WE COUNT TOO
By Rev. Leslye Dwight, Minister of Social Justice- Community of Hope AME Church
As we continue to mourn the loss of Katherine Johnson, one whose contributions to history was only brought to the national forefront during the 2016 debut of the movie Hidden Figures; we must remember the continued struggle of African Americans trying to tell their story in a land that doesn’t want to justify their existence.
The fact of the matter is, that we count, we have always counted, and America would it not be where it is today if we didn’t count. The question is in whose count do we matter. It troubles me that African Americans can be counted when it comes to disparities. We can be counted when it comes to poor health and educational outcomes. Our overrepresentation in the criminal justice system can be counted too. Yet, when it comes to the count that gives us our money, power, and vote we stand undercounted by nearly 800,000 persons within our community. Census 2020 is not just an exercise of civic engagement, it’s a moral issue that must be addressed by the church.
The times are calling our churches to action. We are being called for such a time as this, to mobilize and organize and engage our communities. The days of tabling events within the confines of our own congregations are over and will render ineffective if our outreach doesn’t extend into the depths of our community.
The homeless count. When we feed and clothe them, lets make sure we get them counted in the Census too. Our children count, let’s make sure we are partnering with our sports clubs, PTAs and our schools to remind parents to count their children too. Our Black immigrants and our LGBTQIA communities count, let’s be unafraid to move into unchartered territories and spaces to ensure that our outstretched hands touch all those within our community who count. This is a call to action for the church, our church, to use what is in our hands to transform our own communities.
Routinely we open the doors of church on Sunday after the fiery sermon has been preached, but can those same doors be opened Monday through Friday to serve. We can serve as Census hubs where those without internet access can complete the Census. We can use the church van may be used to transport those to local libraries and public space where they can be counted. Regardless the strategy, this has to be our daily focus from now until July if we want to ensure transformed communities.
We can talk about the inequitable distribution of nearly $675 billion that we stand to lose over the next decade. We can talk about the redistricting games that will take away our legislative representation. We can even talk about the low- quality commodities that infiltrate our communities resulting from business decisions driven by Census data. Talking matters not, if we do not move to preserve our legacies in Census 2020 by doing the work.
