By Danielle Erica, Executive Administrative Director
The census is a headcount of every living person in the United States of America done every 10 years. It contributes to government representation and financial allocation. This affects the Filipino community by potentially giving us Congressional apportionment, civil and voting rights such as Tagalog ballots, redistricting, and providing data to base future surveys, reports and research on. Federal funds for the next 10 years could be allocated to communities where Filipinos live. If we are not counted, it is possible we will not receive any of those benefits.
Texas has the 3rd largest population of Filipinos in the United States with a total number of 146,320. The Greater Houston metropolitan area alone has 62,917 — Making Houston the city with the most Filipinos in all of Texas.
(Data is based on 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates via http://www.aapidata.com).
The deadline to fill out the census is October 15th and it is approaching FAST! Texas has one of the lowest census response rates, which means it is imperative that we count every Filipino in the Greater Houston metropolitan area so decision-makers know we’re here and we need resources for our Filipino community to grow and thrive.
At this point, you may be asking “What can I do to help?”
You can help spread the word about Census importance by participating in the #FilAmFillOut Census Challenge on social media before October 15th! It’s easy! Do the following after you fill out the 2020 Census:
1. Post your favorite family photo on Facebook or Instagram.
2. Copy and paste the Caption Template below to use as your caption. *
3. Tag 10 other Filipinos to challenge them to fill out the 2020 Census and post their own family photos.
* Caption Template :
Filipino families are underrepresented and this can improve if we #FilAmFillOut the 2020 Census! Let’s show everyone we are here and that we deserve access to resources to help our Filipino community thrive.
Take the Fil-Am Fill Out Census Challenge!
1) Complete the Census at my2020census.gov
2) Copy/paste this post and upload a family photo, making sure to use #FilAmFillOut
3. Challenge 10 other Filipinos to do the same
I challenge [Tag 10 Filipinos here] because I believe you and your family count! Let’s make sure we are represented in the Census!
We are doing this for our families and for the future of the Filipino-American community! We as a people are so strong, and we are so much stronger when we work together. If we can just encourage each other to complete the Census before the deadline, we could see so much positive change for the generations to come.
Filipino American National Historical Society 