Race and ethnicity in the United States Census

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Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, 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] The Office of Management and Budget defines the concept of race as outlined on the US Census as not "scientific or anthropological".^[3] The OMB's conception of race takes into account "social and cultural characteristics as well as ancestry",^[3] using "appropriate scientific methodologies"^[3], but not "primarily biological or genetic in reference".^[3] Race and ethnicity were considered separate and distinct identities, with Hispanic origin asked as a separate question. Thus, in addition to their race, all respondents are also categorized by membership in one of two ethnicities: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino. In 1997, the Office of Management and Budget gave a Federal Register Notice called the "Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity" which defined new racial and ethnic definitions.^[4]

Contents 1 Census 2000 1.1 Race 1.2 Ethnicity 1.3 Relation between ethnicity and race in Census results 2 Comparability 3 Other agencies 4 See also 5 References

[edit] Census 2000

[edit] Race

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[5] and gave the choices: white black mulatto

The 10th federal census, in 1880, asked for Color[6] and gave the choices: white black mulatto Chinese Indian

The 22nd federal census, in 2000, had a "short form"[7] that asked one ethnic and one 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 Samoans 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.^[8]

• 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, 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, or African Am.," or provide written entries such as African American, Afro American, Kenyan, 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 East Asia, South Asia, or Southeast Asia including, for example, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, 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." The US Census counts Indigenous Australians as part of the Pacific Islander race.^[9][10]

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. This category was intended to capture responses such as Mulatto, Creole, and Mestizo.[6] Nine out of ten respondents who selected this category are of Hispanic origin.[7]

• 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] Ethnicity

The Federal government of the United States has mandated that "in data collection and presentation, federal agencies are required to use a minimum of two ethnicities: “Hispanic or Latino” and “Not Hispanic or Latino.”"^[11] The Office of Management and Budget 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."^[11] For discussion of the meaning and scope of the Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, please see the Hispanic, Latino (demonym) or Hispanics in the United States articles.

Use of the word ethnicity for Hispanicity only is considerably more restricted than its conventional meaning, which covers other distinctions, some of which are covered by the "race" and "ancestry" questions. The distinct questions accommodate the possibility of Hispanics in the United States also declaring various racial identities (see also La Raza Cósmica, White Hispanic, Afro-Latin American, Asian Latin American, Zapotec language).

In the 2000 Census, 12.5% of the U.S. population reported Hispanic or Latino ethnicity and 87.5% reported non-Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.^[11]

[edit] Relation between ethnicity and race in Census results

Race	Hispanic or Latino	% of H/L	% of US	Not Hispanic or Latino	% of Not H/L	% of US
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 or African 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	0.1	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

[edit] Comparability

The Census Bureau warns that data on race in Census 2000 are not directly comparable to those collected in previous censuses.^[8] Regulations requiring the new language were published by the Office of Management and Budget in the Federal Register^[12] in 1997. In 2001, the National Institutes of Health adopted the new language to comply with Directive 15.^[13]

Many US residents see race and ethnicity as the same concept.^[3] In the absence of any racial choice which fits their understanding of themselves, 42.2 percent of Hispanics checked "some other race" in Census 2000.^[14] In response to this trend, the 2010 US Census is planning on removing the "some other race" category.^[15]

[edit] Other agencies

In 2007 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of the US Department of Labor updated its racial and ethnic categories to adhere to the current OMB definitions.^[16], see Race and ethnicity (EEO).

[edit] See also

• Language (United States Census)
• United States Census, 2000
• Definitions of whiteness in the United States
• Racial classification of Indian Americans
• Social construction
• Racial demographics of the United States

[edit] References

v • d • e Demographics of the United States

Demographics of the United States · Demographic history Economic · Social Affluence · Educational attainment · Household income · Homeownership · Immigration · Income inequality · Language · Middle classes · Personal income · Poverty · Religion · Social class  · Unemployment by state · Wealth Race · Ethnicity · Ancestry Race and ethnicity in the United States Census · Maps of American ancestries · 2000 Census · Race/ethnicity by EEOC  · Racism Alaska Natives · Asian Americans · African Americans · Africans in the United States · Hispanics in the United States · Muslim Americans · Native Americans · Pacific Islander Americans · White Americans ·