posted by Sam Richards
Here’s an interesting article from TIME/CNN about the upcoming U.S. Census and the use of racial signifiers. Quite fascinating discussion of “new school” – “old school” terminology and who should get to decide which terms should be deemed acceptable for public use.
“Should the Census Be Asking People if They’re Negro?”
By Barbara Kiviat – TIME/CNNUse of the word Negro to describe a black person has largely fallen out of polite conversation — except on the U.S. Census questionnaire. There, under “What is this person’s race?” is an option that reads, “Black, African Am., or Negro.” That has raised the ire of certain black activists and politicians as the Census Bureau gears up to mail out its once-a-decade questionnaires. The controversy has been cast by many as an instance of a tone-deaf agency not keeping up with the times. In actuality, the flash point represents a much larger theme: the often contentious way the Census both reflects and forges our evolving understanding of race. (See the best pictures of 2009.)
The immediate reason the word Negro is on the Census is simple enough: in the 2000 Census, more than 56,000 people wrote in Negro to describe their identity — even though it was already on the form. Some people, it seems, still strongly identify with the term, which used to be a perfectly polite designation. To blindly delete it is to risk incorrectly counting the unknown number of (presumably older) black Americans who identify with the term. (See rare photos at home of Martin Luther King Jr.)
But the Census Bureau is aware that times are changing — and not just when it comes to the word Negro. As part of the 2010 Census, the bureau will test 15 major changes to questions about race and Hispanic origin. For each, approximately 30,000 households will receive a slightly different questionnaire so that demographers and statisticians can use data — along with follow-up interviews — to decide if the modification helps or hurts the accuracy and consistency of information collected. “We hope this will help us better understand the way people identify with these concepts,” says Nicholas Jones, chief of the Census’ racial-statistics branch. One change being tested: deleting the word Negro. Others include combining queries about Hispanic origin and race into one question and getting rid of the word race in the question altogether.
Those modifications could have a lasting impact on how Americans think about race. Census data underpin broad stretches of society, from federal regulations to corporate marketing strategies, and how data are framed when collected speaks to our collective worldview (both contemporary and historical). Consider that in a 2006 study of 138 censuses from around the world, New York University sociologist Ann Morning found that only 15% of those asking about ancestry or national origin used the term race. Almost all of those that did were former slave economies. (See a video of perspectives in Harlem on President Obama’s first year in office.)
Further, among nations Morning studied, only the U.S. asked about Hispanic ethnicity in a stand-alone question. (Race and ethnicity are synonymous practically everywhere else in the world.) Morning concluded that talking about the two separately, as is done in the U.S., could unintentionally reinforce the view that while ethnicity is a product of culture and society, race represents something else — a set of characteristics inherent to a certain type of person (e.g., black people are athletic; Asians are smart). (See TIME’s special on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)
If it seems like a stretch that the Census would have such grand influence, take a moment for a little history. The first Census, in 1790, explicitly asked about only one race: white. Blacks, for the most part, fell into the slave category. Race was about civil status. In the 19th century, concerns about keeping the white race pure led to the addition of the “mulatto” category in 1850 (and “quadroon” and “octoroon” in 1890), a process traced by Harvard political scientist Melissa Nobles in her book Shades of Citizenship. With rising immigration, Chinese and Japanese were added as categories — but not Irish or Italian — underscoring that somehow Asians were more fundamentally different.
In the civil rights era of the 20th century, Census data took on a whole new meaning. The antidiscrimination laws written in the 1960s and the affirmative-action policies that followed relied on Census data to determine if minorities were underrepresented in any number of realms, from home sales to small-business loans. One of the largest leaps in the Census’ racial scheme came in 2000 when, for the first time, respondents were allowed to check more than one race box. The change was celebrated by those hoping to usher in an era of postracial America and assailed by those fearing the weakening of civil rights enforcement.
As it turns out, neither extreme came to pass — partly because only 2.4% of the population checked more than one race. Nonetheless, the instruction to “mark one or more boxes” signified a major turning point in how the Census sets the parameters for national discussion. In the words of former Census director Kenneth Prewitt, we are now moving from “a justice-based classification system” to “an identity-based classification system.” If not revolution, that is at least evolution. (See the world’s most influential people in the 2009 TIME 100.)
And it continues today. One of the possible changes the Census is testing during the 2010 count is allowing respondents to check more than one box not just for race but for Hispanic origin as well. A popular rally cry during the push to allow multiple races was, Why should a person with one black parent and one white parent be forced to choose between them? Indeed, why should a person with a Hispanic mother and non-Hispanic father be any different?
