THURSDAY, MARCH 12
PROGRAM # 8827 12:00 PM PT
The Mayan Count.
Migrant and indigenous communities are historically among the most undercounted in the US Census. Newly arrived immigrant families are fearful and distrust the federal government and census materials are not available in indigenous languages such as Mexican and Guatemalan Mayan and interpreters have a hard time translating Census jargon into Mayan terms. As a result, little is known about the numbers of the Mayan population in California and the US. In an effort to help the community understand the importance of the 2020 Census count, and as homes around the country begin receiving invitations by mail from the Census Bureau today, Mayan interpreters and leaders speak bilingually in this program about the lack of the census count practice in remote rural towns of their native Guatemala, the creative ways in which they explain the lexicon of the census to Mayan-speakers, and their efforts to involve young Mayans to help their families surfing the Internet and to resist the loss of their cultural roots. A national Census spokeswoman also offers news about the letters households are receiving today. This is part of a series supported by San Francisco’s Renaissance Journalism program.
Guests: Maria Olmedo-Malagón, National Spokesperson, US Census 2020, Washington, D.C.; Sebastián Puch, Yucatec Mayan, Member, Asociación Mayab, Salinas, CA; Francisco Icala, Guatemalan Maya K´iche, Community Health Promoter, Court Interpreter, San Francisco, CA; Oswaldo Vidal Martin, Guatemalan Mam Interpreter, Member of Youth Group “Desarrollo Maya”, San Francisco, CA; Henry Sales, Guatemalan Mam Interpreter, Member of Traditional Dance Group, San Francisco, CA.
Photo: radiobilingue.org
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