The Census Bureau is recommending that Hispanics be treated as a distinct race, a move that acknowledges the group's growing significance, but
could reduce their numbers in future surveys.
The census currently considers "Hispanics" an ethnicity, allowing people
to identify both as Hispanic and as a member of a separate racial group. The
proposed change would drop the ethnicity question, and simply ask about race,
allowing people to check a box next to choices that include black, white, or
Hispanic.
The proposal concerns some Hispanic political leaders who fear that it
would lead to a lower overall Hispanic count as some people of mixed origin
choose to identify as white or black.
"This is a hot-button issue," said Angelo Falcon, president of the
National Institute for Latino policy in New York City and a community adviser
to the census. "The burden will be on the Census Bureau to come up with
evidence that wording changes will not undermine the Latino numbers."
But others doubt it will undermine the numbers because Latinos who are of
European, African or indigenous American descent will more likely choose
Latino as their race if it's an option.
"There'll be a lot fewer Hispanics checking the white box," said Tomas
Jimenez, a sociology professor at Stanford University. He said the proposed
change might better reflect how Latinos define themselves. If anything, making
Hispanic a race "will probably mean a decrease in the population of people
identifying as white," he said.
The proposal was among several Census Bureau recommendations released
Wednesday, stemming from new government research on the best ways to count the
nation's demographic groups. The other changes would drop use of "Negro" from
census surveys and add write-in categories Arabs and Middle Easterners to
specifically identify themselves.
The changes are based on research conducted during the 2010 census that
showed many people who filled out the traditional form did not feel they fit
within the five government-defined racial categories: white, black, Asian,
Pacific Island and Native Indian/Alaska Native.
More than 14 million Californians identified themselves as
Latino/Hispanic in the 2010 census, and a growing number, in the race
category, are describing themselves as "some other race."
Nationally, about 18 million -- roughly 37 percent -- Latinos used the
"some other race" category.
"It's critical that race and ethnicity reflect how people identify
themselves," Census director Robert Groves said.
The term "Negro" is slated for elimination after several
African-Americans took umbrage with the 2010 census question asking if a
person was "black, African-American or Negro."
Oakland NAACP leader George Holland said the term wasn't acceptable to
him, but questioned its removal at a time when some older African-Americans
still identify as "Negroes."
"I just don't want to cause any friction," he said. "I don't want to
alienate anyone."
Government research in 2010 found that removing the term "Negro" did not
lower the response rates among African-Americans.
The wording in census surveys can also be highly political: census data
are used to distribute more than $400 billion in federal aid and draw
political districts and thus can elicit concern if a change were to yield a
lower response.
Whether the question is asked as a race or ethnicity, it is important to
count Latinos and other groups, said UC Berkeley Political Science professor
Lisa Garcia Bedolla.
"There are important disparities in health, education and economic
indicators" she said. "The only way we can target intervention and make sure
the intervention is working is to track these categories."
The government definitions of racial groups are set by the White House
Office of Management and Budget. Currently, Hispanics are an ethnic group,
which means although they share a common language, culture and heritage, they
do not share a common race. They can be black, white, Asian, American Indian
or descended from original peoples of a place colonized by Spain.
Changes to questions on census forms also must be approved by Congress.
Many demographers predict a wider range of responses on census forms and
blurring of racial categories over the next 50 years as the minority
population grows and interracial marriage becomes more common.
For many Latinos, the proposed changes could clear up some of the
confusion around their identity on the census, but leave them in a quandary
over how to identify themselves.
Richmond City Councilwoman Jovanka Beckles, who is black and a native of
Panama, said she'll simply check both boxes: black and Latino.
"I'm a Latin American who is now American, so I'm a Latin
African-American. It gets to be a little confusing."
