Counting New York: The City and the Census

Archivists, policy makers, and scholars discuss the historical and contemporary challenges to representing all New Yorkers in the federal census.

FEATURING:
Amit S. Bagga, Deputy Director of the NYC Census 2020 Office
Lurie Daniel Favors, Esq., Interim Executive Director & General Counsel, Center for Law and Social Justice, Medgar Evers College
Nancy Foner, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Hunter College
Ian Fowler, Geospatial Librarian, The New York Public Library
Ross Perlin, Co-Director, Endangered Language Alliance
Joshua Jelly-Schapiro, geographer, writer, and co-author of Nonstop Metropolis: A New York City Atlas

With nearly 8.5 million people speaking almost 700 languages, New York is a city that the federal census struggles to fully and accurately represent. In 2020 city officials warn of undercounting, but the problem isn’t new—as far back as 1890 concerns with undercounting were so powerful that the city decided to take matters into its own hands and count its citizens itself.

What is the history of New York’s census woes, and, as we undertake to be counted once again in 2020, what are the current challenges we face? How has the census failed to capture our breadth and diversity in the past, and what efforts are being made now to ensure that counting New Yorkers ensures the representation we deserve?

FIRST COME, FIRST SEATED
For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released shortly before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A standby line will form one hour before the program.

PRESS 
Please send all press inquiries (photo, video, interviews, audio-recording, etc.) at least 24-hours before the day of the program to Sara Beth Joren at sarabethjoren@nypl.org.

For all other inquiries, please contact publicprograms@nypl.org.

ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION
This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs. Assistive listening devices and large-format programs are available on-site. ASL interpretation and real-time (CART) captioning available upon request. Please submit your request at least two weeks in advance by emailing accessibility@nypl.org.

For other accessibility information, please contact accessibility@nypl.org.