It’s been 10 years since we’ve participated in the US Census, and guess what…it’s time to do it again…
Ten years ago in the year 2000, I was still in college and I remember having a home visit from a census taker. I had not completed the form and did not prioritize doing so. The older gentleman sat down with me and we completed the form together. Although I understood the purpose (the census affects the numbers of seats your state occupies in the U.S. House of Representatives) of the census, at the time I felt as if it was almost an invasion of privacy! Do you remember the first time you completed a census form?
Ten years later, we are in the year 2010 and once again we are subject to report on ourselves. 10 questions must be answered in order to fulfill a promise of the Constitution and ensure that federal funds are allocated to communities that need, and deserve funding. Or at least this is what I would like to believe. :-)
The 10 questions on the census:
1.How many people were living or staying in this house, apartment, or mobile home on April 1, 2010?
2.Were there any additional people staying here April 1, 2010 that you did not include in Question 1?
3.Is this house, apartment, or mobile home: owned with mortgage, owned without mortgage, rented, occupied without rent?
4.What is your telephone number?
5.Please provide information for each person living here. Start with a person here who owns or rents this house, apartment, or mobile home. If the owner or renter lives somewhere else, start with any adult living here. This will be Person 1. What is Person 1's name?
6.What is Person 1's sex?
7.What is Person 1's age and Date of Birth?
8.Is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin?
9.What is Person 1's race?
10.Does Person 1 sometimes live or stay somewhere else?
Is there any question that you cannot answer?
In examining Question 9, according to 2010.census.gov this question has been, “Asked since 1790. Race is key to implementing many federal laws and is needed to monitor compliance with the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. State governments use the data to determine congressional, state and local voting districts. Race data are also used to assess fairness of employment practices, to monitor racial disparities in characteristics such as health and education and to plan and obtain funds for public services.”
If we take a closer look at Question 9, many Caribbean- Americans feel as though they cannot answer this question. The choices “Black, African-American, or Negro” are not sufficient. As citizens of this country, we should all be represented and clearly there is no place for clear representation for Caribbean-Americans on the census; unless one checks the box for “Some other race.” Truly, how American is that?
Friday, March 5, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Blog for NJ parents
http://parentspotlight.blogspot.com/
This parent blog is run by Dana Wilson, executive board member, NAACP MEAB.
This parent blog is run by Dana Wilson, executive board member, NAACP MEAB.
Friday, January 2, 2009
A New Beginning
Hello Everyone,
Welcome to 2009! I cannot believe that an entire year has passed since I have posted to this blog. Quite frankly, 2008 was one of the most difficult years of my life. I am happy to say that now things are much better and I am grateful for a new year and a new beginning. I have thought much about what I want for my life in 2009 and how I can make a positive difference in the world. So much has changed over this past year for me. What has changed for you? What positive differences will you make in the world this year?
I am so happy that we will have a new president. What are your thoughts on this? Did you ever think that we would have a Black president?
The truth is that we all have come so very far and still there is much progress to be made. Yet I am thankful for each new day, and every new opportunity.
I am eager to read your comments posted to this blog.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Happy New Year NAACP MEAB!
Hello Everyone! It is officially 2008 and a New Year offers new beginnings and an opportunity to reflect on what is most important. For this new blog strand I pose the following questions:
What should the NAACP MEAB focus on for 2008?
What goals should we have and what issues do we need to address?
What should the NAACP MEAB focus on for 2008?
What goals should we have and what issues do we need to address?
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Noose- Racial Ramblings of a Black Mommy
In response to the noose incident at Columbia University... I was not surprised that it happened in 2007. I know racism still exists. I was more surprised of where it happened, in the heart of multicultural New York City. People up north tend to be more subtle with their racism. Down south, people are more bold, more "in your face" with how they feel.
While attending the University of Florida in the late 1980s, I had to deal with students hanging confederate flags from their dorm windows and on their cars, skinheads chasing black students with pipes, tenured professors who were hiring during the days when the college was all-white, and the formation of the White Student Union. When I returned to UF in 1997 for a half a year, things had improved, but there were still problems.
I believe that with each generation, things will improve as we continue to racially intermarry, live in integrated neighborhoods, and have more blacks moving up the corporate and political ladder. People are more exposed to each other's cultures whether they want to be or not. Sometimes you can't even tell what race people are anymore. The die hard racists from the civil rights days are still alive spewing their political incorrect views. Their children and grandchildren have managed to do things in a more discreet way, giving the (sometimes false) appearance that people are not as racist as the 1960s. It is amazing to see in my lifetime (I'm in my late 30s) that we have a viable Presidential candidate that is black and that even on the Republican side, we are being considered for such high offices. Many people looked at Colin Powell as a possible Presidential candidate. Now it is the norm for a person of color to be the secretary of state (national and local). This would have been considered far-fetched when I was a kid.
