March 24, 2009 - Posted by Isha Mehmood
The Census Bureau announced plans today to launch a $250 million advertising campaign aimed at encouraging minorities in urban areas to fill out their census forms for the 2010 Census. Nearly a quarter of the funding will go towards minority news outlets.
Since minorities and low-income people have been less likely to be counted in past censuses, the bureau uses tools like this ad campaign to reach members of those groups. Traditionally, minorities have been less likely to participate in the census than Whites due to distrust of the government. Latinos, in particular, may be afraid because of the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment and raids in the U.S.
In addition, the 2010 Census presents several challenges that will make it difficult to count minorities, like the displacement of millions of people after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the foreclosure crisis.
Census data is used to determine voting representation in the House of Representatives and the distribution of federal funding for services like education, housing, and transportation.
Categories: Census 2010
