Civil Rights, Social Equity, and Census 2020

• Published date: 01 November 2020
• Author: RaJade M. Berry‐James,Susan T. Gooden,Richard Greggory Johnson
• Date: 01 November 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13285

1100 Public Administration Review • No vember | D ecember 2 020

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 80, Iss. 6, pp. 1100–1108. © 2020 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.13285.

RaJade M. Berry-James

Susan T. Gooden

Richard Greggory Johnson III

Civil Rights, Social Equity, and Census 2020

Abstract: This article examines Census 2020 relative to civil rights and social equity. Mandated by the U.S.

Constitution, the Census is directly related to civil rights as Census totals are used to determine voting representation,

and results impact billions of dollars of federal, state, and local funding across multiple areas including education,

health care, and housing. Census undercounts impact marginalized communities, and this is a heightened concern for

Census 2020 along two core social equity dimensions: (1) race and ethnicity, and (2) immigration and citizenship.

The implementation of Census 2020 is the responsibility of public administrators and poses challenges in the areas of

social equity, leadership, and administrative infrastructure.

Practitioner Points

• Census 2020 matters. Data from the U.S. Census is fundamental to apportioning political power as well as

more than $800 billion each year for governmental services.

• In each state, population totals will determine the House of Representative seats. Every state will use

population totals to redraw legislative districts, allocate resources, and provide public services.

• Racial categories and undercounts have been fundamental concerns since the first U.S. Census in 1790.

These undercounts pose on-going challenges to political participation, representation, and resources.

• The citizenship question controversy of Census 2020 will likely lead to lower completion levels for

noncitizens.

• Implementation of Census 2020 is the responsibility of public administrators, and there are important

challenges relative to civil rights and social equity.

The U.S. Census: Historical Context

Since its constitutional inception in 1787,

there have been significant political and

social consequences of the U.S. Census.

While the word “census” provokes thoughts of a

straightforward and objective numerical population

count, Census implications are broad, complex,

nuanced, and critical. Notably, “the appearance

of political noninvolvement is crucially important

to the legitimacy of census bureaus and censuses”

(Nobles 2000, 5). From a political perspective, “…

The United States became the first nation in the

history of the world to take a population census and

use it to allocate seats in a national assembly according

to the population” (Anderson 2010, 154).

Following the 1910 Census, Congress fixed the

number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives

at 435, where it remains today. As Billard (2000)

explained, this immediately cultivated winners and

losers relative to political power. “It was now a zero-

sum game, and since politicians typically are loath to

give up power, the stage was set for potential battles

in the future” (767). These political battles are not

randomly distributed; rather they follow historical

patterns relative to racial inequities.

Race, Civil Rights, and the U.S. Census

Race has been a fundamental part of the U.S.

Census since its inception. These inequities were

so important that they were specified in the U.S.

Constitution, with slaves counting as merely three-

fifths of white citizens in a state. In discussing the

U.S. House of Representatives, Article 1, Section 2 of

the U.S. Constitution states, in part, “Representatives

and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the

several States which may be included within this

Union, according to their respective Numbers, which

shall be determined by adding to the whole Number

of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a

Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three

fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration

shall be made within three Years after the first

Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and

within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such

Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of

Richard G. Johnson III is a tenured

full professor & department chair for

the Department of Public and Nonprofit

Administration, School of Management,

University of San Francisco and chair of the

USF Institutional Review Board (IRB). As

a scholar, Prof. Johnson’s research centers

on social equity within the fields of public

policy, management, higher education,

and human resources management. He is

widely published with several peer-reviewed

books and over two dozen peer-reviewed

journal articles.

Email: rgjohnsoniii@usfca.edu

Susan T. Gooden is dean and professor

of public administration and policy at the L.

Douglas Wilder School of Government and

Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth

University, past president of the American

Society for Public Administration (ASPA),

and fellow of the National Academy of

Public Administration (NAPA). Her books

include

Why Research Methods Matter

(2018),

Race and Social Equity: A Nervous

Area of Government

(2014), and

Cultural

Competency for Public Administrators

(2012), a co-edited volume.

Email: stgooden@vcu.edu

RaJade M. Berry-James is associate

professor of public administration in

the School of Public and International

Affairs, resident faculty in the Center for

Genetic Engineering & Society at North

Carolina State University, a member of the

NASPAA Executive Council, and past chair

of the Commission on Peer Review and

Accreditation (COPRA). She is co-author of

Why Research Methods Matter: Essential

Skills in Decision Making

(2018). Jade is a

fellow of the National Academy of Public

Administration.

Email: rmberryj@ncsu.edu

Research

Symposium:

Pursuit of Civil

Rights and Public

Sector Values in

the 21st Century:

Examining

Dr. Martin Luther

King Jr.’s Vision in

the Trump Era

North Carolina State University

Virginia Commonwealth University

University of San Francisco