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My Voice. My Census. My Future: A Virtual Town Hall for the Black Community

Salt Lake City — Salt Lake City will host a virtual town hall focused on the importance of the Black community’s participation in the 2020 Census. The event is part of the City’s ongoing efforts to ensure a fair and accurate count of all the City’s communities.

Mayor Erin Mendenhall will welcome a panel of state and local leaders to the Facebook Live discussion, which will be moderated by Shawn Newell, Director of the Utah Multicultural Civic Council.

“Our responsibilities as citizens are comprised of not only the ‘me,’ they encompass the ‘we,’” Newell said. “The Census is one of the most critical means of impacting how our education, growth, safety and livelihoods will be formed for the next ten years, thus formulating a greater opportunity for an environment conducive to a more inclusive and existence. Participating in the 2020 Census is our responsibility to each other as citizens.”

Currently 65.5%* of Salt Lake City residents and 67.2%* of Utahns have self-responded to the 2020 Census. A higher census participation rate will mean Salt Lake City’s schools, roads and health clinics are supported and funded. The Census began March 12 and it will continue through Oct. 31.

“Responding to the census is our civic duty; it protects our future.” said Representative Sandra Hollins, who will be participating in the discussion.

Census data impacts congressional representation in the U.S. House of Representatives and determines how many seats Utah gets. The Census has a far-reaching impact not just on the national level but at the local and state level as well.

What: Black Community Town Hall: My Voice. My Census. My Future
When: Aug. 4, 2020 at 6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Where: Facebook.com/SLCGovernment
Who:

  • Shawn Newell (moderator) – Director of the Utah Multicultural Civic Council
  • Representative Sandra Hollins – Utah House of Representatives, District 23
  • Commissioner Betty Sawyer – Ogden Diversity Commission and Community Engagement Coordinator in Access & Diversity at Weber State University
  • James Jackson III – Founder and Executive Director of the Utah Black Chamber and Supplier Diversity Program Manager at Zions Bancorporation
  • Jasmine Walton – Community Engagement Coordinator at NeighborWorks Salt Lake

*Percentage for self-responses changed .1 percent since this press release was sent out to the media.

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