Race and ethnicity in the United States Census

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin (ethnicity).

The racial categories represent a social-political construct for the race or races that respondents consider themselves to be and "generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country." The race categories include both racial and national-origin groups.

Race and ethnicity are considered separate and distinct identities, with Hispanic or Latino origin asked as a separate question. Thus, in addition to their race or races, all respondents are categorized by membership in one of two ethnicities, which are "Hispanic or Latino" and "Not Hispanic or Latino".

In 1997, OMB issued a Federal Register Notice regarding revisions to the standards for the classification of federal data on race and ethnicity. OMB developed race and ethnic standards in order to provide "consistent data on race and ethnicity throughout the Federal Government. The development of the data standards stem in large measure from new responsibilities to enforce civil rights laws." Among the changes, OMB issued the instruction to "mark one or more races" after noting evidence of increasing numbers of interracial children and wanting to capture the diversity in a measurable way, and after having received requests by people who wanted to be able to acknowledge their or their children's full ancestry rather than identifying with only one group. Prior to this decision, the Census and other government data collections asked people to report only one race.

How data on race and ethnicity are used

The OMB states that “many federal programs are put into effect based on the race data obtained from the decennial census (i.e., promoting equal employment opportunities; assessing racial disparities in health and environmental risks). Race data are also critical for the basic research behind many policy decisions. States require these data to meet legislative redistricting requirements. The data are needed to monitor compliance with the Voting Rights Act by local jurisdictions."

"Data on ethnic groups are important for putting into effect a number of federal statutes (i.e., enforcing bilingual election rules under the Voting Rights Act; monitoring and enforcing equal employment opportunities under the Civil Rights Act). Data on Ethnic Groups are also needed by local governments to run programs and meet legislative requirements (i.e., identifying segments of the population who may not be receiving medical services under the Public Health Act; evaluating whether financial institutions are meeting the credit needs of minority populations under the Community Reinvestment Act).”

In 1800 and 1810, the age question regarding free white males was more detailed.

The Supplemental American Indian questionnaire was back, but in abbreviated form. It featured a question asking if the person was of full or mixed American Indian ancestry.

Census 1940 (Population)

The 1940 census was the first to include separate population and housing questionnaires.

Census 2000 (Population)

Race was asked differently in the Census 2000 in several other ways than previously. Most significantly, respondents were given the option of selecting one or more race categories to indicate racial identities. Data show that nearly seven million Americans identified as members of two or more races. Because of these changes, the Census 2000 data on race are not directly comparable with data from the 1990 census or earlier censuses. Use of caution is therefore recommended when interpreting changes in the racial composition of the US population over time. {| border="1" align="right" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="250" style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |- |Snapshot: Race in the US Census |- |The 23rd federal census, 2010 asks one ethnic and one race question (questions 1-4 not reproduced here, questions 5 and 6 paraphrased):

8. Is the person of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?

No, not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin

Yes, Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano

Yes, Puerto Rican

Yes, Cuban

Yes, another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin — Print origin, for example, Argentinean, Colombian, Dominican, Nicaraguan, Salvadoran, Spaniard, and so on.

9. What is the person's race?

White

Black, African Am., or Negro

American Indian or Alaska Native — Print name of enrolled or principal tribe.

Asian Indian

Chinese

Filipino

Other Asian — Print race, for example, Hmong, Laotian, Thai, Pakistani, Cambodian, and so on.

Japanese

Korean

Vietnamese

Native Hawaiian

Guamanian or Chamorro

Samoan

Other Pacific Islander — Print race, for example, Fijian, Tongan, and so on.

Some other race — Print race.

This census acknowledged that "race categories include both racial and national-origin groups." |}

The following definitions apply to the 2000 census only.

"White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "White" or report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish." The Census Bureau defines "Hispanic or Latino" as "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race."

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right" |- !Race !!Hispanic orLatino!!% ofH/L!!% ofUS!!Not Hispanicor Latino!!% of NotH/L!!% ofUS |- !Any races |35,305,818||100||12.5||246,116,088||100||87.5 |- !One race: |33,081,736||93.7||11.8||241,513,942||98.1||85.8 |- !White |16,907,852||47.9||6.0||194,552,774||79.1||69.1 |- !Black orAfrican A. |710,353||2.0||0.3||33,947,837||13.8||12.1 |- !A. Indian/Alaska Nat. |407,073||1.2||0.1||2,068,883||0.8||0.7 |- !Asian |119,829||0.3||<0.1||10,123,169||4.1||3.6 |- !Hawaiian N.& Pacific Is. |45,326||0.1||<0.1||353,509||0.1||0.1 |- !Some other |14,891,303||42.2||5.3||467,770||0.2||0.2 |- !2+ races: |2,224,082||6.3||0.8||4,602,146||1.9||1.6 |- !Some other+ W/B/N/A |1,859,538||5.3||0.7||1,302,875||0.5||0.5 |- !2+ W/B/N/A |364,544||1.0||0.1||3,299,271||1.3||1.2 |}

In the 2000 Census, respondents were tallied in each of the race groups they reported. Consequently, the total of each racial category exceeds the total population because some people reported more than one race.

The Census Bureau implemented a Census Quality Survey, gathering data from approximately 50,000 households in order to assess the reporting of race and Hispanic origin in the 2000 Census with the purpose creating a way to make comparisons between the 2000 Census with previous Census racial data.

The AAA also stated,

{{quote|"The American Anthropological Association recommends the elimination of the term "race" from OMB Directive 15 during the planning for the 2010 Census. During the past 50 years, "race" has been scientifically proven to not be a real, natural phenomenon. More specific, social categories such as "ethnicity" or "ethnic group" are more salient for scientific purposes and have fewer of the negative, racist connotations for which the concept of race was developed."

"Yet the concept of race has become thoroughly—and perniciously—woven into the cultural and political fabric of the United States. It has become an essential element of both individual identity and government policy. Because so much harm has been based on "racial" distinctions over the years, correctives for such harm must also acknowledge the impact of "racial" consciousness among the U.S. populace, regardless of the fact that "race" has no scientific justification in human biology. Eventually, however, these classifications must be transcended and replaced by more non-racist and accurate ways of representing the diversity of the U.S. population."

Although used in the Census and the American Community Survey, "Some other race" is not an official race, As the 2010 census form does not contain the question titled "Ancestry" found in recent censuses, there are campaigns to get non-Hispanic West Indian Americans, Arab Americans and Iranian Americans to indicate their ethnic or national background through the race question, specifically the "Some other race" category.

The Interagency Committee has suggested that the concept of marking multiple boxes be extended to the Hispanic origin question, thereby freeing individuals from having to choose between their parents' ethnic heritages. In other words, a respondent could chose both "Hispanic or Latino" and "Not Hispanic or Latino".

Other agencies

In 2001, the National Institutes of Health adopted the new language to comply with the revisions to Directive 15, as did the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of the United States Department of Labor in 2007. See Race and ethnicity (EEO).

See also

Criticism of the term Latino

Language (United States Census)

Race (classification of humans)

Race in the United States

Race and ethnicity in the United States

United States Census, 2000

References

Category:Demographics of the United States Category:Race in the United States