“People are aware of the power of the numbers and they also are aware that this country is with every tick of the clock, is becoming browner and browner. So there’s this death grip really on the status quo and the whiteness of America that is fading and disappearing with every tick up the clock.” —Jeri Green, 2020 Senior Census Advisor, National Urban League April 1 marks Census Day, and the resounding message is clear: Go fill out the Census, y’all. As black people, I’d argue that we have a particularly strong motivation to complete the (approximately 10-question) survey: African Americans have been historically undercounted in America. In the very first Census, black people were counted as three-fifths human. Fast forward to the 2010 Census, when 3.9 million black people were omitted. Jeri Green is the 2020 Census Senior Advisor for the National Urban League. Green says communities of color are increasingly undercounted in the Census. “African-American men of every age group from 18 to 50 are undercounted in significant numbers,” Green told The Root. “Renters are undercounted. Most importantly, 7 out of 10 black children were omitted in the last census.” These omissions mean that millions of dollars in federal funding aren’t allocated to our communities: Pell Grants; national direct student loans; the list goes on. “It’s about democracy. That’s what this is about. The census is the cornerstone of democracy in this country,” says Green. Be counted: Fill out your Census online, by mail or via telephone. Don’t fret! Today might be ‘Census Day,’ but you have until August 14 to submit your 2020 Census. Let’s ‘Make Black Count.’ See the entire video above.