Black leaders convene to prevent ‘historical undercounting of Blacks’ in the U.S. Census

WASHINGTON, DC – Marc Morial (National Urban League), the Rev. Al Sharpton (National Action Network), Congressman Lacy Clay, Melanie Campbell (National Coalition on Black Civic Participation) and others are holding a press conference today to share action plans to help prevent undercounting of blacks in 2010 Census.

In a show of solidarity and commitment to preventing undercounting of blacks in the 2010 Census, black leaders will also hold a special meeting with Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Census Bureau leadership.

Black leaders say the historical undercounting of blacks in the Census has negatively impacted the level of government resources allocated to black communities and political representation.  Census results determine how more than $400 billion in federal dollars are distributed across the country for services and facilities like hospitals, job training and public works projects and how many seats each state receives in the U.S. House of Representatives.