Another change under review is letting people who check “white” or “black” to write in more specific information afterward. In recent years, groups representing a number of backgrounds, including Afro-Caribbean and Arab, have lobbied to be included separately on the Census instead of being confined to broad categories (black for people of Afro-Caribbean decent; white for those with Arab ancestry). By trying out additional write-in blanks, the Census is attempting to see what other designations it might be able to reliably collect data about.
For the time being, write-in responses still often need to be shoehorned into broader categories for the purpose of following certain laws based on official statistics. But in the longer term, the write-in box could prove to be an even more momentous step in the evolution of racial categorization than the ability to check more than one race. By encouraging wider swaths of people to explain as precisely as possible how they see themselves, the Census is implicitly acknowledging that its count of the U.S. population is increasingly becoming a conduit for self-expression. “We are measuring the characteristics of the American people as they wish to be known,” says Prewitt.
That is true even when the way a person wishes to be known is as a Negro — at least for the time being. Considering that older black people are more likely to use the term, Negro will almost surely eventually come off the Census. But it is important to remember that when it does, it will not be a simple reaction to changing social mores. In 1970 the Census changed its black category from “Negro” to “Negro or Black.” The Federal Government sent a form to every U.S. household and effectively said, We have a new way of thinking about this particular group of people. Census categories reflect perceptions. But they also forge them.
A couple of things struck me about this article- first of all, I think it's completely outdated to be using the word "Negro" in the year 2010….it's ridiculous! But seeing as 56,000 people picked it themselves, there are obviously many black people out there who don't find the word offensive.I just feel like by now, we should have grown out of using that word. And i find it hard to imagine that in not seeing the word "Negro" on the census, black people would simply not check anything or not know what to do. I think we can pretty much all agree that obviously black conveys the same meaning, but in a more appropriate term for today's world. Also, I was a little surprised that the option to check more than one race was just made available a mere ten years ago…it seems to me like the Census is constantly out of date with today's world. Nonetheless, I'm happy that that is an option now. But more than anything, I'm just curious as to whyy we're still asking "what is your race?" on the US Census?? Ethnicity, yes. That will help advertisers, policy makers, and whoever else relies on data from this survey more than skin color. As we've all seen when students line up in front of the class and another student tries to guess their race, skin color doesn't really cut it and grossly oversimplifies the differences between people.
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I think that if people clarified themselves as “Negro” on the census then it should stay on there. However if other people are offended by this term then it would just have be voted for the majority. I think that being able to check more than one box also makes sense because of course there are many people who are mixed. I also think that since we do live in such a diverse country there shouldn’t be any race involved. Why should it matter if you’re black, white, brown, or purple? I understand that it may be for statistical reasons but why should we divide ourselves, aren’t we suppose to be united? These numbers are just going to increase as the years pass so why should they matter? I may be wrong for saying all this but to me it seems more common to just let our diversity increase in this country and see each other as Americans not black, white, or brown. I have pride in being Latino and don’t get upset when they ask me to classify myself but always question why it matters to be one race or the other. When coming to Penn State I wondered why in every paper that I filled out, asked me for my race. I guessed it was to keep track of the vast diversity on campus. Labeling ourselves in forms and censuses I think in a way separates our nation. Coming to this university made me realize how much people have in common despite their different race and culture. I for one had a n Asian roommate who I ended up having a lot in common with and became good friends with. Even thought I do have a lot of Latino friends I enjoy getting to know other people and is really open to making friendships. I think what should matter in this country is that we all are getting along and that if one group of people want to be classified as something another group finds offensive maybe we should get rid of the census all together, no questions asked. People I think might always have these problems if the census continues. In the case of being classified as “Negro” maybe older African Americans considered themselves this, but in the future sooner or later there will be another classification people will fight about. And aren’t there flaws with the census already thought, how you possibly prove that everything is accurate and people just don’t fill our whatever and be done with it?
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I believe that the U.S. Census Bureau is taking the right action by listening to peoples thoughts, objections, and opinions on the word Negro in the U.S. Census questionnaire. I feel that it is very important not to offend anyone in anyway. I do not fully understand how the term Negro can offend some black people yet not others. I also feel that it is very important not to exclude anyone in the racial category of the U.S. Census questionnaire. The people that who do not like the fact that Negro is still an option in the U.S. Census questionnaire claim that the U.S. Census is not "keeping up with the times" and that Negro is an outdated term when in actuality there were 56,000 people alone who actually wrote out Negro in the "other" category of the racial section. They most likely wrote Negro because they are used to not checking a box or filling in a bubble that corresponds with Negro. This is because the U.S. Census questionnaire is most likely one of the only documents to still use the terminology Negro.
