The Georgia Legislative Black Caucus and the South Fulton Delegation will host “Count Us in 2020: Census Caravan – Town Hall” tonight at 6:00 p.m. The event will be held at The Enon Church at 3550 Enon Road.
Information on Census 2020 initiatives will be shared. Attendees can also learn more about job opportunities with the Census Bureau.
Event partners include the South Fulton Ministerial Alliance, Fulton County, Fair Count and Black Men Count. The host committee includes Georgia State Senator Nikema Williams who was named to the state’s Complete Count Committee by Governor Brian Kemp in September.
At a recent District 3 Townhall meeting, Sen. Williams addressed South Fulton residents and spoke about how important the Census is to ensuring that communities are represented and get their fair share of resources.
“When it comes down to the allocation of power and the distribution of resources, all of that is based on the Census numbers,” said Sen. Williams.
In an effort to ensure those that are often hardest to count are counted, Sen. Williams said that childcare centers will be a key target for outreach efforts. She is also asking residents who would like for their places of worship to be designated as a Complete Count station to reach out to her.
The City of South Fulton approved a Census Task Force resolution in July and kicked off its efforts to drive awareness and participation with a block party in August. Officials and city personnel are currently working on a communications strategy to ensure a strong response from residents.
“Our 2020 Census is very important for the City of South Fulton,” said Councilwoman Helen Willis who serves as the city’s Complete Count Committee Vice-Chair along with Councilwoman Carmalitha Gumbs. “There are 538 cities in Georgia and all cities have been charged to synergize and energize their communities.”
The U.S. Constitution mandates that a census of the population be conducted once every 10 years for the purposes of reapportioning Congress. Census data is also used to determine how more than $675 billion in federal funds are distributed back to states and local communities every year for services and infrastructure, including health care, jobs, schools, roads and businesses.
Nearly every household will be invited to respond online, by phone or by mail to the census starting in mid-March 2020.