Why Black Folks Should Participant in the Black Census Project – The Root

Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
With four years until the national census, leaders are urging Black folks to make their voices heard after the third launch of the Black Census Project.
By

Phenix S Halley

Published
CHICAGO, IL – NOVEMBER 09: Job seekers wait in line at Kennedy-King College to attend a job fair hosted by the city of Chicago on November 9, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Thousands of people started to line up at 3AM for the job fair which did not begin until 9AM. When the doors opened the line was about a half-mile long. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
We’re still four years away from the Census Bureau’s public survey. But now, Black Americans have to chance to show up big time for a national survey just for us.
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Black Futures Lab officially launched the 2026 Black Census Project (BCP) this week (March 30), marking the third iteration of the public survey. Unlike past years, however, the BCP is aiming to get at least 300,000 Black respondents across the nation. Given President Donald Trump’s return to office has been largely marked by his attacks against Black Americans and institutions, now is the perfect time for Black Americans to make sure their voices count!
The Black census, which first launched in 2018, is the largest survey of Black people in the country. Kristin Powell, the Executive Director of Black Futures Lab and Black to the Future Action Fund, spoke to The Root about why the BCP matters now.
“Year over year, we see how Black people continue to show up and be engaged — even when the government or political systems continue to attack us and leave us behind,” she said. We’ve been keeping you up to speed with the administration diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) on top of other efforts by the Trump administration and subtle attacks Civil Rights-era legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But throughout it all, Powell said efforts like the Black Census Project are key to maintaining autonomy in the nation.
“Building alternatives to current political systems is one of the most crucial steps toward pushing back against authoritarian forces and defeating fascism,” she added. “Instead of just replacing these systems, which were designed to oppress Black people from the start, we must create a bold vision for what a new system of governance could be and start building toward it.”
It aims to fill in the gaps often left from the Census Bureau’s decennial survey. According to a 2022 report from the federal agency, Black Americans– in addition to Native and Latinx communities– were undercounted in the 2020 census. But even the slightest misrepresentation in the survey often leads to severe consequences for Black people.
Take our own justice system, which incarcerates Black men about five times the rate of white men, according to data from the Sentencing Project. Inaccurate Census numbers could lead to prison population numbers being inflated. And in turn, Black folks in the system could be deprived of necessary funding resources.
“Black communities have the right to be counted accurately, studied rigorously, and taken seriously as governing partners in shaping the future,” Powell continued to us. “When the Black Census closes, we’ll have an invaluable playbook for a new government that works for all of us.”
According to the official website, the first Black Census surveyed more than 30,000 Black people in America. The second census in 2022 was reportedly seven times larger, with more than 211,000 responses across all states. Powell added, “This new version of our Black Census is a way for us to utilize the political imagination and cultural knowledge of hundreds of thousands of Black people to create a long-term vision for change.”
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