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I think it is great that the census is trying to satisfy the needs for the very diverse culture of the US. As Richards points out every class, there are so many people in America that identify themselves with a multiple race background or identify themselves to a very specific part of a culture. What I do not understand is when there are people who complain about the certain titles that are on the census like Negro. No matter what the census does someone is going to complain that it should or should not be on there. I think that everyone needs to tone down their political correctness a little bit to give people a break sometimes. America has been able to take huge steps towards becoming a more diverse and accepting country than other countries so people should be happy with the progress that is being made and try not to get caught up in the little things.
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PamBeesley Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 12:57 am
I agree with you that it's a great thing that the Census is trying to satisfy the needs for the incredibly diverse and growing culture in the U.S. Like you said, Sam talks in every class about how people identify themselves, and realistically can identify themselves however they want to. Maybe it's because I am not of mixed race or ethnicity, but I can't understand why people are getting offended by the term "negro." It is a word that many African Americans associate with segregation and ties to the Jim Crow Laws, so in that sense I can imagine how shocked many were to see it on the 2010 U.S. census form. People are always going to be complaining about being labeled by a name that is offensive though. You're right – America has taken HUGE steps in becoming a more diverse and accepting country than many other countries. So I agree that people should be happy with the progress and not get hung up on the little things.
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As I was reading this article it basically reinstate things about race that I already knew an agreed with. So to see that black activist are becoming upset at the census makes sense. I completely understand why people would get upset about the term "negro" be used as an option on the census. It is 2010 an I am pretty sure that the people who create the census could think of a better term to describe black people. They should understand that the word "negro" is a term that has a negative connotation to it so they should respect that fact and replace it or just take that option out completely.
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Let me start off by saying that I don’t quite fully, nor do I think I will ever, understand why we must put labels on race and why we care so much about who wants to be called what. Anyways, this was a really interesting article and it shows how as a society our culture and ways of thinking/identifying with one each other really do change over time. It’s clearly apparent that by making subtle changes to the census it can drastically affect the results, so I can see why this particular situation (deleting the Negro category) is of critical importance to the Census. Considering that the Census only comes out once every ten years, it’s understandable that there is speculation over how the slight changes will/will not alter the results. I have nothing but respect for the Census as it seems that they truly care about how the public and how they will generally perceive the choices and questions they are provided with, and how they don’t want to offend anyone in the process. Race is a contentious subject that has continued to be the source of heated debate throughout history, so I can see why the Census has been careful in making their choices with regards to the survey.
I think that the racial category on the census will always be somewhat confusing and/or controversial, because like Sam has said in class there are an infinite number of races and different people classify themselves differently compared to others. It’s a matter of personal choice and there is no right or wrong answer. For many people it’s a complicated task to have to commit to just one, or now two, race(s). We live in one of the most diverse countries in terms of race, religion, culture, etc., so I think things are going to get any easier for the Census as time goes on and there will be more debates on issues like these in the future. Allowing individuals to check off more than one box in the racial category is for the better in my opinion. There’s no doubt about it that we’ve evolved past the point of given the choice to respond as black or white. People aren’t just one or the other and countless people consider themselves to be of a “mixed” background. I believe this is ultimately why people have had so much trouble in the past picking their race in the Census. I’m sure that some people take the experience of completing the Census much more seriously than others (which is a problem), but I think that for those who genuinely care about the results and feel underrepresented that they will find this change a positive one.
In class, when Sam proposed the question of how many black people refer to themselves as Negro, very few raised their hands. I too proposed this question to my friends who are black and they all either said black or African American. However, many said that their older relatives (parent, grandparents, etc.) still classify themselves as Negro. It’s quite clear that the usage of the word is far less common in the younger generations. However, when thinking about the situation in terms of the Census, we can’t forget that the proportion of elderly people in the United States is large (apparent by the current debate going on about Social Security) and they represent a vast segment of the Census. We also can’t forget that 56,000 people in the previous Census referred to themselves as Negro. In this sense, deleting the word altogether could propose some serious issues and make results far less accurate. Personally, I do believe that usage of the word will continue to dwindle away as the older generations disappear, but I don’t think anyone can be sure of exactly when this is going to happen. In this sense, it will be hard for the Census to permanently remove the Negro option, because nobody can be sure what the best timing will be to do so.
