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Opinion: Trump and the Politics of the 2020 Census

Published

7 years ago

October 24, 2019

Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

By Rev. Jesse
L. Jackson, Sr.

A new report should raise alarms about the upcoming 2020 Census.

According to the Pew Research Center, the good news is that the overwhelming majority of Americans are aware of the census, and over eight in 10 say they are likely to participate.

The bad news is that nearly one in four Blacks, young people, and lower-income people, and one in five Hispanics, are uncertain or reluctant to participate. If that does not change, it could have a truly negative impact on the most vulnerable.

The census is a big deal. The Constitution of the United States mandates a population count every 10 years. That count is used to allocate seats in Congress, to inform redistricting of political boundaries and to guide the distribution of literally hundreds of billions of federal funds.

If Hispanics or Blacks are hesitant to participate, the undercount will impact how well represented they are, and how much federal money their neighborhoods get.

In these polarized times, the census is in danger of being turned into a political football. The Trump administration sought to place a question about citizenship on the census, clearly designed to intimidate immigrants from participating. That was blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court, but the controversy around it may well impact the willingness of immigrants generally, and Hispanics in particular, to participate.

The Census Bureau classifies low-income people as “hard to count.” The census is mailed to households in March. The homeless, however, have no mailbox. Low income people change addresses and jobs more often and are often forced into temporary housing with friends or relatives. Too often the people most in need of federal assistance are the very people who are not counted in the census that determines the allocation of funds.

The Trump administration has consistently sought to cut the budget for the Census Bureau. The 2020 census will be the first that is done largely online — but many Americans, particularly older ones, aren’t as familiar with online responses. They will need extra help, and President Trump seems to be doing what he can to ensure that help is not there.

That increasingly leaves publicizing the census — and providing assistance to complete the process — to the states. Some states like California and New York take this seriously. Others, like Texas and Florida, do not. Southern states, mired in the habit of not wanting African Americans to count, often do little as well. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, just 20 states have appropriated funds to coordinate, advertise and partner with local groups on the census.

Again, an undercount can have major effects. In Texas, which has no state committee, 40 percent of the population is Hispanic, and many are no doubt terrified by the fervid debate over immigration. Texas could gain as many as three seats in Congress, if its population is counted. In fiscal year 2016, Texas received over $59 billion in federal funds derived from census data. An analysis by Andrew Reamer, professor at The George Washington University, estimates that an undercount of merely 1 percent would cost the state nearly $300 million in federal funds.

Citizen groups have scrambled to address the problem. The Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus have created projects, partnering with local groups and national organizations to spread the word about the census and to set up volunteer efforts. A fight over funding for the census is likely to occur in the upcoming budget battle. If — as seems increasingly likely — there is no new budget, but merely an agreement to keep operating at current levels, the Census Bureau will face doing a census with inadequate funds.

It should not have to be this way. The census is in the Constitution because the founders understood how important it was to know the size of the population. Everyone should agree that an accurate count is vital. Congress should step up to ensure the Census Bureau has adequate funding. The states should gear up so that their most vulnerable are counted and gain a fair share of federal support. Volunteer organizations should mobilize to help register those hardest to count.

Time is short: the census is mailed to households in March. The time to act is now.

Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

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Arts and Culture

COMMENTARY: Black Music is the Sound of Black Freedom: Let Us Reclaim Both This Juneteenth

Black Music Month started when Black Music Association members Ed Wright, Kenny Gamble and his wife, journalist and radio host Dyanna Williams were able to persuade President Jimmy Carter to establish the observation on June 7, 1979.

Published

3 days ago

June 9, 2026

Oakland Post

Robert Johnson (1911-1938) is thought of as the godfather of blues music, especially Delta blues. The 29 songs recorded by him during his short life have been of massive inspiration to guitarists and musicians over the last 80 years. Public domain photo.

By Wanda Ravernell

Black Music Month and Juneteenth are inextricably linked – Black music is the sound of our freedom.

From the plaintive moans of the enslaved Africans’ ‘sorrow songs,’ to the fields of Civil War battle where Black soldiers picked up abandoned bugles, to the upright piano played in juke joints on Saturday night and churches come Sunday morning, our ancestors’ innovation in the face of want, fear, degradation, and hopelessness has yielded genres of music imitated ’round the world.

In 2000, Congress made it official. In 2009, Pres. Barack Obama changed the name to African American Music Heritage Month and in 2023, Pres. Joe Biden changed it back to Black Music Month, two years after he declared Juneteenth a national holiday, the result of a movement led by Opal Lee.

Our ancestors battle for freedom over these last 400 years and the music that allowed them expression of their humanity deserved to be honored.

But we may be losing sight of the value of their sacrifices.

