CUTTING OUR COUNTRY'S FUTURE SHORT 
CENSUS CUT ONE MONTH SHORT: NOW ENDING SEPTEMBER 30

Take Action Now to Stop the Erasure of Our Most Marginalized Communities for the Next Decade

In breaking news, the current administration has forced the Census Bureau to stop all Census data gathering a month early—on September 30 instead of October 31—as part of their efforts to erase and under-resource our communities. This change destroys the integrity and accuracy of the census for partisan gain—and will skew Congressional representation, redistricting, and critical funding for every state in the country for the next 10 years.

This forced rush to end the Census in the middle of a pandemic purposefully shortchanges critical operations to count people of color, Native people, people with disabilities, low-income people, people experiencing homelessness, and other communities—especially those hit hardest by the pandemic. Four out of 10 households nationwide have still not participated, and self-response rates are even lower in many marginalized communities. The intention is to cheat millions of people out of their right to participate in the 2020 Census, and the health care, education, housing, and fair representation they deserve. Read more on this from Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights here. 

With less than 8 weeks left to count 40% of our nation's communities—to ensure we all get our fair share for the next 10 years—here’s what you can do: 
 

Fill out your 2020 Census. If you haven’t already, please spend 10 minutes answering the 9-question Census online or by phone (1-844-330-2020). Get your loved ones and friends to do it too.

Call your senators and demand an extension for the Census Bureau to protect the integrity of the 2020 Census by supporting a Census extension.
 
The Census Bureau and the Commerce Department—the professionals responsible for actually executing the count—asked for this delay before political forces tried to intervene. It's naive to pretend this pandemic doesn't pose unique challenges to getting an accurate census count. Not completing a full and accurate count dangerously threatens our democracy, the distribution of essential federal funding to our communities, and the redistricting process. The negative consequences will last a decade. Click here to get your senator's contact information.


 

Inspire + inform your neighbors to be counted. Download Art+Action artist-designed posters + postcards + coloring pages here, and put them up in your neighborhood shops, restaurants, libraries, and parks; the windows in your home; and share via your social media accounts.

Customize the COME TO YOUR CENSUS campaign for your communities. Personalize the call-to-action for your state, city, school, business, or family: 'COME TO YOUR CENSUS, IOWA / BROOKLYN / CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL / GRANDPA.' Use artwork we provide, or highlight your own artists in our poster templates. Order design files by completing this Google Form or email us hello@artandaction.us. 




 

COME TO YOUR CENSUS, TEXAS + FLORIDA
ARTIST OPEN CALL: DEADLINE AUGUST 19

With less than two months left to try to ensure our communities get their fair share of federal funding and political representation for the next decade, Art+Action is bringing the COME TO YOUR CENSUS campaign to Texas and Florida. 

With the support of Ford Foundation, we are seeking 10 artists (5 from each state) whose work will serve to inspire their communities—particularly the hard-to-count—to participate in the 2020 Census. The artworks selected will appear on billboards in their respective states, in Art+Action’s online Census Toolkit, and on social media outlets. The artists will be highlighted as Featured Artists in our campaign and will receive an artist prize of $1,000. 
 

Artwork (clockwise from left to right): Stephanie Syjuco, Miguel Arzabe, Lava Thomas. Photos by David Elliott

To apply, email the following to hello@artandaction.us by Wednesday, August 19, 6pm EST:

• Artist name
• Email address
• Phone Number
• City of Residence
• Artwork as a .Jpg file (300 dpi or higher)
• Artist bio (3-5 sentences about you)
• 3-5 sentences about why this artwork will inspire your community to participate in the 2020 Census

+ Download a PDF to share the Florida Open Call for Artists here. 
+ Download a PDF to share the Texas Open Call for Artists here.