April 1 is Census Day and a number of organizations are encouraging African Americans to fill out their 2020 Census forms, which allows the Black community to be properly enumerated, made eligible for federal funds and correct political apportionment.

The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation’s Unity Diaspora Coalition, and the National Urban League’s Black Census Roundtable, have joined with more than 40 state and local organizations for Black Census Week to get the message out. The groups are using the social media hashtag #CountMeBlack to spur participation, according to Black Enterprise.

“These are indeed trying times for our nation, as we endure the uncertainty of the COVID-19 global pandemic, said Melanie Campbell, president and CEO of the NCBCP in a statement. “It is times like these that stress even more that each and every person needs to be counted so that we receive the resources and assistance that are due for our communities.”

#CountMeBlack is circulating around social media and the Twitterverse is responding.

Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League said in a statement that even in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s important to be counted in the 2020 Census.

“This pandemic is as bad as we feared it would be, but we must move forward. We must encourage our people to fill out the forms online. The census is power and we must be counted,” he said.

BET has formulated our own efforts to ensure the Black community is counted through the #ReclaimYourCount initiative where you can use the census as an opportunity to be heard.

In the census, which is taken every 10 years, information is drawn that helps to draw electoral and representative districts and also distributes as much as $750 billion in funds to various communities, which in turn supports critical areas like law enforcement, public health, education, infrastructure and more.

To fill out your 2020 Census form, visit https://2020census.gov/