Census 2000 Education Kit
Census 2000 Table of Contents
Background
- An Overview
- The Affect of an Undercount on Local Communities
- Children
- Workers And Their Families
- Education
- People of Color
- Individuals With Disabilities
- Senior Citizens
- Rural Areas
- Business
Census Bureau's Plan
- The Census Bureau's Plan For Census 2000
- Legal Challenges To Sampling
- How Do We Know There Is An Undercount?
- The Difference Between Redistricting and Reapportionment
- What The Experts Say
- What The Newspapers Say
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The Importance Of The Ancestry Question
- Achieving Accuracy In The 2000 Census
Census History
Census 2000 In Your Community
People of Color
According to the Census Bureau, the 1990 census missed 8.4 million people and double-counted 4.4 million others. Moreover, the people missed did not live in the same communities as the people who were counted twice - the mistakes did not cancel each other out.
While missing or miscounting so many people is a problem, the fact that certain groups (such as children, the poor, people of color, city dwellers and people who live in rural rental homes) were missed more often than others compounds the consequences of the undercount.
The 1990 undercount of racial and ethnic minority groups, referred to as the "differential undercount," was the highest ever recorded since the Census Bureau began conducting post-census evaluations in 1940, missing 4.4 percent of African Americans; 5 percent of Americans of Hispanic origin; 2.3 percent of Asians and Pacific Islanders; and, over 12 percent of American Indians living on reservations.
African Americans
In 1990, African Americans were one of the more severely undercounted populations in the nation. While the national undercount was 1.6 percent, an estimated 4.4 percent of African Americans were missed nationwide in 1990. Included in this undercount were over 35,000 African Americans in Alabama; over 180,000 in California; over 73,000 in Florida; over 68,000 in Georgia; over 62,000 in Illinois; over 51,000 in Louisiana; over 44,000 in Michigan; over 33,000 in Mississippi; over 59,000 in New Jersey; over 185,000 in New York, and over 83,000 in Texas.
As a result of the inaccuracy of the 1990 census, many African Americans were denied an equal voice in their government. Federal spending employing population-based formulas - for schools, crime prevention, health care, and transportation - was misdirected. That is why national African American organizations - like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Urban League, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition - support the Census Bureau's plan to use the most modern scientific methods to achieve the fairest and most complete count.
Latinos
In 1990, Latinos were one of the more severely undercounted populations in the nation. While the national undercount was 1.6 percent, an estimated 5 percent of the Hispanic population was missed nationwide in 1990. Included in this undercount were over 40 ,000 persons of Hispanic origin in Arizona; over 340,000 in California; over 130,000 in Florida; over 110,000 in New York, and over 220,000 in Texas.
As a result of the inaccuracy of the 1990 census, many Latinos were denied an equal voice in their government. Federal spending employing population-based formulas - for schools, crime prevention, health care, and transportation - was misdirected. That is why national Latino organizations Ñ like the National Association of Latino Elected & Appointed Officials, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National Council of La Raza, ASPIRA, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, the Latin Civil Rights Center, MANA - A Latina Organization - support the Census Bureau's plan to use the most modern scientific methods to achieve the fairest and most complete count.
Asian and Pacific Islanders
In 1990, Asian and Pacific Islanders were one of the more severely undercounted populations in the nation. While the national undercount was 1.6 percent, an estimated 2.3 percent of the Asian and Pacific Islander population was missed nationwide in 1990. Included in this undercount were over 63,000 Asian and Pacific Islanders in California; over 8,000 in Hawaii; over 6,000 in Illinois; over 22,000 in New York, and over 8,500 in Texas. As a result of the inaccuracy of the 1990 census, many Asian and Pacific Islanders were denied an equal voice in their government. Federal spending employing population-based formulas - for schools, crime prevention, health care, and transportation was misdirected.
That is why national Asian and Pacific American organizations - like the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, the Organization of Chinese Americans, the Japanese American Citizens League, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association - support the Census Bureau's plan to use the most modern scientific methods to achieve the fairest and most complete count.
American Indians
In 1990, American Indians living on reservations had a higher undercount than any other population in the nation. While the national undercount was 1.6 percent, an estimated 12.2 percent of the American Indians living on reservations were missed nationwide in 1990. Included in this undercount were over 21,000 American Indians in Arizona; over 8000 in California; over 2,300 in Minnesota; 4,800 in Montana; over 13,000 in New Mexico; over 6,000 in Oklahoma; and over 5,000 in South Dakota.
As a result of the inaccuracy of the 1990 census, many American Indians were denied an equal voice in their government. Federal spending employing population-based formulas - for schools, crime prevention, health care, and transportation - was misdirected.
That is why national tribal organizations like the National Congress of American Indians and the Navajo Nation support the Census Bureau's plan to use the most modern scientific methods to achieve the fairest and most complete count.
Why are People of Color Disproportionately Undercounted?
There are several reasons why people of color and the poor are consistently and disproportionately undercounted by the census including: 1) mail and door-to-door collection methods have lower response rates in lower income areas; 2) lower education levels , illiteracy, or difficulty with the English language affect the ability of many individuals to understand the census; 3) a general misunderstanding of the importance of census participation; and, 4) distrust or suspicion of government leading to the fear that the census may be used by immigration and/or law enforcement officials to deport or incarcerate or may disqualify one for social welfare programs.
