MARCH 24, 2014 Census Bureau explores new Middle East/North Africa ethnic category BY JENS MANUEL KROGSTAD
Organizations representing people of Middle Eastern and North African descent are asking the Census Bureau to add a new ethnic category on forms. People of this heritage are now categorized as “white,” a decades-old practice advocacy groups say is inaccurate.
The new category would be broader than the Arab ancestry data collected by the Census Bureau since 1980. The Arab-American population is small but growing, and its exact size is disputed. The Census Bureau estimates there are 1.8 million Arab-Americans in the U.S., up 51% since 2000. But the Arab American Institute Foundation estimates there are nearly 3.7 million Arab Americans living in the country. The Arab-American population is also diverse, with people claiming ties to 22 countries and various religious backgrounds.
“When immigrants come here they’re very confused by American race classifications,” said Helen Hatab Samhan, former executive director of the Arab American Institute Foundation. “They don’t necessarily relate to them, and they don’t know where they fit.”
A coalition of groups and individuals—including the Arab American Institute Foundation—sent a letter to the Census Bureau last summer that asked for a separate “Middle East/North Africa” ethnic category.
A question about Hispanic origin, currently the only ethnic category, has been asked of all households since 1980. The census form instructs respondents that Hispanic is not a race.
People of Middle Eastern and North African descent have historically identified themselves as white on census forms. But during the 2010 census, activists launched a campaign that urged people to check “some other race” on the form and write in their ancestry. The campaign’s slogan was: “Check it right; you ain’t white!”
The Census Bureau is already looking at big changes to its form. One proposal would create a combined race and ethnicity question in which people would be offered all the race and Hispanic options in one place. Census data are vital to determining everything from how congressional districts are drawn to $400 billion in federal aid programs and enforcement of civil rights laws.
“We’re trying to develop a (race and ethnicity) question that satisfies everyone,” said Roberto Ramirez, a Census official who discussed the issue on a recent visit to the Pew Research Center. “It’s a very political endeavor. It always has been.”
Census officials say they are interested in further researching the Middle East/North Africa designation (also called MENA), and community leaders are optimistic the bureau will test a new ethnic category before the 2020 population count. Samhan said a meeting last week between Census Bureau Director John H. Thompson and groups asking for the new category included discussions about how to proceed with research.
In a combined race and ethnicity question tested during the 2010 Census Alternative Questionnaire Experiment, the white race category included several examples—among them “Egyptian” and “Lebanese”—to guide those who might check the box. But when census officials convened focus groups to study the proposed changes, people said the Egyptian and Lebanese examples were “wrong” and “inaccurate,” said Nicholas Jones, a Census official who recently visited the Pew Research Center to talk about the bureau’s research.
The push to be counted as something other than white is a reversal from a century ago. In the early 20th century, people from the Middle East argued in court to be counted as white instead of Asian. A major concern was anti-Asian legislation that sought to restrict immigration and deny Asians U.S. citizenship. A prominent example of this was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
Because of distrust of the government, some in Middle Eastern and North African communities need to be convinced that a more accurate population count is in their interest, said Samhan of the Arab American Institute Foundation. The Census Bureau came under criticism in 2004 when it was revealed the agency shared data that listed where Arab Americans lived by city and ZIP code with the Department of Homeland Security. The data, though publicly available online, were handed over to DHS less than three years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
It’s too soon to say whether a Middle East/North Africa category will appear on the 2020 census. Census officials say any changes would have to be approved by the Office of Management and Budget, which determines and defines the race and ethnicity categories. Any proposed topics must be submitted to Congress by 2017. Question wording is due to Congress the following year.
Troll Patrol # Ish Gebor Member # 18264
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So who is Black, African Am., or Negro?
And why is there no category for the swarthy?
Troll Patrol # Ish Gebor Member # 18264
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What is Race?
The data on race were derived from answers to the question on race that was asked of individuals in the United States. The Census Bureau collects racial data in accordance with guidelines provided by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and these data are based on self-identification.
The racial categories included in the census questionnaire generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country and not an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically. In addition, it is recognized that the categories of the race item include racial and national origin or sociocultural groups. People may choose to report more than one race to indicate their racial mixture, such as “American Indian” and “White.” People who identify their origin as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish may be of any race.
OMB requires five minimum categories: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.
Reasons for collecting information on race
Information on race is required for many Federal programs and is critical in making policy decisions, particularly for civil rights. States use these data to meet legislative redistricting principles. Race data also are used to promote equal employment opportunities and to assess racial disparities in health and environmental risks.
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Arab/North African should be looked at the same as "Hispanic" when it comes to census. Both are NOT a "race", but an pan-ethnicity that consists of different races,
Djehuti Member # 6698
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^ Indeed 'race' is a loaded term that is scientifically erroneous. It would be more accurate to simply state ethnicity. Note how they get give specific ethnicities when it comes to Asians and Pacific Islanders but stick with the racial labels as it pertains to 'whites' and 'blacks'. So what about Melanesians who are Pacific Islanders but are also black or other aboriginal groups of Asia??
Of course these census changes are in response to the backlash against the very illogical nature of the census to begin with par exemplar Dr. Mostafa Hefny!
quote:Originally posted by Swenet:
“The government [interviewer] said, ‘You are now white,”
"Gradually I [chose to identify as] black first and Arab second and I rejected my white classification publicly for the first time in 1987 in February. [.....] I was harassed by my employer right after that. [...] The attitude changed completely towards me after I went out publicly and I rejected my white classification. A white co-worker came to me and told me right after the function that he met with the superintendent and if I don't keep my mouth shut, my educational career is over."
Funny how the census used to say that you are 'black' if you are dark colored and from the continent of Africa unless you are from North Africa then you are white! LOL Obviously this is just U.S. federal government participating and promoting the white-wash of North Africans including Egyptians.
I know for a fact that ever since the lawsuit by Hefny, the government has been getting a lot of blow-back from Arab Sudanese immigrants who claim to be Arab and from North Africa but are obviously not white. It's clear to me that the white-washing of North Africa and especially Egypt is coming to an end rapidly all due simply to rationale.
vedardalarm Member # 23135
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Marija Member # 23167
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The checklist for "race" in the USA is absurdly construed.
"Asian" is a continent.
"black" and "white" are colors.
"Hispanic" refers to a language.
Heaven help us all, this is ludicrous.
ETHNICITY means culture. An ethnic group is a group which self-identifies as distinct from other groups.
RACE on the other hand is a bogus construct created by Euroimperialists to rationalize their abuse of non-Europeans.
Really it is ethnicity which matters; race is a distraction from reality.
"Hispanic", lol... that's the worst category. There is no such ethnic group. People are Mexican, Puerto Rican, Salvadoran, etc., not "latino" or "Hispanic".
In the USA, "black" and "white" do denote ethnicity, however flawed those terms may be. The "white" category obscures the differences between Italians, Germans, Irish, Swedes, etc. The "black" designation becomes confusing when applied to people from outside of the USA. So, someone is called "black", but they're not "African-American", they're Jamaican or Yoruba.
All of this confusion in the census categories are the result of the contradictions in a society which continues to foster inter-ethnic conflict and a differential provision of opportunity and "freedom" to different groups.
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