Census Deadline Extended: Statement from E Pluribus Unum founder and president Mitch Landrieu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 25, 2020

Contact:
Ryan Berni
ryan@unumfund.org
504-417-1933

(NEW ORLEANS, LA) – Today, Judge Lucy H. Koh issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Trump administration from winding down the census count by September 30, a month before the scheduled completion date of October 31. Below is a response statement from E Pluribus Unum founder and president Mitch Landrieu:

“This updated deadline will give often undercounted communities a better chance to complete the census and help reduce disparities that have been allowed to fester for generations. It is a necessary step toward achieving racial and economic equity, especially for those of us living in the South. The 2020 Census will direct as much as $1.5 trillion through more than 300 programs for the next decade and divvy up political power through reapportionment and redistricting. Without an accurate census count, our collective recovery from COVID-19 will be far more difficult in the future. Ultimately, undercounts result in communities with means getting more resources than those without, creating even larger divides. E Pluribus Unum will continue to engage our communities across the south to ensure we get to a more complete count.”

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ABOUT E PLURIBUS UNUM

Founded by former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu in 2018, E Pluribus Unum (EPU) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to build a more just, inclusive and equitable South, uprooting the barriers that have long divided the region by race and class. EPU’s focus is on cultivating and empowering courageous leaders who are focused on racial equity, changing the divisive narratives that perpetuate systemic and interpersonal racism and championing transformative policy change. To learn more, visit www.unumfund.org.