Wade Henderson
By Wade Henderson
For Northwest Asian Weekly
In about 100 days, on April 1, the 2010 Census — the nationwide head count required by the Constitution — begins. And it is critical for Asian Americans, a community likely to have some problems due to language barriers or fear of the government, to be counted.
The once-in-a-decade census is critical to the well-being of Asian American families and children. Why?
Because the census takes a snapshot of the nation’s population. That count determines how to distribute more than $400 billion per year in federal funds to pay for schools, health care, roads, and other services.
At a time when unemployment is at its highest since the 1980s, when the mortgage crisis is resulting in a growing wave of foreclosures, and when local governments are being forced to cut funding for education and other vital public services, the flow of federal funds to our communities, schools, and children are crucial.
Many people in the Asian community did not participate in past censuses because they didn’t understand why the government was asking for information about their households, because they worried that the information might be used against them, or because they weren’t aware that they could get census forms in languages other than English.
Such concerns are understandable. But by law, individual census information is safe and confidential. No one — not your landlord, not the immigration authorities, not law enforcement, not even the President of the United States — has access to your census data.
Census forms are available in six languages — English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian, and Vietnamese. If English is not your first language, you can request a form in one of the five non-English languages via toll-free numbers that will be available closer to April 1.
By taking just 10 minutes to fill out and return the census form that will be mailed to our homes in March 2010, each one of us who is counted will represent about $12,000 in federal funds over the course of 10 years to go toward the education of our children, the building of roads and hospitals, and other vital services.
Asian Americans can’t afford to be undercounted and risk missing out on these resources. Each of us can and must do our part to make sure our communities are counted. ♦
Wade Henderson is president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
Henderson can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.