The Countdown O ctober 2 0 0 9
Charlotte Regional Census Center Newsletter Supporting the 2010 Census in Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia
Ethnic Media Briefings Target Hard-To-Reach Charlotte Region Opens Mic to Journalists in Five States
Cover
Ethnic Media Briefings Target Inclusive Count A New Wave Of Local Offices Page Two
Partners Count: Regional Director Update Page Three
Partner Profile: Richmond’s Clovia Lawrence Quilting Census History Regional Spotlight: Charleston, South Carolina Back Page
From Horseback to High-Tech: Census will Define a ‘New Frontier’ Complete Count Committees Building Awareness
“We can’t deliver an equitable census, which counts everyone, without the help of the ethnic media,” said William W. Hatcher, Charlotte regional director. The briefings represented a team effort involving Regional Census Center management, partnership teams in each state, media specialists, and most significantly, 2010 Census partners. continued on page 2.
Thirty-Seven New Local Census Offices to Open in Late 2009 The U.S. Census Bureau has leased space in 37 cities across the Charlotte Region for new local census offices. The new offices are expected to be up and running by late fall. Each will employ about 1,100 census workers during peak operations in spring 2010. Positions, when available, will be posted at www.2010census.gov. These temporary new offices are in addition to the 15 local offices that opened earlier this year across the five-state region. These early local offices carried out the address canvassing operation that expanded and corrected a master address list. The list will be used to mail and deliver census forms in March 2010.
Kentucky
Tennessee
Five offices: Ashland, Bowling Green, Covington, Hopkinsville and Somerset
North Carolina
Ten offices: Asheboro, Boone, Concord, Durham, Gastonia, Hickory, Raleigh, Rocky Mount, Wilmington and Winston-Salem
South Carolina Six offices: Anderson, Beaufort, Florence, Greenville, Rock Hill and West Columbia
New Offices
In this Issue
In the effort to include everyone in the 2010 Census, the Charlotte Region facilitated a series of briefings for ethnic/minority media during August and September. The ethnic media briefings took place in each of the five states in the Charlotte region in Louisville, Ky., Raleigh, N.C., Columbia, S.C., Memphis, Tenn., and Richmond, Va. The goal was to encourage and support journalists in informing their audiences about the census and gaining participation of hard-to-reach populations.
Seven offices: Chattanooga, Columbia, Cookeville, Cordova, Jackson, Johnson City, and Murfreesboro
Virginia
Nine offices: Charlottesville, Chesapeake, Christiansburg, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Newport News, Richmond (serving Henrico County), and Virginia Beach
Partners Count Regional Director ’s Update Our partners, along with our complete count committees, form the strategic core of the 2010 Census outreach campaign. I’m proud to report that in the five-state Charlotte Region, nearly 7,000 groups and organizations have signed partnership agreements or have verbally committed to being census partners. That number exceeds 74,000 across the United States. What a sign of support! Partner contributions big and small are accumulating to form the needed push for a complete count next spring. Let me give you some examples:
William W. Hatcher
For the series of just-completed ethnic media briefings, our partners in key cities generously provided meeting space, lunches for attending journalists, “Partner and other donated contributions support. In Memphis, the big and small are staff at the accumulating National Civil to form the Rights Museneeded push for a um couldn’t have been complete count more accomnext spring.” modating. The same was true at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville. In Columbia, the president of Benedict College, Dr. David H. Swinton, set a sumptuous table for journalists and distinguished guests.
Ethnic continued from cover
The one-hour events, titled “Ethnic Media and the 2010 Census: A Roundtable Discussion,” featured a panel of RCC management, partnership specialists, and media specialists. Regional Director William W. Hatcher or Deputy Regional Director Somonica Green opened each briefing with an overview of the 2010 Census, emphasizing the questionnaire. Assistant Regional Census Manager Michael Hall gave an overview of the partnership program, highlighting the important role of partners and complete count committees. The governor’s census liaison joined the panel and told the importance of the census in his/her state. A partnership Journalists from ethnic media attended a specialist relatseries of 2010 Census ed challenges briefings in Memphis, Tenn. (above), Richand cooperamond, Va. (top right) tion in getting and Columbia, S.C. (right). the count of African-Americans, Hispanics/Latinos and Asians. The media team leader spoke of the importance of ethnic media in gaining census participation.
from 20 to 50 participants at each event, depending on the size of the host city and presence of ethnic media in the state. Participation in the “open mic” sessions was robust. As trusted voices, ethnic media have the unique opportunity to tell people about the census and encourage participation. The Charlotte region recognizes ethnic media’s important role in the census and is committed to building relationships with the media and their communities. The series of ethnic media briefings moved us closer to that goal.
Attendance at the five briefings totaled about 200 and ranged
Left: Panelists in Raleigh, N.C., are (l-r): Greg Richardson, Census Tribal Liaison; Axel Lluch, Governor’s Hispanic Census Liaison; Bob Coats, Governor’s Census Liaison; and William W. Hatcher, Regional Director.
As the census buzz crescendos to a trumpet blast of publicity in early 2010, our partners are joining the chorus. Our communities are counting on our partners. My experience in the last few months clearly shows how much they count. New Census Web Site Launched
Questionnaire Assistance Centers Open Walk-ion centers available to help people - especially those with little or no English-speaking ability- complete census questionnaires.
