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Black Futures Lab Encourages Participation of Black Census Project in Illinois
The Black Futures Lab is engaging Black communities in Illinois to participate in its Black Census Project as part of its efforts to collect 200,000 responses from across all 50 states and identify the issues, needs, and ideas that must be addressed for Black communities to thrive.
“If you want to take a pulse on what is happening with the country at large, listen and be responsive to Black communities,” said Alicia Garza, principal and founder of Black Futures Lab. “As we head into 2024, it is critical that we engage Black communities early and often. Every day, policy is being made about us, without us. This survey will help change that.”
The Black Census is a survey-style questionnaire that can be quickly and easily completed online at blackcensus.org. Through October, Black Futures Lab is conducting outreach by phone and text, placing digital ads on social media, and doorknocking in communities across the nation.
Results from the Black Census will inform the Black agenda 2024, a legislative roadmap for how to make
Black lives matter in public policy. The data from the Black Census will be used to influence and impact all institutions and decision-makers who are or should be engaging Black people. The data will also inform the priority issues highlighted by candidates and their campaigns in the upcoming 2024 general elections.
“We are our best messengers on what we want, experience, and need,” said Garza. “The Black Census is historic and important — join us and participate so that your voice can be heard, your experience seen, and your needs counted.”
The Black Census Project, first launched in 2018 and then again in 2022, has engaged communities that are typically under-represented in traditional surveys and policy making. In 2022 and 2023, Black Futures Lab has collaborated with more than 40 Black-led grassroots organizations, over a dozen national media partners and Black influencers to survey LGB+ communities, trans communities, incarcerated Black people, Black immigrant communities, and Black people in rural areas.
Over 30,000 Black people from across the country