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The controversy surrounding the 2010 Census and the use of the term “Negro” is growing the point of ridiculousness. Obviously the Census Bureau is not made up of a bunch of sheltered, old fashioned people that are unaware that “Negro” is no longer used in common conversation; indeed, it is probably among the most socially aware segments of our government. The usage of “Negro” is solely an attempt to gather as accurate information as possible. When there is a section of the population that still regards themselves by a certain moniker, it is not the rest of the country’s duty to tell them that they are embracing a racist term. It’s just a word and words are only powerful based on the meaning we assign to them. Thus, the term “negro” is only offensive if we choose for it to be.
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This article is a very interesting ready and I was pretty astonished and shocked. I can't believe that the word Negro is actually on a U.S. Census. This just seems unbelievable to me. I don't really quite understand it. "Negro" and "nigger" are two very derogatory words and it would definitely be unheard of if a white person called a black person a negro to their face. I actually think that the Census is quite offensive. I can understand that black people may write "negro" as their race because it's not an option, but it should be a common understanding that it is okay for a black person to call themselves that. It may not make sense, but it is accepted for someone of a certain kind to call someone a certain thing, but if you are not that race, it's not okay. I think the U.S. government is completely wrong to put this option on the U.S. Census.
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I believe that this article is interesting. It actually surprises me that some black people still want to be known as negros. In my opinion, negro is kind of a derogatory term, almost as bad as "nigger." However, since so many people wanted to be known as negros, instead of as African Americans, it is good that the option is available to them on the census. If the option were not there, then a big chunk of people would not be fairly represented. Also, I believe that it is a good idea for people to be able to choose more than one race on the census. After all, there are so many people in the United States that are a mix of different races. After all, isn't America a mixing pot of different races?
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Wow we just talked about this the other day in class. The word Negro is still very prevalent in the older black generations. Until the oldest generations are gone I think the word should remain on the Census. People should be allowed to refer to themselves however they want. I don’t see any harm in having an extra few racial categories on the Census. The people processing the Census obviously understand the Negro is just another word for black. People shouldn’t be defined as other people would like them to be. Obviously race is important when determining the Census, but does the word Negro really have to be such a big deal. People don’t fit into two categories. Everything isn’t just black or white. I refuse to be confined by those boundaries. I define who I am, as does a Negro. Leave it on the Census until future generations decide to stop checking Negro. There really shouldn’t be a huge controversy over this.
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Maybe the Census Bureau just wants to make every statement exactly clear– I don't believe those comments saying that the guys in the Bureau are racists– it is definitely not necessary to show the racist part on the nationwide census questionnaire! My guess is that these guys at the Bureau are OLD–old enough to ignore language evolutions. They are not purposely offending anybody, and they don't have to do so. This makes me think of the evolution of languages. As Sam once said in class, language is just a way we human beings created to transmit meanings. They are as simple as several syllables. The word "fuck" doesn't really mean "fuck" in nowadays context, as well as so many other words. Why are we so serious and often get pissed when the others said something that we think are "offensive? I believe the bureau just wants to make its census clear and accurate. That would be the only reason they chose the word negro. So they can make a difference between American Africans, black, and Negroes. In this way the census would be more accurate. As we all known, the U.S. has a huge amount of population, and we may marry a person of another race, etc. That makes it extra harder to tell a person's origin. So The Bureau kind of extends those branches and specifies its questions. In this way, they may get a better understanding. So, don't be too sensitive! Whether you are a white guy or a black guy, don't be so serious! The Bureau doesn't mean to offend you! They are just doing their best to get the statistics they want! And by the way, I don't really understand the reason for the existence of activists nowadays. In my opinion, If you want to succeed, just do your best and work harder–that's the only way. Crying for not treated fairly won't really help. The United States is a country of opportunities. There are so many chances out there– no matter what your skin color is, you have the same intelligence to pursue those opportunities! There is no excuse for laziness. There is no excuse for laying back and crying for food and money. It is just not how the society works.
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I believe that while the term "negro" is old fashioned, it should be included on the census. The reason that I feel that it should be included is soley because that is how more than 50,000 Americans classify themselves. Without the term appearing on the paperwork, the results of the entire census may become skewed. Those 50,000 people may choose to respond in a way that is inaccurate. People should not feel offended because they should understand the sound reasoning behind the use of the term. I feel like this whole subject is being grossly blown out of proportion, and people should stop this politically correct crusade.
