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It's time for the US Census! Woohoo! Who's psyched to find out how many of everyone exists in the US? I know I am. I love data, especially when people put it in cool graphs. Everyone loves cold-hard unbiased facts, right? Too bad the census historically undercounts immigrant and poor communities. "The Census Bureau estimates that the 2000 Census missed 6.4 million people, who were disproportionally people of color and poor, and counted 3.1 million people – largely white and affluent – twice." It wouldn't matter, except everyone treats the census like it's law, using it to distribute over $400 billion in federal funding, determining where and what kind of government programs happen and district boundaries. Great example of structual inequality and a good way to beat a favorite party debate "Is racism over?" A coalition of NYC group have formed to make sure everyone is counted this year. They are grassroots, community-based organizations that are using the census count as a tool for mobilization around other political action. I'm excited to see how the campaign goes! The six groups are CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities, Community Voices Heard, Domestic Workers United, Families United for Racial and Economic Equality, Make the Road New York, and New York AIDS Housing Network.
Check out more about their campaign after the jump...
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