The U.S. Census Bureau is proud of its history of continually 

evolving to ensure an accurate count of the people of the 

United States. To accomplish this, the Census Bureau has long

embraced the hiring of a diverse workforce representative of 

local communities and the people who were a part of the 

neighborhoods that they counted. For this reason, census work 

was often one of the few government jobs open to minorities. 

Beginning with the 1870 Census (the first after the abolition of 

slavery), the Census Bureau began hiring African Americans as 

enumerators and data processors. With the creation of a 

permanent Census Bureau in 1902, black workers and 

statisticians found an environment with an inclusiveness far 

greater than many contemporary institutions. 

Mary Forte was born on November 19, 1921, in Chicago, Illinois. 

Mary’s father, Cyril, had first come to the United States from 

Barbados in 1900 to work as a porter on Pullman railcars, and 

Mary’s mother, George Augusta, and four siblings joined him in 1920. Mary and her siblings 

benefited from their parents hard work and prioritized education, with all but one brother 

attending four years of college. After graduating from Hyde Park High School in 1939, Mary 

attended Wilson Junior College (today 

known as Kennedy-King College) before 

heading to the Chicago Conservatory of 

Music. Throughout her life Mary would 

be known for her gifted soprano, and 

often used her voice to not only speak 

up, but to provide entertainment for 

several causes and fundraisers. 

In 1947, Mary married Leonard W. Grady, a World War II veteran who 

served as an engineer in North Africa and Italy and who briefly worked 

in the US Post Office before starting a fuel delivery company in the 

1950s. Mary and Leonard both believed in giving back to their 

communities and participated in local politics and community 

organizations like the Lions Club. Mary used her singing skills to help 

advertise and fundraise for several causes, like local schools and black 

history celebrations and worked as an organizer for Parent Teacher 

Associations and the United Negro College Fund. Mary also 

understood the power of media, and was quick to write in with both 

praise and criticism when newspapers covered, or failed to cover, 

important events. Mary’s community involvement and media savvy 

made her the perfect recruit for the Census Bureau in 1969, when 

leadership created a new position directly aimed at community 

outreach for historically undercounted populations.

 

Singer, Community Builder, Career Census Specialist

Mary in 1939.

The Aitchpe, Hyde Park High School Yearbook, 

1939 (Chicago, IL)

Mary and her family’s 1940 Census.

The Chicago Daily Defender 

(Chicago, IL) October 13, 1970.
The 1970 Census Community 

Education program marked a new 

direction for the Census Bureau. 

Although there had been a long 

standing policy of having people 

representative of their 

neighborhoods in census operations,

there was still significant undercounts 

following the introduction of mail 

response for the 1960 Census. To 

counteract this, the Census Bureau 

instituted an program to educate

respondents about the importance of 

completing the census for both 

representation of and funding to 

their neighborhoods.

Mary joined the Census Bureau in 1969, and traveled to headquarters in Suitland, MD, for training 

in October. Mary then returned to Chicago and began working with approximately 120 clubs, 

schools, churches, social groups, business organizations, local 

governments, and other organizations. Mary primarily focused on 

increasing response rates among historically undercounted urban 

populations such as African American and Spanish speaking 

households. Although estimates vary based on methodology, the 

1970 Census had an estimated undercount of the black population of 

7.7 percent, compared to an 8 percent undercount in 1960.

Following the 1970 Census, Mary continued working with the Census 

Bureau on public outreach. She attended training at Census Bureau 

headquarters, and in between censuses worked on assisting

community groups in Chicago on the use of census statistics to further 

their causes. For her work, Mary received one of the Department of 

Commerce’s highest awards—the Bronze Medal—in 1975.

By the time the 1980 Census began, Mary had worked her way up the 

census ranks to regional coordinator for service programs where she

continued her outreach to difficult to count populations. When the 

response rates from the mail-response surveys ended up being less than 60% for some 

predominantly minority districts in Chicago, compared to 80% response rates in other parts of the 

city, Mary helped to organize a “Black Census Day.” The event drew thousands of people to 29 

different sites and helped convince households to answer during follow-up operations in May.

Mary continued to work for the Census Bureau through the 1990 Census, where in addition to her 

normal outreach she focused on recruiting more senior citizens as census workers. Mary retired 

from the Census Bureau in 1991, although she remained active in her community and within her 

church. Mary passed away on January 15, 2000, survived by her two sons. Regarding his 

mother’s devotion to her census work, one son remembered, “My mom had this perspective that 

everyone should be 

counted... she had a 

vision of democracy 

that included 

everyone.” We are 

grateful for Mary’s 

service to the U.S. 

Census Bureau, our 

nation, and her 

community.

Mary, standing fifth from the left, with the Chicago Regional Office in 1972.

The SESA Inquirer, October 13, 1972.

Mary, standing third from the right, was awarded one of the Department of Commerce’s most 

prestigious awards, the Bronze Medal, in 1975.

The SESA Inquirer, February 1975.

Jet, January 24, 2000

HB-20-0001