Please wait while we load your article...

Home > Race And Ethnicity In The United States Census

Learn more about "Race And Ethnicity In The United States Census"

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census

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), are Self-concept|self-identification data items in which residents choose the Race in the United States|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 designed for the race or races that respondents consider themselves to be and "generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country." The OMB defines the concept of race as outlined for the US Census as not "scientific or anthropological" and takes into account "social and cultural characteristics as well as ancestry" using "appropriate scientific methodologies" but not "primarily biological or genetic in reference." Race and Ethnic group|ethnicity are considered separate and distinct identities, with Hispanic and Latino Americans|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 which provided revised racial and ethnic definitions.

Census 2000

Race

Race was asked differently in the United States Census, 2000|Census 2000 in several other ways than previously. Most significantly, respondents were given the option of selecting one or more race categories to indicate their racial identities. Data show 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 United States Census, 1990|1990 census or earlier censuses. Caution must be used, therefore, when interpreting changes in the racial composition of the US population over time.

2010 Census

The United States Census, 2010|2010 US Census includes changes designed to more clearly distinguish Hispanic ethnicity as not being a race. That includes adding the sentence: "For this census, Hispanic origins are not races." Additionally, the Hispanic terms are reordered from "Hispanic or Latino" to "Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin".Waite, Preston. US Census Bureau. "2010 Decennial Census Program." 2006. accessed July 7, 2008. Although used in the Census and the American Community Survey, "Some other race" is not an official race, and the Bureau considered eliminating it prior to the 2010 census. As the 2010 census form will not contain the question titled "Ancestry" found in recent censuses, there are campaigns to get non-Hispanic West Indian Americans and Arab Americans to indicate their ethnic or national background through the race question, specifically the "Some other race" category.

References

Category:Demographics of the United States Category:Race Category:Ethnic groups in the United States|*

Related Images

Sources: StartLearningNow, Wikipedia | Usage license: GNU FDL

Welcome to Start Learning Now. Explore to your heart's content, and we hope you enjoy reading the material we have assembled for you here!

Related News

Further Resources


	home lucky pick

Related Resources