{"id":135700,"date":"2020-06-08T19:54:57","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T02:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/?p=135700"},"modified":"2020-07-19T13:22:05","modified_gmt":"2020-07-19T20:22:05","slug":"dont-let-us-disappear-youth-contest-winners-urge-san-francisco-parents-to-fill-out-census","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/dont-let-us-disappear-youth-contest-winners-urge-san-francisco-parents-to-fill-out-census\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cDon\u2019t Let Us Disappear\u201d \u2013 Youth Contest Winners Urge San Francisco Parents to Fill Out Census"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winning entry or entries selected from 100 plus submissions by 14-21 year olds living in San Francisco to EMS’s census contest on “Why My Family Counts.” (EMS)<\/em><\/p>\n

By Sunita Sohrabji and Sandy Close<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

At a time when San Francisco lags behind the statewide average in census response rates, youth artists and writers have a special message for those who have not yet filled out their forms: \u201cDon\u2019t let us disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young people spoke at a June 3 virtual awards celebration honoring winners of a Census contest for 14-21 year olds dubbed \u201cWhy My Family Counts.\u201d The contest drew over 100 contestants working in several mediums, including watercolor, charcoal and pencil sketches, as well as poetry, essay, spoken word and video. The contest was designed to engage youth in the process of ensuring an accurate census count.<\/p>\n

The celebration opened with a panel of civic leaders and census experts who drew direct connections between young people insisting on being counted and nationwide protests over racist violence.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
(Above, Clockwise from top left): Speakers at the June 3 conference \u2013 Adrienne Pon, Director of the Office of Civic Engagement and Community Affairs which sponsored the contest; Stephanie Kim, Director of United Way Bay Area; Robert Clinton, OCEIA\u2019s project manager for the 2020 Census; Sonny Le, a specialist with the Census Bureau; and David Tucker, a census expert with the state complete count committee. (Siliconeer\/Zoom screen grab)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOur communities of color and particularly our black community are in pain,\u201d noted Adrienne Pon, Director of the Office of Civic Engagement and Community Affairs which sponsored the contest. \u201cToday\u2019s event is about more than an art contest.\u00a0 It\u2019s about celebrating the voices and creativity of our youth who choose to express themselves \u2026 in ways that give us reasons to hope that tomorrow will be a better day, that black lives matter, that we ALL count.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently, San Francisco has a response rate of 58% compared to the state average of 61%. The Bay Area overall has a 68% response rate. Last week, the county hit a plateau, registering an increase of only 1%, noted Robert Clinton, OCEIA\u2019s project manager for the 2020 Census. Clinton noted that tracts of the city which reported high rates of COVID-19 infections also had low census participation rates, as did neighborhoods with the lowest income levels.<\/p>\n

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(Above): Painting by Angelo Gerard Ubas, 14.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
(Above): Painting by Maygie Li, 21.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clinton said that the census \u201cis one of the many tools that our federal government has to make us seen as a people but also to erase us as a people.\u201d He referenced the long lengths of time people wait on the phone to reach a census operator as well as limited language options.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe language of the census doesn\u2019t really make a whole lot of sense to people who are limited English proficient who are under educated or who have been marginalized in many other ways,\u201d Clinton said.<\/p>\n

Stephanie Kim, Director of United Way Bay Area, described the census as a tool of empowerment that \u201cgives communities a say in who leads the political institutions that have the power to protect or to harm us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur communities deserve to thrive, not just survive. The same racism that permeates our justice system and sanctions police brutality also has robbed many black communities of the resources they need and deserve,\u201d said Kim.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
(Above): Some of the paintings by other participants on display at the June 3 conference to celebrate the youth of San Francisco\u2019s involvement in the 2020 U.S. Census drive.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

David Tucker, a census expert with the state complete count committee, pointed out that since 1980 California\u2019s black population has had a below average participation rate. \u201cWe need to use this opportunity that we are under siege for social injustice to speak out. While I know we are getting exhausted, I am encouraged and excited by the messages you are sending out to your families and friends. The census is the thread that binds us all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sonny Le, a specialist with the\u00a0 Census Bureau, announced that the Census Bureau wants to activate youth leaders who could become census enumerators in their own communities. Le, who\u00a0 grew up as a refugee from Vietnam in a Tenderloin apartment with three other families, noted that \u00a0\u201cFor me, the census is\u00a0 personal. Some of my relatives are still facing the same problems of access and services I did in the 1980s.\u201d<\/p>\n

Youth speakers followed the census advocates with personal stories echoing the importance of the census as a tool of visibility and empowerment. Angelo Gerard Ubas, 14, said \u201cI\u00a0 painted a family of birds standing on a tree branch looking at the city skyline which was blurry. I know the census doesn\u2019t count animals\u2026but the census will sharpen the image of the city, of who lives here, and help government know what they have to do to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Some of the winners of the Census contest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Maygie Li, 21, said her family immigrated from China and moved to Montana where her grandparents helped build the railway. She is currently a student at California College of Arts. In drawing the face of \u00a0a woman etched against a map of Native lands in Montana, she aimed to uplift an invisible population, and show \u201chow we are all connected and need to be counted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elijah Ladeki, 18, recited his poem entitled \u201cCounted Out\u201d which he wrote \u201cas an opportunity to help my community.\u201d The poem, excerpted here, describes \u201call my life\u201d living in housing projects.\u00a0 \u201cI will look\u00a0 at my single mother and wonder why she is stressed\/I can\u2019t miss out trying to give us a mention\/It\u2019s been way too long putting our rights on layaway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesse Martin, 15, shared his video of a Thanksgiving meal celebrating his large family which he calls \u201ca mix of different ethnicities which are the foundation of San Francisco. If we don\u2019t get counted, we get silenced.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bobbi Brown, 21, recited her tribute to the 2010 census, \u201cNo one should disappear\/Everyone should count\/community and fear\/that out\/2020 Census include all of mine \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

For full texts and paintings by these and other winners, please go to https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/myfamilycounts\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> PDF version of the texts and paintings can be downloaded here:<\/strong><\/em> OCEIA FINAL brochure 3-6-20<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Winning entry or entries selected from 100 plus submissions by 14-21 year olds living in San Francisco to EMS’s census contest on “Why My Family Counts.” (EMS) By Sunita Sohrabji and Sandy Close At a time when San Francisco lags behind the statewide average in census response rates, youth artists and writers have a special…<\/p>\n

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