NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE REPORT SOUNDS THE ALARM ABOUT POSSIBLE HISTORIC UNDERCOUNT IN BLACK AMERICA WHICH COULD LEAVE COMMUNITIES UNDERFUNDED FOR A DECADE
These are the findings of the National Urban League’s State of the 2020 Census report released today, “AT RISK: AN ACCURATE BLACK COUNT”
“The U.S. Census Bureau and the current Administration must do all that it can to ensure an accurate count of the Black population by reallocating media resources and outreach to address these circumstances,” National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial said. “Historically, African Americans have been undercounted each decade. Approximately 3.7 million African Americans were entirely uncounted in the 2010 Census. The 2020 Census raises new risks and uncertainties that put an already vulnerable Black count at extreme risk.”
The National Urban League is urging Black Americans to fill out their census forms today in honor of Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the end of legal slavery in the United States. This is the 24th census undertaken in the history of the nation, and for the first eight, most African Americans counted as only three-fifths of a person.
Currently approximately 25% of households residing in predominantly Black areas are in the bottom 20% of response rates (below 50%), according to CUNY mapping tool.
Among the report’s key findings:
- Young Black Children are poised to experience historic undercounts in the 2020 Census. Almost 1.2 million young black children live in Very High Risk of Undercount Census tracts. Seven out of 10 black and brown children 0-5 years old were not counted in the 2010 Census.
- Several large cities and jurisdictions with predominate or large Black populations trail their state response rates by 10 or more percentage points (i.e., St. Louis, MO, Los Angeles, CA, Miami, FL, Detroit, MI.
- The U.S. Census Bureau’s enumeration of persons experiencing homelessness has not occurred. This operation needs additional time, particularly given the U.S. Census Bureau’s planned one-day nationwide count of persons living outdoors. Predominantly black metropolitan areas with substantial homeless populations could require more than a one-day enumeration of this most vulnerable population.
- The U.S. Census Bureau’s difficulty in rescheduling the enumeration of college and university students and conducting outreach targeting these communities with clear and concise guidance, will impact local communities and the black count overall, if not corrected.
- An undercount of the Black population in southern states will impact the overall Black count in America. One U.S. Census Regional Census Center is responsible for enumerating seven states (FLA, GA, SC, NC, MS, AL, LA), with significant Black populations in the 2020 Census.
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. The National Urban League spearheads the efforts of its 90 local affiliates through the development of programs, public policy research and advocacy, providing direct services that impact and improve the lives of more than 2 million people annually nationwide. Visit www.nul.org and follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @NatUrbanLeague.