Equality Texas, the 2020 Census and other partners are presenting the virtual panel event “Queer the Census” tonight (Monday, June 8) at 6 p.m. On the Equality Texas Facebook page to raise awareness around the 2020 census and motivate the Texas LGBTQ community statewide to participate
The 2020 Census count will “set in stone for the next decade the data for calculating a number of incredibly important political apportionments” such as congressional seats and federal funding appropriations for programs such as Section 8 housing assistance for local communities and states nationwide, according to an email press release.
“To put it another way,” the press release continued, “The 2020 Census has huge long-term implications for the LGBTQ community on par with elections and federal court appointments. Don’t let the census pass us by and leave undercounted anyone who is part of the LGBTQ+ or other hard-to-count allied communities.”
The nationwide 2020 Census response rate is slightly over 60 percent of households; the Texas response rate is slightly over 55 percent. But there are many parts of the state where the rates are much lower. Looking at that that means for Texass from a federal funding standpoint, Texas received approximately $60 billion in annual federal funding in 2016, a figure calculated on the basis of census-determined population figures collected in the 2010 Census. At the 55 percent response rate, the press release noted, “If we use the 2016 figures — and most likely it will be higher in 2020 and beyond — that means about $27 billion in federal funding for Texas stands in the balance. Texas does not get all that money unless everyone in Texas gets counted. That’s the bottom line.”
Also participating in the panel discussion are Elia Chino with FLAS in Houston, Emmett Schelling with Transgender Education Network of Texas in Austin and Houston, Diamond Collier with Black Trans Wimen Inc. in Dallas, Dr. Brenda Risch with Borderland Rainbow Center in El Paso, Steven Cano with the South Texas Equality Project and Naomi Brown with Pride Center San Antonio.