The day I know things will have truly changed will be the day when you can walk into an average suburban high school in NJ and see integrated lunch tables and black children not afraid to be smart and articulate (as opposed to be called too white sounding and acting). And I know things will have changed when there is not white flight when blacks move into a neighborhood. One of the most interesting cities in central NJ is Plainfield, where you have very poor black folks living on one side of town and wealthy people such as former Gov. McGreevey living in mansions in Sleepy Hollow. And they (wealthy whites) don't mind living near us, as long as they can afford to send their children to private schools like Rutgers Prep.
By the way, kindergarten at Rutgers Prep is $16,750 for the 2007-08 year, more than two to three times the cost of many other private schools in the area. I don't think you'll find too many blacks there, unless they are there on scholarship. The world of change in education starts in pre-school/kindergarten, and I don't think we are off to a good start with the economic and racial disparities in private school and public school.
Sometimes I wish adult life was like the innocent world of my four-year-old. He has started to notice that people are different colors. But to him we are like a box of crayons, different colors all coming together to make a pretty picture.
Dana Wilson
NAACP MEAB board member
Edison resident
While attending the University of Florida in the late 1980s, I had to deal with students hanging confederate flags from their dorm windows and on their cars, skinheads chasing black students with pipes, tenured professors who were hiring during the days when the college was all-white, and the formation of the White Student Union. When I returned to UF in 1997 for a half a year, things had improved, but there were still problems.
I believe that with each generation, things will improve as we continue to racially intermarry, live in integrated neighborhoods, and have more blacks moving up the corporate and political ladder. People are more exposed to each other's cultures whether they want to be or not. Sometimes you can't even tell what race people are anymore. The die hard racists from the civil rights days are still alive spewing their political incorrect views. Their children and grandchildren have managed to do things in a more discreet way, giving the (sometimes false) appearance that people are not as racist as the 1960s. It is amazing to see in my lifetime (I'm in my late 30s) that we have a viable Presidential candidate that is black and that even on the Republican side, we are being considered for such high offices. Many people looked at Colin Powell as a possible Presidential candidate. Now it is the norm for a person of color to be the secretary of state (national and local). This would have been considered far-fetched when I was a kid.
The day I know things will have truly changed will be the day when you can walk into an average suburban high school in NJ and see integrated lunch tables and black children not afraid to be smart and articulate (as opposed to be called too white sounding and acting). And I know things will have changed when there is not white flight when blacks move into a neighborhood. One of the most interesting cities in central NJ is Plainfield, where you have very poor black folks living on one side of town and wealthy people such as former Gov. McGreevey living in mansions in Sleepy Hollow. And they (wealthy whites) don't mind living near us, as long as they can afford to send their children to private schools like Rutgers Prep.
By the way, kindergarten at Rutgers Prep is $16,750 for the 2007-08 year, more than two to three times the cost of many other private schools in the area. I don't think you'll find too many blacks there, unless they are there on scholarship. The world of change in education starts in pre-school/kindergarten, and I don't think we are off to a good start with the economic and racial disparities in private school and public school.
Sometimes I wish adult life was like the innocent world of my four-year-old. He has started to notice that people are different colors. But to him we are like a box of crayons, different colors all coming together to make a pretty picture.
Dana Wilson
NAACP MEAB board member
Edison resident
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Welcome to the NAACP MEAB Blog!
Greetings Everyone!
Welcome to the NAACP MEAB Blog. Here we can express our ideas, thoughts and concerns about what is going on in our communities, in our country and in our world. I hope that through this blog we are able to grow in our thinking and help one another to take step towards creating an equitable life for all.
Our first topic focuses on the recent racist incidents that have occurred in our country in using a noose as a symbol of hatred, racism and disrespect. Specifically, the events in Jena, Louisiana and also New York City are in the forefront of my mind. Personally, the hanging of a noose on one of my professor's doors at Teachers College, Columbia University infuriated me but also served as a confirmation to those in disbelief that racism is alive, evident and relevant.
So what do you think about the recent events of the noose?
Welcome to the NAACP MEAB Blog. Here we can express our ideas, thoughts and concerns about what is going on in our communities, in our country and in our world. I hope that through this blog we are able to grow in our thinking and help one another to take step towards creating an equitable life for all.
Our first topic focuses on the recent racist incidents that have occurred in our country in using a noose as a symbol of hatred, racism and disrespect. Specifically, the events in Jena, Louisiana and also New York City are in the forefront of my mind. Personally, the hanging of a noose on one of my professor's doors at Teachers College, Columbia University infuriated me but also served as a confirmation to those in disbelief that racism is alive, evident and relevant.
So what do you think about the recent events of the noose?
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