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Race and ethnicity in the United States

Census

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia(Redirected fromAfrican American (U.S. Census))

"Other races" redirects here. For other races outside the United States, seeRace (human

classification).

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, defined by the federalOffice of Managementand Budget(OMB) and theUnited States Census Bureau,areself-identificationdata items inwhich residents choose therace or raceswith which they most closely identify, and indicate

whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin (the onlycategories for ethnicity).[1][2]

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 thiscountry."[3]

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" that are not "primarily biological or genetic in

reference."[4]

The race categories include both racial and national-origin groups.[5]

Raceandethnicityare considered separate and distinct identities, withHispanic or Latinoorigin

asked as a separate question. Thus, in addition to their race or races, all respondents are

categorized by membership in one of two ethnic categories, which are "Hispanic or Latino" and"Not Hispanic or Latino". However, the practice of separating "race" and "ethnicity" as different

categories has been criticized both by theAmerican Anthropological Associationand members

ofU.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

[6][7]

In 1997, OMB issued aFederal Registernotice regarding revisions to the standards for the

classification of federal data on race and ethnicity.[8]

OMB developed race and ethnic standardsin 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 moreraces" after noting evidence of increasing numbers of interracial children and wanting to capture

the diversity in a measurable way and 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 reportonly one race.

[3]

Contents

1 How data on race and ethnicity are used

2 Brief overview of race and ethnicity in the U.S. Census' history

o 2.1 18th & 19th centuries

o 2.2 20th century

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s_Census#20th_centuryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#20th_centuryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#20th_centuryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#18th_.26_19th_centurieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#Brief_overview_of_race_and_ethnicity_in_the_U.S._Census.27_historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#How_data_on_race_and_ethnicity_are_usedhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#cite_note-Q.26A-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#cite_note-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Registerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#cite_note-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#cite_note-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Commission_on_Civil_Rightshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Anthropological_Associationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic_and_Latino_Americanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_grouphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_%28human_classification%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#cite_note-fact-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#cite_note-AAA-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#cite_note-Q.26A-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-identificationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Census_Bureauhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Management_and_Budgethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Management_and_Budgethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_%28human_classification%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_%28human_classification%29http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=African_American_%28U.S._Census%29&redirect=no

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o 2.3 21st century

3 Relation between ethnicity and race in census results

4 Other agencies

5 See also

6 References

7 Further reading

How data on race and ethnicity are used

The OMB states, "many federal programs are put into effect based on the race data obtainedfrom 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 localjurisdictions".

"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., identifyingsegments of the population who may not be receiving medical services under thePublic Health

Act;evaluating whether financial institutions are meeting the credit needs of minority

populations under theCommunity Reinvestment Act).[5]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#21st_centuryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#21st_centuryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#Relation_between_ethnicity_and_race_in_census_resultshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#Relation_between_ethnicity_and_race_in_census_resultshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#Other_agencieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#Other_agencieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#Referenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#Referenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#Further_readinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#Further_readinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Health_Acthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Health_Acthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Health_Acthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Health_Acthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Reinvestment_Acthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Reinvestment_Acthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Reinvestment_Acthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#cite_note-fact-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#cite_note-fact-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#cite_note-fact-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#cite_note-fact-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Reinvestment_Acthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Health_Acthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Health_Acthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#Further_readinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#Referenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#Other_agencieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#Relation_between_ethnicity_and_race_in_census_resultshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_ethnicity_in_the_United_States_Census#21st_century