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Historic Caribbean Census Bill Introduced In U.S. Congress
- April 25, 2009 -- A historic bill that calls for
Caribbean nationals to have their own origins category on the U.S.
Census form was on Thursday introduced by Caribbean American
Congresswoman, Yvette D. Clarke of New York’s 11th congressional
district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Clarke bill
calls for all questionnaires `used in the taking of any decennial
census of the U.S. population, to include a checkbox or other similar
option so that respondents may indicate Caribbean extraction or
descent.`
The bill was lobbied for by Carib ID founder,
Felicia Persaud. The movement`s goals are specific: to get Caribbean
nationals accurately counted and their own origins Census category on
all census forms.
`In conducting the 2010 decennial census and
every decennial census thereafter, the Secretary of Commerce shall
include, in any questionnaire distributed or otherwise used for the
purpose of determining the total population by states, a checkbox or
other similar option by which respondents may indicate Caribbean
extraction or descent,` states the bill.
Congresswoman Clarke
said, as a daughter of Caribbean immigrants herself, she is especially
`proud of the measure and sees `it as a great accomplishment.`
`We
introduced a bill which would draw attention to the 2010 census to help
get the message out and help ensure the hard to count population are
reached,` the congresswoman told CaribWorldNews Thursday. `It would
push to provide an origins check box to allow Caribbeans and those with
ancestry to check that category. We examined the form and found this to
be lacking. Being specific on the Census form will allow the federal
government to be able to allocate resource to communities of Caribbean
nationals and their descendants.`
The congresswoman, who last
weekend was part of a group of Congressional members invited to
accompany President Barack Obama on his first trip to the Caribbean and
Mexico since he took the Oath of Office Congress to Trinidad and Tobago
for the 5th Summit of the Americas from April 17 – 18, 2009, credited
Persaud, Chuck Mohan and Irwine Clare for really making the case for
such a measure given the vast growth of the Caribbean Diapsora in the
U.S.
Clarke is the daughter of successful Jamaican immigrants.
Her mother, Una Clarke, was the first Caribbean national elected to the
New York City Council.
CaribID`s Felicia Persaud praised the congresswoman and her staff for the bold and momentous move.
`This
is truly an extraordinary step by our own Caribbean American
congresswoman, who truly understands the struggles of the Caribbean
community across the U.S., which continues to be dismissed simply
because we have no means of accurately counting our bloc,` said
Persaud. `Respect comes from Census numbers and until you are truly
recognized and accurately counted by the U.S. Census, the growth of
this vibrant group and its potential will never be truly realized. We
see this as the first step in the battle to get this category but one
that is truly significant.`
The CEO of Hard Beat Communications
and CaribWorldNews founder also thanked Algene Sajery, the
congresswoman`s acting chief of staff and legislative
director, whose tireless work and collaboration, she said, helped make the bill a reality.
Persaud
added that the Clarke bill gives the Caribbean community renewed
impetus to ensure they lobby around this cause and most importantly,
fill out and return the 2010 Census form, especially by writing in
their country of origin under question 8. The origin’s category is not
an ethnic category so this will not divide the black or Asian or any
other ethnic group that may perceive this as a `divide and rule`
strategy, Persaud added.
Ann Walters, director of CaribID,
Washington, D.C., added that `having this bill introduced by
Congresswoman Clarke is putting us in the right direction for changes
in the census form.`
`Caribbean nationals can now feel they are
part of the process,` said Walters, but warned Caribbean nationals and
Caribbean Americans to mobilize around the census and realize the
importance of `our community being counted accurately as a bloc.`
Chuck
Mohan, board member of CaribID, also thanked and applauded
Congresswoman Clarke. `It is the first step in a long battle to get
`Caribbean` as a specific origins box on the Census form,` said Mohan.
`Now we need to educate Caribbean nationals on the importance of why
they must fill out the 2010 form and most of all lobby to make this
bill law.`
The bill has been referred to the Oversight and
Government Reform Committee, which oversees such changes and is headed
up by Brooklyn Congressman Ed Towns. It comes on the heels of HR 1504,
which was introduced on March 12, 2009 by Congressman Charles Rangel to
call for the inclusion of the category of `Dominican` as a separate
category in the Hispanic question on the 2010 Census.
CaribID
officials now urge all Caribbean based media, entertainers, church
leaders and community based and national organizations in the United
States to contact their members of Congress and ask them to support
H.R.1504. To contact your Representative visit www.house.gov. To
contact your Senator visit www.senate.gov.
Congresswoman
Clarke said the hard work starts now to get support from other
congressional members and to build a the collation on the Hill to boost
support and make the proposal a reality.
`Regardless of where
they reside, Caribbean nationals should contact their representatives
to become sponsors of the bill and start a letter writing campaign to
the speaker and chair of the Government Reform Committee.`
In
explaining the process, the congresswoman also said a senator is now
needed to introduce a similar legislation in the Senate.
The
bill will soon be given a number and then be passed to the
Sub-committee for Information Policy, Census and National Archives,
headed by Congressman Lacy Clay.
It will then be passed to the full reform committee and then on to the House for a full vote.
The
Census, taken every 10 years since 1790, determines how more than $300
billion in federal funding are allocated to states and communities to
pay for highway construction, education, Medicaid, hospitals,
child-care and senior citizen centers, housing and more. Census data
are also used to determine the number of congressional seats each of
the 50 states will have and is used by corporations to determine
advertising buys and sponsorships and by non-profit groups to determine
funding possibilities. For more on CARIBID and getting involved in the
movement to get Caribbean nationals counted, log on to
www.caribid2010.com
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