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This was an very interesting article it shows that the census is now trying to be “racial correct” because as a society we no longer accept the word “negro” it was socially acceptable back then but not now. They are in between a rock and hard place right now because of the word, but at the same time they are trying to do right by other races by boarding the racial spectrum (if that makes any sense). If think about it, it’s quite rare for a person to be just one race anymore because if you are a person of more than one nationality what can you possible put down and still be account for? So I guess the census is finally making a note of that. A lot of the other comments are underlining the fact that race doesn’t matter but seriously though it DOES! The first thing you notice about a person is the color of their skin so don’t act like you colorblind because you not and if you say that you are you are just lying to yourself. Sorry to say it but race is always going to be a primary factor no matter how much you don’t want it to be.
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PamBeesley Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 1:01 am
Census Bureau spokesman Jack Martin said the use of “Negro” was intended as a term of inclusion. “Many older African-Americans identified themselves that way, and many still do,” he said. “Those who identify themselves as Negroes need to be included.” The form was also approved by Congress more than a year ago, and the word has appeared on past forms.
The use of Negro began disappearing elsewhere with the civil rights movement of the 1960s, as black or African-American became the preferred terms. It is more acceptable back then than it is now, but some older people prefer to call themselves "negroes." The ethnicities are continuing to grow and are infinite. It will be almost impossible to make everyone happy. So I think the solution to this is to add more choices after including a blank space. When a certain percentage of people fill in their ethnicity as "other" it can be added to the ballot.
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Before taking this class or reading this article, I never really thought hard about the census and identifying specifically what race one is. Whenever I have to check off my race on forms, it always came second nature to me. This is because I always know that my race will be an option to check off. I have checked off my race on many things- SATs, GREs, job applications, college applications, just to name a few. Many of us do it so often, that it does not really affect our lives. However, I have never really thought about what it would feel like to fill out these forms and not have my race on it. This class and article changed that view of mine. This article was very interesting and definitely made me realize that the world and its people are changing, and that it is important to realize that people have different racial identities. As we have seen in history, change is inevitable. I think it is a good thing that the Census is allowing more options for people to check off in regards to their race. While I think it is a good thing to have “Negro” on the Census, it is just as great to have a blank space for citizens to write in the full description of their race. I respect the way Prewitt explained the changes in the Census—“We are measuring the characteristics of the American people as they wish to be know.” The fact that the US is acknowledging the importance of self expression with race is a major stepping stone. One’s view of their race is very important. Not everyone is purely one race, and it is important to respect this reality. This new change to the Census can educate everyone about how the US is full of different types of people with different backgrounds. This change will also prepare us for changes in the future, because again, change is inevitable. We have seen it throughout history, and it is not stopping. On the other hand, in a way I feel that the Census is not really that important. While racial identity it definitely important to many people, it should not always be necessary to check off what our race is. For SATs, jobs applications, etc, it should not matter what race we are in order to complete these items. This is an old argument, but when changes to the Census are made, it makes us stop and wonder why bother? Like I said before, the changes to the Census may educate us and give us the realization that the US is full of many different human beings, but it should not separate or prevent certain races from accomplishing things like going to college or getting a job.
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I always wondered if black people took offense to the word negro. I think that if I were black, I would take offense to it. It’s not as commonly used as the term “black” or “African-American,” but I hear it used from time to time, and honestly I would never call a black person a negro. It reminds me of being younger and learning about slavery. Besides using the other “n-word,” I feel like negro was used a lot as well. I don’t like the word. It’s strange to me that it’s added now to the Census. Actually, it’s really strange to me.
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This article directly parallels what we have recently discussed in class regarding being politically and socially correct when referring to race. Although the Census is not looking for respondents to use terms that they think are 'politically correct', it has direct effect on how Americans describe themselves and others. Specifically, white people. Whites speaking among whites use the term black to refer to people of African descent. However, when talking amongst black people, whites will use the term African American, even if it is not the correct term to describe the dark person's race. I strongly believe that this type of 'social politeness' shapes how we feel when referring to race. The word Negro, to me, seems like a term that was used frequently decades ago. It is interesting to think that more than 50,000 people ten years so recognized themselves as a Negro, and not black or African American, Afro-(anything). It should be interesting to compare that statistic to the data found in this year's Census.
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In class Sam talked about how people of different races want to be categorized. I personally think that besides for statistics, why do people need to be categorized? It is completely unnecessary, for when someone looks at them to say “o they are black” or anything. As Sam said 99.9 of the person Genome is the same regardless of what you look like or what your race is. The other .01 is all external and what people physically see when looking at another person.
Race should mean nothing when you first look at someone. Unfortunately people judge or get a first impression of someone immediately when they look at someone. These are usually generalizations of the person and are completely incorrect and untrue. Everyone is different and a person should be judged based on what they are like and what they physically do.
