Brazilian, Cape Verdean and Portuguese community leaders across Massachusetts have united to form a Portuguese-Speaking Complete Count Committee (PSCCC) for the 2010 US Census. The goal is to seek more representation and resources for their population groups and for the state as a whole.
“If we do our job, we will make sure that every Portuguese speaker in Massachusetts gets counted,” said Paulo Pinto, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS). MAPS, a nonprofit health and social service provider in greater Boston, Lowell and Framingham, organized and hosted the first PSCCC meeting at its Cambridge Office on August 20. Nearly 30 community representatives from nonprofit organizations, the Census Bureau, the media and other key positions attended the meeting or joined it by teleconference.
“It was inspiring to have so many dedicated individuals coming together and committing to make this the most successful Census ever,” said Pinto.
At its inaugural meeting, the PSCCC honed in on several key messages that members want to get across to Portuguese speakers for the Census, which will attempt to count every US resident in the spring of 2010.
First, “Everyone should be counted and not be afraid,” said Eduardo Siqueira, Chair of the Board of the Brazilian Immigrant Center, and an Assistant Professor at UMass Lowell.
The committee pointed out that a “complete count” is crucial so that Portuguese speakers, and all Massachusetts residents, have full representation in Congress. A full count also has many other benefits, including ensuring that all communities receive enough government funding for vital services and programs that range from highway construction to education, public safety, health and social services.
Committee members agreed they especially need to inform the community on how to answer the Census questions that refer to race and ethnicity. The PSCCC endorsed this plan for Portuguese speakers:
- Question 8 (or question # 5 for persons 2 and beyond in the household): Check “No – not of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin.”
- Question 9 (or question # 6 for persons 2 and beyond in the household): Check ONLY “Some Other Race” and write in your ethnic/ancestral background such as Brazilian, Cape Verdean, Portuguese etc. in the boxes below.
“According to US Census data, the Portuguese-speaking community doesn’t exist-we are invisible because we are either miscounted or not counted at all,” said Pinto. “We are not as lucky as our friends in the Hispanic community to have our own category on the forms.”
Unofficial estimates of Portuguese speakers in Massachusetts range from 800,000 to 1 million, which would make them the state’s largest linguistic minority. But many in the large and growing Brazilian population are counted as Hispanic/Latino, although Spanish is not their native language. Other Portuguese speakers from Portugal, Cape Verde, and other African countries are scattered among White, Black and other categories.
“Ten years ago, we had a lot of Portuguese speakers who got counted as Latinos,” said Pinto. “The Latino population got a huge increase in the Census, but we still don’t have a picture of our community.”
Edirson Paiva, a community member who also publishes the Brazilian Times newspaper, said a movement to boycott the Census-partly because of fears that undocumented immigrants will be reported to immigration authorities-has caused dissent in the Brazilian community. ”It’s complicated for the Brazilians,” he said.
Census representatives Alexandra Barker and Miryam Wiley emphasized that Census takers operate under a strict confidentiality code upheld by the nation’s highest courts, and personal information obtained in the Census cannot be shared with anyone including police, FBI or Homeland Security. The PSCCC members strongly opposed the boycott idea.
According to the Census staff, assistance guides are being printed in many languages including Portuguese, even though the Census forms are not available in Portuguese. The Boston-based Consulates of Brazil, Cape Verde and Portugal are already educating their constituents about the importance of the Census, and Census employees are also working closely with schools throughout Massachusetts. The PSCCC agreed to work with a variety of Census partners as well as with youth as they try to reach all Portuguese speakers.
Organizations such as MAPS, the Brazilian Women’s Group and the Immigrants’ Assistance Center in New Bedford will be acting as Census assistance centers next spring to help Portuguese speakers and others fill out the forms. They are also helping recruit community members for Census jobs. Census representatives said forms will be mailed to every household beginning in late February 2010, to be mailed back by mid-April. Census takers will begin visiting households that have not replied by May.
The next monthly PSCCC meeting will take place on Sept. 24 from 3-5 pm at MAPS. The group also plans to hold a kick-off breakfast press conference on Sept. 15 to publicize its efforts in the media. Meanwhile, nine newly formed subcommittees will begin meeting, including Media; Faith-Based Community; Southeastern Regional; MetroWest Regional; Northeast Regional; South Shore Regional; Youth; Resources (to serve as the voice for the Committee and as an information center for other local complete count committees); and Outreach.
Other interested community members are invited to join the group anytime. More information is available by calling MAPS at (617) 864-7600, and a Committee web page will also be available soon at www.maps-inc.org.
Individuals who attended the first Committee meeting included:
- 1. Paulo Pinto – MAPS
- 2. Lois Josimovich – MAPS
- 3. Anabela C. Quelha – MAPS
- 4. Norma Malkiel – MAPS
- 5. Renan Leahy – MAPS
- 6. Donna Landry-Rodrigues – MAPS
- 7. Julia Jardim Evora – MAPS
- 8. Martha Vasconcellos – MAPS
- 9. Maria Matos – MAPS
- 10. Paula Bronzoni – MAPS
- 11. Victor Do Couto – MAPS Board
- 12. Marcony Almeida – MAPS Board and MIRA
- 13. Liz Chaves – MAPS Board
- 14. Alexandra Barker – US Census
- 15. Miryam Wiley – US Census
- 16. Roberta Pinheiro – Framingham School Dept
- 17. Heloísa Galvão – Brazilian Women’s Group
- 18. José Ferrão – United Way of Mass. Bay and Merrimack Valley
- 19. Josefina Silva – Georgetown Savings Bank
- 20. Carlos A.F. Da Silva – Brazilian Total Assistance
- 21. Eduardo Siqueira – Brazilian Immigrant Center
- 22. Edirson Paiva – Brazilian Times
- 23. Geraldo Corredor da Paz – Photographer
- 24. Regina Bertholdo – Brazilian Women’s Group, Somerville Parents
- 25. Ilton Lisboa – Framingham
- 26. José Ronaldo Ferreira – O Favorito
- 27. Helena Marques – Immigrants Assistance Center, New Bedford
- 28. Shirley Farber – Bate Papo TV & Magazine
- 29. Adalberto Teixeira – City of Boston