October 15, 2009
2010 CENSUS TIMELINE October
2009
November
Local Census Office Open Houses 2009
December
2009
Peak Recruiting Advertising Campaign Begins Census Road Tour (Jan 4 - April 13)
January
2010
Febuary
Partner Profile: Clovia Lawrence
Regional Spotlight
She goes. She works. She cares. Richmond broadcast journalist Clovia Lawrence has made it her mission to take the census message to the streets of central Virginia. “We can’t expect the people to come to us,” she said. “We have to go where the people are. When we’re on their turf, they are much more open and receptive.” Lawrence, news director for Radio One Richmond’s four radio stations and community affairs director for three of the stations, hosts the market’s top-rated public affairs show, “Community Conversations.” In fact, local folks call Lawrence “Miss Community.” That’s no exaggeration. With a loyal following of more than 100,000 listeners, Lawrence often is at the forefront of voter education and empowerment initiatives, disaster relief, youth advocacy and social programs. Clovi a L aw re n ce
Charleston, South Carolina
“We have to be visible and actively digging deep to let people know how the count will benefit them.” - Clovia Lawrence
“I’ve spent a lot of time building trust,” Lawrence said. “I work hard to dispel urban myths about the census, and I’m constantly encouraging my audience to mail their questionnaires back.”
Ky., S.C. Quilters Combine History and Census Census workers in Kentucky and South Carolina are taking part in a project that stitches together the history of their states, the diversity within their borders, and the 2010 Census. About 100 Kentucky volunteers are crafting a 2010 Census Quilt featuring 120, six by six-inch squares, each representing a county in the Blue Grass State. The project is similar to one completed by South Carolina artist Jackie Hill, which highlights the importance of the census to the Palmetto State. Both quilts will be displayed at events to raise census awareness. Ben Johnson, Kentucky partnership team leader, sees the quilts as a perfect melding of tradition and message.
Three squares from the Kentucky census quilt represent three of the state’s 120 counties. Individual quilters are producing the squares that will form the finished product.
Be Counted Program
Census questionnaire available at select public sites for individuals who did not receive one by mail.
Peak Advertising Campaign
March
2010
The South Carolina census quilt by artist Jackie Hill features the theme “America Is In Our Hands; We Are Census 2010.”
“Quilting is really big in Kentucky,” Johnson said. “The idea of how important each individual segment is mirrors how important each segment is to the Census.” Quilting, usually a group activity, can be labor intensive. Some segments of the Kentucky Census Quilt have taken up to 40 hours to complete. Each square of the quilt, with a color theme of green, yellow and gold, features a unique aspect of the county it represents. The Jefferson County segment depicts the spires of Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. A segment for Harden County features bars of gold, a nod to Fort Knox. Mary Charles, owner of the Quilter’s Corner in Lexington, Ky., will sow the Kentucky quilt’s squares together.
In the 18th century, Charleston was America’s wealthiest city. South Carolina’s second-largest city of 110,866 people abounds in historic buildings and antebellum homes. About 4 million visitors flock to Charleston yearly to ride in horse-drawn carriages, shop in quaint shops and dine in gracious restaurants. The historic district is part of a metropolitan area of 616,350 population. Between 2000 and 2008, Charleston’s 15.9 percent growth rate surpassed the state’s 11.7 percent. Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. and Charleston City Council have issued a proclamation supporting the 2010 Census. Charleston’s Mojo Arts Festival, a celebration of African-American and Caribbean Arts, is a key census partner. photo courtesy of Charleston Area CVB. More information at www.charlestoncvb.com
►April 1, 2010 - Census Day Recognized Census Takers Follow Up on Unreturned Questionnaires Census workers visit housing units that did not return a completed questionnaire by mail to conduct a personal interview.
Group Quarters Enumeration
2010 CENSUS TIMELINE
Counts people living or staying in places such as military barracks, college residence halls, skilled nursing facilities, group homes and correctional facilities.
April
2010
May
2010
June
2010
July
From Horseback…to The
Census
Will
Define
America’s
Historians generally agree America’s frontier – the geographic line dividing civilization from the wilderness - disappeared after the 1890 Census. The nation’s 11th census, which counted 63 million people, and for the first time attempted to include all America Indians, revealed settlers dotted the landscape from sea to shining sea. Ever-changing America was becoming a land of immigrants and city-dwellers as young people fled the farm. Though the geographical frontier disappeared 120 years ago, America still defines itself as a frontier nation, a country with a rugged, curious and adventurous character. That was true during America’s first census in 1790, when U.S. marshals fanned out on horseback to take the headcount, to today’s high-tech census.
High–Tech
Though the geographical frontier disappeared 120 years ago, America still defines itself as a frontier nation, a country with a rugged, curious and adventurous character.
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:
Frontier’
The numbers gathered next year likely will show some things predictable: our population is aging; it’s becoming more diverse; the South and West are gaining at the expense of other regions; and, cities are growing.
What will the 2010 Census reveal about America?
Charlotte Regional Census Center 3701 Arco Corporate Drive, Suite 250 Charlotte, NC 28273-7007 Phone: 704-936-5330
‘New
Numbers gathered in the census also will document such details as exactly which cities are gaining or losing people; exactly where Hispanic, Asian, Arab and other racial and ethnic groups are growing; and, which states will gain or lose congressional seats. America always has a new frontier. Our democracy demands we explore it, document it and provide facts about it to decision makers and the public. The 2010 Census allows us to achieve that goal.
Co m p l e te Co u n t Co m m i ttees Pop p ing U p Across the Re g ion Complete count committees are popping up all over. The five-state Charlotte region now has more than 660 complete count committees, a healthy chunk of the nearly 7,000 nationwide. Officials estimate another 6,000 are in the works. The committees are a major part in the overall effort to making the 2010 Census
“We are very serious about getting every person in our county counted.” - Sharon P. Williams, Chair of the Claredon County InterAgency Council., S.C.
a success. Complete count committees support and promote the census and are tailored to fit their specific area. Typically, the highest elected official in the state, local or tribal government forms the committee. That leader is usually joined by some of the area’s most influential community leaders, as well as experts in government, education and faith-based organizations.