Racist people really frustrate me. They don’t like people without even knowing them. Some people don’t like others people based on race and religion. They make stereotypes and judge people without even knowing them
Much of the violence in the world is attributed to racism. Countries in the Middle East fight each other constantly over religion and in Africa there are fighting over race. In the middle east they have been fighting for hundreds of years over religion and who is right. To me someone who is not the most religious guy my belief is who cares what other people believe. Everyone should be allowed to believe in whatever they want! And to us we all consider them black. They are black to us, or “African” however to them they are all different.
On the census which is taken every 10 years throughout the years the census is changing and has different descriptions of race in order to be politically correct. The world negro is very tough because it used to be used as a racist term especially in the slavery days and the segregation days. However, still to this day there are 56,000 people who wrote negro to describe them I like how the census does this to ensure the most accurate data for this diverse country.
The United States is one of the most diverse countries in the world. I personally think it is the most diverse country, so many different types of people here today! We now restrict immigration which as sam points out is not fair because we all were immigrants and everyone was one back in the day. Why are we allowed to stop allowing immigrants today. I think it is a great value to be such a diverse country, you can learn so much from different types of people. There is so much value from learning from other people.
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The history of black people which stretches back even beyond the settlement of America, is one of persecution. To my knowledge they've been given a plethora of names most of which have condescending or degrading connotations. I would suppose the worst of which would be 'nigger' or perhaps even negro. According to Wikipedia, the term Negro was “used as a world-wide classification for individuals of black ancestry”. Though some African Americans despise the use of the word Negro and prefer the use of Black, it was meant as the scientific classification for black skinned individuals. Indeed, as according to the article, on the census, older generations of Black people actually chose Negro as their racial classification. The decision made by the Census Bureau to keep that option on the census survey is correct. It is in line with the freedom of choice that I mentioned in my previous blog entry. Even if the majority of Blacks were to scorn the use of the term Negro does not mean that the minority should be ignored. It was a politically correct decision to keep Negro on the census survey.
It seems quite ridiculous for the Census survey which is in layman terms simply general questions about the population as a whole and should have no place for discrimination, let alone to serve as something as petty as a point of racial contention. In other words, as long as you get to be called what you would prefer to be called, it doesn't really matter what other terms may be provided as a choice to what you may get to be called. As a pure-born Hong Kong Chinese I have discovered that in the not so distant past, China was known as the sick dog of the East. This was a point of shame for Chinese, but China has come a long way in the past century and we have become more respected rather than scoffed at.
Racial discrimination is certainly an issue to deal with, but there are far more pressing issues, not merely confined to the United States but the entire world that are needed to be dealt with. Extreme poverty, war, natural disasters, diseases and the growing problem of global warming; how many more problems do we need without adding racial conflict to list? As a race, by which I mean the human race, we need to set aside our differences which considering our genetic makeup, everyone is basically 99.99% the same, and solve the bigger problems that plague us today and prepare for tomorrow.
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I have to admit, I am a little excited to participate in the census this year. As this is the first census year of my eligibility and we have discussed the race classifications in class, I am curious about the whole process. While I am slightly unnerved that such a seemingly archaic term is still used, I suppose it is necessary as it is still an often checked box. My question is when will the Negro box be phased out? At what point will there be so few people who check it that it is deemed obsolete. I also find it extremely interesting that more than one category can be checked.
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I find this article very interesting but at the same time it kind of angers me that we have to continually have these conversations. On the bright side this shows progress and the turning of another page in our nation’s history. Those ideas and terms of the civil rights movement are slowly beginning to fade as new generations see each other as equal and do not need race related words to describe each other. The term “negro” might not be used in a derogatory manner toward black people but I feel like it reminds people of some of the terrible things that happened in this nation. When people hear the word “negro” today they immediately think of a time when the nation was split by race especially between white and black.
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This is a tough topic. I do believe the term Negro is out dated and should not be on the Consensus questionnaire. However it is our duty to respect what peoples beliefs are and who they are. If the consensus came back and people called themselves Negros than it should on it. In my eyes this shows that people take pride in their ethnicity and that name. I don't prefer the word personally but it is not my choice. We should always respect others and be considerate. I don't believe it is a racial term anymore that is in the past. We have risen above that by now and moved on.
