Ti’dad: Counting Our Community for US Census

Since October 2019, Al-Bustan has been working with local and national partners to ensure a fair and accurate count for the 2020 US Census. Our focus is on encouraging Arab Americans to fill out their Census.

Our involvement began on Oct 17 in South Kensington at the Gryphon Café with the On the Table initiative, funded by the Philadelphia Foundation and Knight Foundation. The initiative provided support for community meals across the Philadelphia region designed to engage residents in open dialogue and inspire new solutions to strengthen communities.  After hearing about the needs and issues of the community to connect longtime residents with newer arrivals, in order build a more cohesive sense of community belonging and engagement, Al-Bustan planned a series of events to take place in 2020. The hope was that art and food-based events would help reduce barriers among disparate community members, while also serving a secondary purpose to encourage residents in South Kensington to complete their 2020 Census. With $800 Billion in government funding and political districting being determined by the Census, communities across Philadelphia, and the Arab community in particular, needed to be counted.

Starting in January 2020, Al-Bustan became a Census Partner with the Arab American Institute’s Yalla Count Me In. We also received grants from the Philadelphia Mayor’s office Census initiative, Philly Counts, and the PA Department of Community and Economic Development. We expanded the scope of our South Kensington project to include the Lower Northeast neighborhood with significant residents of Arab heritage. Al-Bustan also became a member organization with PA State Table, PA Voice. This enabled us to launch our Census initiative titled Ti’dad: Counting Our Community.

As the COVID-19 pandemic required us to re-imagine alternatives to our in-person gatherings and outreach, in May we began to hold online Census information sessions. We designed and mailed 1,800 bilingual postcards, distributed nearly 5,000 bilingual doorhangers, and called more than 2,500 households. Our social media campaign has reached more than 50,000 people with more than 14,000 direct engagements. Our team has produced creatives including animations, info graphics, and short PSA videos.

We are grateful for the support of our funders and partners, and the tireless efforts of many volunteers, project assistants, Al-Bustan staff, and artists!

We distributed Arabic & English bilingual Census doorhangers and postcards designed by Ashley Choukeir

Watch this series of bilingual animations!

Part 4: Counting Every Resident | التعداد السكاني للجالية العربية: احتساب كل مقيم

Part 5: Race & Ethnicity | التعداد السكاني للجالية العربية: الإثنية والأصل

Part 6: Impact | التعداد السكاني للجالية العربية: التأثير والمفعول

    الفديو كامل بالعربي: التعداد السكاني للجالية العربية

Complete Video in English: Counting the Arab Community