A SOCIALLY DISTANCED 2020 CENSUS BY Kion You DESIGN Matt Ishimaru
HOW RHODE ISLAND IS ATTEMPTING TO COUNT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF ITS RESIDENTS The United States Census Bureau has historically declared April 1 as a national "Census Day," a time to unite the nation in the shared importance of completing the census. Complete Count Committees (CCCs), localized census advocacy groups composed of community leaders and government officials, would census data could be more or less remediated on a have hosted rallies and marches to promote the 2020 national and state level, it is the local, neighborhood census, launched earlier in March, and would have tract level that would be most vulnerable to statistical emphasized the 1.5 trillion dollars in federal funding variance. "We have a very large, predominantly Latino at stake. However, with stay-at-home orders in place population in various parts of the city," he said. "I think across most of America, CCCs have had to radically it's more likely that it will be undercounted on that rework their campaign strategies. In Providence, a scale." city at serious risk of being undercounted, Census Day Among Providence’s Latinx population, which shifted online. makes up 42 percent of the city’s residents, an addiSabina Matos, the president of the Providence City tional roadblock to full census participation is latent Council, kicked off the hundred person Zoom meeting fear around giving personal information to the governby emphasizing the most crucial point: Census data ment. Moreover, the proposed and since-removed determines how much federal money Rhode Island "Citizenship Question" on the census—a fear-mongets over the next decade. She presented the stakes as gering gesture by the Trump Administration—has "four billion dollars allocated to the state for healthcare, instilled even more wariness among immigrant housing, roads, environmental protections." Mayor communities. Dr. Logan also mentioned that due to Jorge Elorza spoke next, emphasizing the redistricting current pandemic conditions, a proper count may be impact of the census, saying, "We are on the brink of more of an issue among immigrant, working-class losing a congressional seat, unless everyone gets out communities. "Some people are going back to Mexico," there and gets counted." he said. "Some people are hiding. Some people are not Luis Estrada, a Rhode Island CCC leader, spoke normally where they are." about how census outreach, which has been ongoing James Diossa, the mayor of Central Falls in Providence for over a year, had been thwarted by and co-chair of Rhode Island's Complete Count COVID-19 at its most critical juncture. "Here's the Committee, told the Independent that despite being truth," Estrada explained. "We're stuck in a situation in a crippling pandemic, the census still needs to get where our traditional field operation...is no longer a done. "I think it's absolutely a priority," he said. "This valid operation for us." In past years, if households did will have a ten year impact." Accordingly, Diossa said not self-respond to the census—which in 2010 was over that Rhode Island's CCC has adjusted their outreach one third of households nationwide—one of 500,000 strategy from traditional, in-person field operations to enumerators hired by the Census Bureau would have methods such as mass robocalls, liaising with public knocked on their door to obtain information. Door schools, and blasting translated materials into the knocking usually starts in May, but this year census local media. Their outreach strategy is evolving in real field operations have come to a complete halt, with time, as government and community organizations June 1 as a tentative comeback date. On April 13, the across the state rush to test online methods for effecBureau asked Congress to extend the delivery of final tiveness and efficiency. census figures from the end of this year to April 30, Diossa is viewing Rhode Island's stay-at-home 2021, but the proposal is currently pending. orders as a potential positive for response rates, given Because 2020 is the first year the census has gone the fact that the census is now online. "This is a unique primarily online, rather than through mail, the Census opportunity," he said to the Independent. "People Bureau has provided real time response rates across should have time to fill out the census. There's really the nation. The city of Providence has lagged behind no excuse." However, Diossa also recognized the diffiboth the state and nation, falling in line with a trend culty of getting the importance of the census across among lower income, majority-minority urban areas. to his largely Latinx, immigrant population, many of As of April 22, the national self-response rate is at 51 whom are new to a decennial census system and are percent. Rhode Island as a whole is at 48.3 percent, but already experiencing instability as essential or unemProvidence is over ten percentage points lower, at 37.2 ployed workers. "You have to be very direct," Diossa percent. The consequences of a potential Providence said, and stated that the messaging that resonated and Rhode Island undercount are dire: According to most with his community took the form of something the Rhode Island CCC's Get Out the Count Plan, an like, "With your participation, you are allowing us incorrect count would affect the allocation of a third to participate in improving schools, healthcare, and of the state's annual budget. Moreover, Providence roads." County had already undergone a census test run, when As a whole, those most hurt by stay-at-home it served as the Census Bureau's sole guinea pig in orders will be groups without fixed addresses, groups advance of 2020. Its results were dismal, with self-re- that must be physically visited to be counted: Native sponse rates ending up at 52 percent. Some residents communities on rural reservations, people experimay even believe that there is no need to fill out the encing homelessnes, those temporarily staying in 2020 census given their participation last year. others’ homes. As a result, just as much as the census is a statistical examination, it is inevitably a political +++ one. And cities like Providence, with large low-income, minority populations already reeling from the The entire city of Providence is classified by the Bureau economic consequences of COVID-19, will require as a "Hard to Count" census tract, due to factors such more funding and outreach so that the Constitutional as language barriers, low literacy, and a lack of internet mandate for the census is given its due diligence. access. Accordingly, residents of color have been consistently undercounted: In 2010, Rhode Island's +++ Black population was undercounted by 2.6 percent, its Latinx population by 2.1 percent, and its Asian popu- More optimistically, as people adjust to social lation by 0.8 percent. Dr. John Logan, a professor of distancing, new grassroots strategies to perform sociology whose research depends on census data, told online census outreach have been circulating across the College Hill Independent that although inaccurate the nation through social media. The New York
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Immigration Coalition is encouraging the use of Instagram Live to film yourself filling out the census and distribute it across online circles. The Asian American Federation has advocated meeting different racial groups on their commonly used social media applications: WeChat, for the Chinese community and KaKaoTalk, for the Korean community. The Latino Community Foundation has even launched a census-inspired lottery game called “Censotería.” Personally, I have been flooded with Instagram advertisements from the Census Bureau, as well as YouTube advertisements featuring cameos by local Providence personalities: Mayor Elorza, NBC 10’s Mario Hilario, Bekka Berger from Hot 106, and the Big Nazo aliens. On Twitter, dozens of Providence nonprofits blast census infographics everyday, emphasizing the federal funding that goes to their specific arenas of social work. Ultimately, both Dr. Logan and Mayor Diossa emphasized that at the moment, the census is clouded in uncertainty. If census data ends up skewed, the equitable distribution of resources and democracy could be thrown off for the next ten years. In this vein, the 2020 census falls in line with just about every other private and public good and service put into jeopardy over the past month. Towards the end of his interview, Dr. Logan threw this question of uncertainty back onto the Independent. He asked, in regards to reporting on the census, "How do you make your work informative when you have ambiguity?" Perhaps we can look to the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force Leader Dr. Anthony Fauci, who told Vanity Fair regarding the future of our country, "I will say what’s true, and whatever happens, happens."
KION YOU B’20 encourages every single person to get counted, and to tell their friends to do the same.
24 APRIL 2020