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Just like the article states, there is a good amount of black Americans that on the census identified themselves as “Negro”. The word “Negro” used to be widely accepted and was a rather name for a black person, especially when thinking of all of the vulgar names that some black Americans have encountered. Although some activists and politicians have complained that the Census Bureau has failed to keep up with modern times, I believe that it is not worth the risk of removing the category from the Census. If people do not believe that they fit under a certain identity, then they will not even mark it on the Census, which will surely affect the data. As long as black Americans continue to recognize themselves as “Negro”, than the name should remain on the Census. Over time this name may fade out, and when only a small percentage of black Americans recognize themselves as “Negro”, then I believe it is time for the Census Bureau to remove the name. I believe that as the years pass, even more names will be filtered in and out of the system. Just as has been done in the year past. For example the first Census only had one choice for race, and that was white. The categories “mullato”, Chinese, and Japanese were added as the years went by. The Census needs to be a flexible survey, which in many ways it already is. From this article I can see that the Census Bureau is experimenting with other ideas so that certain groups are not being left out of the data. The changes, which are going to be centered on race and Hispanic origin, are going to be experimental with follow up surveys to test its changes. A survey done by a New York University student showed just how different our census is compared to others around the world. Only fifteen percent of countries, including ours, used the word “race” when referring to questions about ancestry or national origin. Most of these countries were former slave countries too, which most likely played a pivotal role in the explanation. One peculiar thing that the article mentioned that I was not aware of was that the United States asks about Hispanic Ethnicity in a question all by itself. Whereas the rest of the world considers race and ethnicity to be synonymous. One of the changes that I like is that people who check “white” or “black” are able to write in more specific information afterward. This allows people who represent a large number of backgrounds to actually give a full description of their background, this way we can really know about the people. Former Census director Kenneth Prewitt describes it best when he says, “We are measuring the characteristics of the American people as they wish to be known.”
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I find it interesting that the census lends so much importance to our society. The census provides information and therefore data needed to help make decisions about our society and the evolution of the system in which we live. Information informs ideas, forming decisions, and changing the way in which we live. It seems very logical that the census and the information that it collects has an effect of society. Now, the question becomes what type of information should we be collecting and why. Should we be inquiring about race? Should we perpetuate the idea of race and all of its misconceptions? I would initially say no, the discussion about the usage of the term “negro” is a discussion that can be translated into a larger discussion on the pros and cons of including racial classifications on the census. I see the term “race” to be an outdated, convoluted, and in many ways ambiguous term. It provides more confusion than clarity. It also supports the idea that we are different because of our external features, this idea of difference has allowed for many groups of people, throughout our past, to be oppressed, marginalized, and violated. We are a melting pot of cultures; must we define what the ingredients are? We need to stop providing an avenue, for those who wish to benefit at another’s expense, for people to rationalize their unjust actions. Let their deeds be seen for what they are.
The argument can be made that sociologist need to have racial classifying information to study these cycles of oppression. Without information assumptions hold no weight, and it is difficult to build a case when no information is provided. Though, would these cycles of oppression be based on race, and studied by sociologists if we had never developed the term? I think not.
I think not, for without the creation of this term or idea, then it could not possibly be used by certain demographics as a point of rationalization for wealth creation. For instance, in the current paradigm of slavery, it is not based upon race but rather driven by greed. No longer are people able to live conscious free, by viewing different demographics as lesser beings, thereby enslaving them in a dignified manner. We see now that slavery is an atrocity, a blatant and comprehensive transgression on an individual’s fundamental human rights. Admittance or acknowledgment is the first step towards healing. We need to start this healing process. We need to actively take monumental steps towards ending the usage of race in the voices and thoughts of those with the power to oppress. Our history is riddled with stories and tales of horror, how is it possible that we still use similar ways of thought to this very day? Well maybe because the rhetoric hasn’t changed. What do I know, Sam Richards doesn’t seem to be trying to change the rhetoric in his class, maybe in the end its understanding and not rhetoric.
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I believe that the word Negro should be allowed to be included in the United States census, if the word doesn’t offend black people. I am not black, and I do not find the word negro offensive, but other people that are black might find the word derogatory. I think that the fairest and best way to figure out if blacks find the word offensive is to take a separate census poll and see what word they prefer to be called. If most of them don’t find that word offensive, then there is no reason why they should not include it on the census.
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I think it's silly that Negro is still used on the census… it's understandable that some older black citizens still refer to themselves as Negroes, but I don't see why "Black" wouldn't suffice on a census. In the end, I think race should be measured by qualitative measures on a census. For example, rather than providing a number of given races to check off, it should just be a short answer question: What race do you identify yourself as?
