Also appeared in The Oakland Tribune.

By Nicole Taylor and Helen Zia
Guest Commentary
May 1, 2010

AS OF THE middle of April, 68 percent of Contra Costa County households and 65 percent of Alameda County households turned in their census forms. It is likely a substantial portion of those who haven't responded is nonwhite, whose growing numbers must be accurately counted if all people are to have just and adequate representation.

In these times of severe government cutbacks, we at the East Bay Community Foundation are able to help provide services that government does not. Through partnerships and direct funding of nonprofit organizations, for example, we've helped teach reading skills to 6,000 children and families, helped train 3,000 people in financial literacy, and helped 1,000 entrepreneurs start or expand businesses.

Because of census data, we know that many of those helped are people of color.

We use census data — in particular data about race — to assist us in our work aimed at eliminating racial, sexual, economic and cultural disparities confronting our region, particularly in education and economic opportunity.

We use the data to better reach those in need of some of the $35 million in grants made since last July 1 by individuals, families and organizations holding charitable funds with us.

We use the data to apply for grants from large private foundations supportive of our causes — for job creation, providing families with resources to build financial assets and other forms of economic opportunity.

We're not the only foundation to use census data. The data will be used by our country's large philanthropic sector, which invests $200 billion annually in charitable giving. Part of this total funds important place-based initiatives aimed at racial, economic and social equality at a time when government spending alone cannot fill our nation's needs.

This is all in addition to the fact that census data are used to allocate money in the federal government's largest assistance programs, enforce civil rights laws, and determine congressional representation.

People will be adequately counted by the census only if those of all races participate, particularly in the answer to the question in which you are asked to identify your race. The question about race has been asked in U.S. censuses since 1790.

It is essential to understanding the diversity of our country at a time when the demographic ground of America is rapidly shifting from one in which whites are a majority to one in which whites will become one of a number of racial groups, none of which will be in the majority.

It is possible that as soon as 2050, between 40 percent and 50 percent of the U.S. population will be people of color.

California crossed that milestone 10 years ago. The state's white population dropped from more than 57 percent in 1990 to less than 47 percent in 2000.

The East Bay, in particular, is on the leading edge of this demographic sea change and is becoming more diverse more quickly than the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area. In only 10 years from today, according to estimates from the California Department of Finance, Alameda County's nonwhite population will grow to 70 percent of the total and Contra Costa County's communities of color will become 56 percent of the total.

One of the great strengths of our region is the diversity of our people and of their backgrounds, cultures, beliefs, and experiences — a diversity of assets and strengths that can be tapped to solve problems dynamically and effectively.

The Census Bureau will send out workers to homes that didn't respond — and to other locations in an attempt to get the most accurate count possible. Participation of respondents of all races in this phase is crucial.

Racial tension and strife will continue to exist until we see real gains in social and economic equality. Taking an accurate picture of the many diverse peoples who make up the whole is an important step in the right direction for all of us. 

Nicole Taylor is president & CEO of the East Bay Community Foundation and formerly managing director of the Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University. Helen Zia is the author of "Asian American Dreams: the Emergence of an American People," and serves on the board of directors of the East Bay Community Foundation.