update: Counts and characteristics as defined by the Office of Management and Budget