NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Nashville leaders are taking their U.S. Census campaign to the streets Wednesday in an effort to make sure historically underserved communities are more accurately counted. It came as the deadline to return the survey has been shortened by a month.

The office of Mayor John Cooper is working with local organizations like The Equity Alliance to host a Census parade in the Napier community. According to officials, the parade route begins at the Napier Recreation Center located at 73 Fairfield Ave, where organizers will begin traveling on several streets including First Avenue South, Hart Street, Lewis Street, and Trimble Street before returning to the Napier Recreation Center.

The information from the Census is used in many ways like drawing Congressional lines and determining how the federal government spends billions of dollars in communities like Davidson County.

News 2 talked with the co-founder of The Equity Alliance, Tequila Johnson, about where the money is needed most.

“Definitely in our black and brown communities but really in our working-class communities. I think Nashville definitely has a race problem but I think bigger than that we have a class problem here so traditionally those low-income communities – black, brown, and white are traditionally undercounted,” Johnson said. 

Mayor Cooper said the more people who are counted in Nashville, the more money Metro gets for schools, hospitals, and other public services. The Census parade starts at 3:00 p.m. at the Napier Recreation Center.