Race (United States Census)

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Race, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is a self-identification data item in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify.^[1] The categories represent a social-political construct designed for the race or races they considered themselves to be and "generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country".^[2] Race and ethnicity were considered separate and distinct identities, with Hispanic origin asked as a separate question.

1 Racial and ethnic categories
2 The Census 2000
3 Comparability
4 References
5 See also

[edit] Racial and ethnic categories

The racial classifications used by the Census Bureau adhere to the October 30, 1997, Federal Register Notice entitled "Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity" issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).^[3]

The five minimum race categories are:

American Indian or Alaska Native. "A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment."

Asian. "A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam."

Black or African American. "A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. Terms such as 'Haitian' or 'Negro' can be used in addition to 'Black or African American.'"

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. "A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands."

White. "A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa."

An additional category, described as an "ethnicity" rather than a "race" is:

Hispanic or Latino. "A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. The term, 'Spanish origin,' can be used in addition to 'Hispanic or Latino.'"

[edit] The Census 2000

Race was asked differently in the Census 2000 in several ways than previously. Most significantly, respondents were given the option of selecting one or more race categories to indicate their racial identities. Data shows that nearly seven million Americans identified themselves 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. Caution must be used when interpreting changes in the racial composition of the U.S. population over time.

Snapshot: Race in the U.S. Census

The 7th federal census, in 1850, asked for Color^[4] and gave the choices:

white
black
mulatto

The 10th federal census, in 1880, asked for Color^[5] and gave the choices:

white
black
mulatto
Chinese
Indian

The 22nd federal census, in 2000, had a "short form"^[6] that asked two race/ancestry questions:

1. Is the person Spanish/Hispanic/Latino?

No, not Spanish/Hispanic/Latino
Yes, Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano
Yes, Puerto Rican
Yes, Cuban
Yes, other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino (write in group)

2. What is the person's race?

White
Black or African American
American Indian or Alaska Native (write in tribe)
Asian Indian
Chinese
Filipino
Japanese
Korean
Vietnamese
Native Hawaiian
Guamanian or Chamorro
Samoan
Other Pacific Islander (write in race)
Other race (write in race)

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

The following definitions apply to the 2000 census only.^[7]

Asian

Native Hawaiian and
other Pacific Islander

Black or
African American

White

American Indian
and Alaskan Native

"The term White refers to people 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, British, Iraqi, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish.

See also: White (people) and White American

"The term Black or African American refers to people having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa." It includes people who indicate their race as "Black, African Am., or Negro," or provide written entries such as African American, Afro American, Kenyan, Jamaican, Caribbean-American, Nigerian, or Haitian.
"American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) refer to people having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment."
"Asian refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. It includes "Asian Indian," "Chinese", "Filipino", "Korean", "Japanese", "Taiwanese", "Vietnamese", and "Other Asian".
"The term Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHPI) refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. It includes people who indicate their race as "Native Hawaiian", "Guamanian or Chamorro", "Samoan", and "Other Pacific Islander."

See also: Pacific Islander

Some other races includes all other responses not included in the "White", "Black or African American", "American Indian and Alaska Native", "Asian" and "Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander" race categories described above. Respondents providing write-in entries such as multiracial, mixed, interracial, Wesort, or a Hispanic/Latino group (for example, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or Dominican^{[disambiguation needed]}) in the "Some other race" category are included here.
Two or more races refers to multiracial people. People may have chosen to provide two or more races either by checking two or more race response check boxes, by providing multiple write-in responses, or by some combination of check boxes and write-in responses.

[edit] Comparability

The Census Bureau warns that data on race in Census 2000 are not directly comparable to those collected in previous censuses.^[7] Regulations requiring the new language were published by the Office of Management and Budget in the Federal Register^[8] in 1997. In 2001, the National Institute of Health in 2001 adopted the new language to comply with Directive 15.^[9]

Also, people from Mexico are not classified as American Indian in the United States, even though 90% of all Mexicans have partial or full Amerindian origins and 69% with partial or full white (mostly Spanish) origins they are not classified as white either.

Mexico by race

Population: 103,400,165 (July 2002 est.)

Multiracial (American Indian and Spanish) 60%

American Indian 30%

white 9%

other 1%

Mexicans do not generally maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment. This could be a major reason they are not classified as American Indian in the United States. It is the only race category on the US Census where a person must maintain their tribal affiliation or community attachment to be classified by the race they are.

It is important to keep in mind that racial self-identifications on the US Census are optional categories that people select or choose not to select. In the case of Latinos, some choose Asian, Black, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Native American, or White for their race. Many would rather indicate a multiracial ancestry, but using terms different from those on the Census form, such as Mestizo and Mulatto. Some may actually be unsure of their racial origins. In the absence of any racial choice which fits their understanding of themselves, more than 40 percent of Latinos/as will check 'Other' for their race.