Cosponsored with Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation
On March 26, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced his decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 decennial census, in response to a request from the Department of Justice. The Secretary noted that he interviewed more than two dozen people and received more than 50 letters on the subject (including a letter from roughly 120 foundations opposing the addition of the citizenship question.) This emergency briefing helped funders better understand how this decision was made, examined the implications of adding the question, and began a discussion about how funders can respond. Speakers included Gary Bass of the Bauman Foundation, Vanita Gupta of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Arturo Vargas of the NALEO Educational Fund, and John Yang of Asian Americans Advancing Justice.