‘Sing a Song Full of the Faith That the Dark past Has Taught Us…’

Along with the long-known exploitation of Black musicians whose recordings were stolen by record companies, the commercialization of Juneteenth feels like another kind of theft.

I had never heard of Juneteenth until I moved to the Bay Area from my hometown of Philadelphia. I didn’t know it was one of many freedom festivals celebrated by descendants of enslaved people in the United States.

Emancipation Day was Jan. 1 in Pennsylvania, April 16 in Wash., D.C., May 20 in Florida, and Aug. 8 in Kentucky. But Juneteenth, June 19, has the most renown, known in Texas as the ‘colored peoples’ Fourth of July.’

It was marked by parades, beauty pageants, rodeos, backyard barbecues and church picnics.

Yes, church.

The formerly enslaved began the day praying in thanks for their freedom just as they had prayed for Jubilee – the day of freedom – when they had chains on their feet and hands. They ‘testified’ about their past suffering and how they had managed to overcome.

And they sang.

Although, we will not hold it this year, Omnira Institute’s Juneteenth Ritual of Remembrance recalled this part of Juneteenth with prayers in the languages of the African captives. In the middle of the ceremony, a soloist would lead us in singing “Many Thousand Gone” while we took turns reciting portions of the Emancipation Proclamation, the news of freedom that took more than two years to reach Texas – two months after the Civil War ended.

“Many Thousand Gone” was famously recorded by Black luminary Paul Robeson in 1947:

“No more auction block for me,

No more, no more

No more auction black for me

Many thousand gone.”

Other verses refer to the ‘pint of salt’ and the ‘driver’s lash,’ the realities of enslavement that they had survived.

‘Sing a Song Full of the Hope That the Present has Brought Us’

All of the genres of African American music have at their root songs like that, the essence being, as Stevie Wonder, wrote, “the joy inside our pain.” So Black music is not just music. It is our story, our history, our very strength.

During the Civil Rights Movement, which peaked 100 years after slavery ended, the people testified that it was the freedom songs – based on spirituals – that gave them the heart to march, face attack dogs, fire hoses, beatings, and shootouts with vigilantes.

The music reminded them that power was in the people. That music, our music, can do so again. We don’t have to accept the commodification of the products of our culture.

The power of those songs is showing a resurgence across the South as we battle again for the right to self-determination through the ballot box.

Those songs are the voices of our ancestors, voices forged in their blood, their sweat, their tears, joy and, above all, faith. Those songs, those prayers live in our blood and our very breath.

This Juneteenth, let us reclaim those holy voices expressed in Black music for ourselves. It is our birthright. It can neither be bought nor sold. No more. Never again.

Wanda Ravernell is the executive director of Omnira Institute, sponsor for 18 years of the Juneteenth Ritual of Remembrance and Oakland’s 11^th Annual Black-Eyed Pea Festival, which will take place on Sept. 12.

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of June 3 – 9, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 3 – 9, 2026

Published

3 days ago

June 9, 2026

Oakland Post

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Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled

BLACKPRESS USA NEWSWIRE — “Since the expiration of tens of billions of dollars in federal child care funding in 2023 and 2024, an already fragile child care system has been pushed even closer to the brink.”
The post Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 days ago

June 8, 2026

Oakland Post

By National Women’s Law Center

The National Women’s Law Center released its annual State Child Care Assistance Policies report, finding that the number of children placed on waiting lists for federally funded child care assistance nearly doubled between 2024 and 2025 — and that number has only continued to grow.

The report serves as a key resource for state lawmakers, advocates, and policymakers by tracking state child care assistance policies and identifying where states are strengthening support for families and early educators — or falling behind.

“This deeply troubling increase in the number of children on child care waiting lists is the result of a failure to invest in this crucial sector,” said Karen Schulman, senior director of state child care policy and author of the report. “Since the expiration of tens of billions of dollars in federal child care funding in 2023 and 2024, an already fragile child care system has been pushed even closer to the brink.”

Key findings in the report related to waiting lists for child care assistance include:

• 17 states had waiting lists or a freeze on intake for child care assistance in February 2025, up from 13 states in February 2024.

• Approximately 106,700 children nationwide were added to waiting lists between February 2024 and February 2025, bringing the total to 225,500 children in February 2025 — a 90 percent increase compared to February 2024.

• The numbers climbed even further between February 2025 and summer/fall 2025, with more than 175,000 additional children added to state waiting lists in just a few months — a 78 percent increase.

• At least seven states newly began placing families on waiting lists or freezing intake, while at least 10 additional states saw their waiting lists grow, after February 2025.

The report also includes state-by-state data on key child care assistance policies, including income eligibility limits, parent copayments, provider payment rates, and eligibility policies for parents searching for work.

Click the link to learn more: Warning Signs: State Child Care Assistance Policies 2025.

The post Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled appeared first on BlackPressUSA.