My mother, Ola Mae Sanders, was a very wise woman. She had a seventh-grade education, but she was wise way beyond her schooling. She was a poor person, but she was wise way beyond her poverty. She had a bunch of children, but she was wise way beyond her huge family of fifteen. She was just a very wise woman with many wise sayings. One such saying was, Whatever you count, that’s what you will have the most of.
Mama said if we count our blessings, that is what we will have the most of. If we count our curses, that is what we will have the most of. If we count what we don’t have, we will have much less than we have. If we count what we do have, we will have much more than we know we have. Mama said that counting is truly powerful. Whatever you count, that’s what you will have the most of.
Right now, I really want us to count ourselves so we can have the most for ourselves. The U.S. Census is how we count ourselves. Alabama is being seriously undercounted. In fact, Alabama is listed as dead last in this country in terms of the people being counted for the U.S. Census. Alabama has the lowest response rate in the United States, and the deadline to reply is Wednesday, September 30, 2020 – over the phone at 844-330-2020 extension 0, online, or to have your mailed response postmarked. The COVID-19 pandemic has made the census count far more difficult for all. It makes all of us not count or count the wrong things at the least. Whatever you count, that’s what you will have the most of.
The first U.S. Census was in 1790, some 230 years ago. The U.S. Census is mandated by the United States Constitution, which was ratified in 1789. The very next year, the first census was performed. Every ten years thereafter, the census has been conducted without fail. Whatever you count, that’s what you will have the most of.
The U.S. Census takes fewer than five minutes to complete. Yet it affects so many things in our lives for the next 10 years. Completing the census is an investment of fewer than a half-minute for each year of impact. And the dividends are great. In addition, the law makes every answer completely private and a federal crime for anyone to reveal our census information. Whatever you count, that’s what you will have the most of.
It is actually a violation of federal law to not participate in the U.S. Census. There is a $5,000 dollar fine (penalty) for failing to participate in the census. Most of us do not know this because the law is almost never enforced. There is also a $5,000 dollar fine for providing false information. Some powerful forces do not want some of us to be counted, so they don’t tell us that it is unlawful not to be counted. We must be counted, and we must be counted correctly. Whatever you count, that’s what you will have the most of.
The U.S. Census counts people so that the U.S. Congress can be properly apportioned and people can be properly taxed. It does not count citizens; it counts people regardless of citizenship and background. Originally, Black people were considered 3/5 of a person for purposes of congressional representation. That changed in 1865 with the ratification of the 13th Amendment officially abolishing slavery. Whatever you count, that’s what you will have the most of.
The U.S. Census also counts more than people. But these are separate censuses. They count things involving our economic status. They count things involving our societal statuses such as race, education, family, and general background. They count institutions and businesses. The U.S. Census counts everything that matters. Therefore, we must be counted if we are to matter. Whatever you count, that’s what you will have the most of.
The information from the Census is then used to count other things. We count to determine the number of U.S. Congresspersons each state receives. A low count will likely cause Alabama to lose one of its seven congressional seats. This is very likely at present because Alabama is currently last in the percentage of responses in terms of people being counted for the U.S. Census. We count to determine which persons are placed in state legislative, county commission, boards of education, and other governmental districts. We count to see how much money goes to states, counties, cities, boards of education, and other governmental entities. The more we are counted, the more resources flow our way. The more our statuses, such as poverty, are counted, the more resources come our way. It literally pays to be counted. Whatever you count, that’s what you will have the most of.
The U.S. Census has never been in greater need of full and correct counting. There are those who strenuously oppose certain people being counted; who want certain people not to be counted; who want all Black people not to be counted; and who do not want all Latinx and Native peoples counted. The Trump administration tried to put a citizenship question in the census to scare off families with undocumented immigrants. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected that move on technical grounds. These forces are extremely afraid the census will show that there are more people of color than they desire and that is scary to them. Whatever you count, that’s what you will have the most of.
This census counting was scheduled to continue through October 31, 2020 because of the pandemic. Then the Trump administration recently tried to reduce the time to complete the census to September 30, 2020. A court entered a temporary injunction to prevent this reduction of time, but the deadline to be counted is Wednesday week, September 30, 2020. Some just do not want certain people to be counted. Those not already counted are the hardest to count because of fears, concerns, lack of knowledge, failure of understanding, apathy, etc. They are too often poor people of color. If the census ends early, too many of us will not be counted. If they don’t want us to be counted, that tells us that we must do everything possible to be counted. We have to be counted to be the most we can be. Whatever you count, that’s what you will have the most of.
EPILOGUE –Counting is central. Counting is critical. Counting demands a particular focus on things. If we are not being counted, we are being subtracted. Let’s be counted this time. Whatever you count, that’s what you will have the most of.
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