The three surviving children of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his late wife Coretta Scott King have joined a growing list of celebrities who have recorded public service announcements (PSA)encouraging everyone living in the United States to respond to the 2010 Census questionnaire.

King's participating children are Martin Luther King III, a human rights advocate and community activist; Dexter Scott King, president of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change and a documentary film maker; and Bernice Albertine King, a minister, licensed attorney and president-elect of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

In the 60-second PSA,  Bernice begins by saying, “We are united in support of getting everyone counted in the 2010 Census.”

You hear Martin toward the middle of the recording: “It is our human right and civic duty to be counted. So please, honor your commitment to democracy. Welcome your local census taker.”

Dexter chimes in near the end with these words: “Our family, your family, we all count.”


Others who have endorsed the 2010 Census include President Barack Obama, Miss America Caressa
Cameron, Donny Osmond, Karl Rove, Olympic athletes, major league baseball players, mayors, members of Congress and the late Dorothy Height.

Osmond says, “The information you provide will help your community get the federal funding — and
representation in Congress — that it deserves.”
All PSAs recorded to date may be heard online at 2010census.gov or spotsource.census.gov

WHAT IS THE CENSUS?
The Constitution mandates a count of everyone living in the U.S. every 10 years. The data is used to apportion congressional seats and state legislative districts, to distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds to tribal, state and local governments annually and to monitor compliance with anti-discrimination and other federal laws.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that a new audit questions whether the 2010 census can stick to its $15 billion budget because of computer problems that are forcing substantial overtime work.
The report from the Commerce Department inspector general’s office was obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press. It says glitches with the computer system used to manage the door-to-door count caused a 40-hour backlog of work over two weeks.

The report notes that the Census Bureau has already notched more than $1.6 million in overtime costs, and says continuing shutdowns could put the count’s accuracy at risk if census data can’t be put into the system immediately.

Census Bureau director Robert Groves says he believes the agency will stay within its budget.


WHAT IS THE CENSUS?

The Constitution mandates a count of everyone living in the U.S. every 10 years. The data is used to apportion congressional seats and state legislative districts, to distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds to tribal, state and local governments annually and to monitor compliance with anti-discrimination and other federal laws.