Sorority Partners with U.S. Census Bureau to Assure Accurate Population Count
Members to fan out to undercounted areas nationwide
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau in its mission to make sure that communities of color are correctly counted. AKA's involvement will also assure that urban neighborhoods receive their fair amount of federal funds distributed yearly. The amount is driven by the population figures.
In announcing the partnership, International President Barbara A. McKinzie noted: "Every 10 years, the United States conducts an official count of its citizens, known as a census. Data collected from that count is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The information is used to distribute Congressional seats to states, to make decisions about what community services to provide and to distribute $400 billion in federal funds to local, state and tribal governments each year."
She added, "Historically, communities of color are incorrectly counted. Through this partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau, AKA members will fan out to communities nationwide to ensure that we have an accurate count."
To assist in this mission, the Census Bureau has developed the Partner Support Program (PSP). Its goal is to equip partner organizations with very specific community materials that will help them elevate awareness about the census and achieve a high rate of return of the 2010 census questionnaire within hard-to-count communities.
In urging members to apply for the funds, McKinzie said it is part of the overall mission to "educate men and women of the importance of being counted. Far too often, our communities receive inadequate funding because tenants and homeowners ignore or incorrectly fill out the forms. This is particularly true in cities with large immigrant populations, where fear of deportation is rampant. Because of these realities, Alpha Kappa Alpha members will mount an aggressive effort to promote the mission to communities of color by fanning out to hard-to-reach areas nationwide."
McKinzie said chapters of the organization will deploy other strategies, including forming "Complete Count Committees," supporting the 2010 census promotional program and by completing the PSP request form.
Adopting Alpha Kappa Alpha's ESP theme, McKinzie declared: "It's important that we must be Empowered, Supportive and Proactive."