Money, Power, and Survival: Why We Must Be Counted in the 2020 Census

Photo by Nechirwan Kavian on Unsplash

In February of 2019, I had breakfast with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other colleagues from the agency.  After representing my division at the event, I formally submitted my letter of resignation.  Don’t get me wrong.  The breakfast was lovely, but I had recently decided to leave the world of scientific research to enter the realm of civic engagement. It wasn’t an easy decision.  I’d always wanted to be a scientist, so I earned a doctorate in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, gained years of experience conducting population-based research, and started a career at the premier public health agency in the world.  So, what changed? In 2018, my sister, Stacey Abrams, ran for governor of Georgia. During that election, I witnessed the detrimental impacts of voter suppression, and I understood just how far people would go to silence the voices of those who they deem unworthy of power.  After the election, Stacey and I talked a lot about voter suppression, but we also discussed the decennial census and how an accurate count could help ensure the fair distribution of political power for the next decade, especially in communities of color that were consistently undercounted.  Stacey founded Fair Count to fight census suppression and to build long-term power in vulnerable communities.  She tapped the incomparable Rebecca DeHart to lead the organization, and she convinced me to quit my good government job to help bring Fair Count to life.  I conducted research and spoke to numerous census advocates, and I quickly learned that the census was about two main things: money and power.  Over the next year, our team strategized, built our infrastructure, and developed contingency plans, but nothing could have prepared us for the COVID-19 pandemic.  Plans were scrapped, offices were closed, and census operations were postponed or cancelled.  The pandemic has been awful, but it taught me that the census is actually about three things: money, power, and survival.  Not only our survival as we battle COVID-19, but the survival of our very democracy.

As a census advocate, I’ve talked to people from all walks of life and from all across the country. To this day, folks are still amazed when I tell them that the 2020 Census will direct $1.5 trillion in federal funding to communities across the country every year for the next decade. The funds will be dispersed through over 300 federal programs that impact healthcare, education, public assistance benefits, emergency and disaster responses, mental health services, highway planning and construction, and more. These are resources that can help communities thrive.  Unfortunately, the money follows the numbers—not the need.  When communities are undercounted in the census, the money that should go to them is shifted to communities that have been counted.  Therefore, undercounted communities are more likely to have overcrowded schools, dangerous roads and bridges, food deserts, or inadequate healthcare.  Historically, white homeowners have been overcounted, and undercounts have occurred for the following groups: racial/ethnic minorities, low income persons, LGBTQ persons, young children, undocumented people, renters, those experiencing homelessness, and those with disabilities.  The Census Bureau refers to these and other groups as “hard-to-count”, but there’s nothing inherently wrong that makes them harder to count than white homeowners.  Instead, the systems that are in place to count them are inadequate.  Moreover, certain strategies (e.g., the failed attempt to include a citizenship question) are used as scare tactics to discourage historically undercounted groups from participating in the census (i.e., census suppression).  Not only do undercounts cost communities millions of dollars in resources, but they also reduce their political power a decade at a time.

You may have noticed that many of the historically undercounted groups mentioned above are also marginalized, disenfranchised, and/or underrepresented in the United States. This is no coincidence.  These are communities that have been systematically deprived of their voice and power for centuries.  An undercount in the census means that inaccurate data are used in the reapportionment process that determines how many seats each state receives in Congress, effectively weighting the electoral college.  The census also guides the redistricting process, which is used to draw the lines for congressional, state legislative, and school districts.  Together, reapportionment and redistricting determine the political power of the people living within the delineated districts, so an inaccurate count directly leads to the unfair distribution of power.  In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that partisan gerrymandering (the unfair drawing of districts to discriminate against a political party) was legal.  As a result, the only way to fight unfairly drawn districts is on the basis of racial gerrymandering (the unfair drawing of districts to discriminate against minority voters), which is still illegal.  Therefore, if census data don’t depict an accurate demographic picture, communities won’t have the legal standing needed to fight racial gerrymandering, and they’ll be stripped of their fair share of political power to elect representatives who will advance their preferred policies and political agendas for an entire decade.

Now that we’re in the middle of a pandemic, I’m often asked if I regret leaving the CDC, and my answer is always no.  I am eternally grateful for the work that my former colleagues are doing to stop the spread of this terrible disease.  COVID-19 has ravaged communities and highlighted health disparities in marginalized groups across the country.  The efforts that Fair Count and other advocacy groups are leading may not be on the frontlines of public health, but our fight for a fair and accurate census could be the key to our long-term recovery.  A fair and accurate 2020 Census will ensure that communities have the resources that they need to recover in 2021 and beyond from the pandemic and other disasters.  If we get this right, communities could have thriving local economies, schools that aren’t overcrowded, fully funded healthcare, and safety net programs for those that need them.  A complete and accurate count will give people the power to choose their representatives and not the other way around.  The 2020 Census will end in October, but we need everyone to complete it today.  Take the first step towards recovery by visiting www.my2020census.gov or calling 1-844-330-2020.  The census is the bedrock of our democracy, and if it fails, we will lose the resources and power that we need to survive and thrive. We only get one shot every decade to get it right, so please do your part today. Be counted.

Dr. Jeanine Abrams McLean is the Vice President at Fair Count, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, founded by Stacey Abrams. The goal of Fair Count is to facilitate and ensure a fair and accurate count during the 2020 Census while building pathways to continued civic engagement. Jeanine is a highly skilled researcher with over 15 years of experience designing, managing, and implementing population-based studies and projects. While at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she applied her expertise in computational biology and population research to advance public health initiatives. She has extensive project management experience as well as work in community organizing. In addition to her work in public health, she is passionate about finding creative ways to tackle community-based issues using both strategic planning and innovative ideas.
http://www.faircount.org

(c) 2020 Jeanine Abrams McLean