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I found this article to be extremely interesting and defiantly gave me a whole new perspective on the whole topic. Personally, I never really thought about or analyzed the different terminology that are used on the census surveys. Whenever I am asked a question about my race I always check the "white" or "Caucasian" box so I really have never thought about the other options that are on here. When I first thought about this, I thought this issue or problem could simply be solved by including every type of race on the questionnaires or surveys. However, I realized that this would be tedious and take up a lot of room considering how many different races there are across the world. Obviously there needs to be a variety of race options because they can no longer simply us "black" or "white" like they did decades ago. But, I guess this is where the problem comes in. It is hard to say how many races they should include on it and what races they should include.
Personally, I think that they should look at the passed census and see what ones were most effective. Also, it depends on what kind of census you are doing. If you were to take the census of a small town in the middle of Mississippi you most likely would not have to list the different Caribbean races because there is probably only a small percent if any of people from the Caribbean living in that small town. There fore to save time you could combine those races into a larger group, maybe just labeling it Caribbean or whatever the correct term would be for that.
As for using the word Negro, if it has been used for years in the past and no one really had a problem with it, I do not know why they would want to change it. Or if there is such a disagreement over this why don't they just save the arguments and include all of the other possible names and list them next to each other separating them with "/" signs.
There is no one that they could ever come up with a method to accommodate everyone's personal opinions or requests. There are just too many people in the world . One of the options is you could conduct a poll of some sort, either through mail, phone calls, or through the internet or what everyone would prefer to see on the census. However, this may be selection bias and also would be extremely time consuming. Another way is to just have people working with the census decide on what terminology would be best and in everyone's favor to use. I am sure that there are other options it is just hard to tell what option is the best.
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The fact that the word Negro is still in the Census surprised me. I had no idea that people still identified themselves as Negroes. 56,000 people is not that much compared to the total number of African Americans, Blacks or whatever they identify themselves as. As a TRUE African American in which I identify myself because my parents are from Nigeria and I was born and raised in America I view the word Negro as an ethnic slur. I can’t understand why it was put on the census in the first place. Negro is not a race or ethnicity; just the same way black and white in my eyes is not a race or ethnicity. I think that if we are really trying to find out the population of what people are or identify as we should have an option for people to write down there ethnicity/race. I actually just went on the 2010 census website to see how the form looked. “Black, African American or Negro” as an option doesn't even look like it belongs in that category. I’m sure the people from the census bureau are not racist, but I think that adding Negro as a race was pretty silly and just doesn't make sense. They are worrying about the 56,000 people who identify as Negro but I think it should be more about a majority wins things. The word Negro just looks out of place when it comes to indentifying your race even though I do understand why some black Americans may identify themselves as that. At least the census bureau is still allowing people to write in what race they might consider themselves to be. This article was very interesting and made me wonder if they start putting the word Negro on the Census if other survey’s will try to add Negro with the Black and African American category. I hope they don't because I’m sure it will start a whole lot of controversy. Hopefully this doesn't start any major problems because if you ask African Americans majority of them will probably say that they feel offended about the word Negro being a part of the census. As I looked at the census form I didn't even seem as though there were a lot of different races from people to pick from they made most of the race categories broader so more people can fit under common categories. African American and black are the words they use for people of African descent. Black Americans and black Caribbean’s so why add Negro??? If they are so concerned about the few African Americans that do consider themselves to be a Negro they should be concerned about the other thousands or real races that are probably not identified.
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Once again, the United States does something dumb. In recent years, federal agencies have tried making voting ballots, social security forms, and Medicare forms easier for people to fill out. Why should the U.S. Census be any different? In my opinion, I think the government should simply throw a line on the form that says “How do you ethnically describe the people living in your household?” Even if the government stated this question only once every say, five or ten years, they’d be able to determine both a more accurate number of people living in a household and they’d be able to determine which words to use to ethnically describe people. Obviously, if a large percent of black people prefer to be called “Negros,” then the government can call them that without issue.
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This article says a lot about our changing society. I think this is a case where political correctness causes a lot more problems than it is worth. I understand the government is not trying to step on any toes, but when there are so many different races, ethnicities, terms people call themselves, and terms some people find offensive and others do not it is hard to accommodate everyone. With changing times, new names or terms are considered politically correct where others become offensive or outdated. It seems as if the term Negro is being used a lot less for people to identify themselves. I think the census should just leave it on there, if anything, to accommodate the people who still use the term and wait until the term dies out completely. The term is slowly being weeded out and will not be used by anyone soon enough. Taking the term out completely will offend a lot of people who still use it.
It seems that having this question on the census, however, is more of a hassle than anything. It is understandable that the government is trying to keep up with these changes, but why not just do away with question completely? So many people complain about something or other. Not everyone is going to be satisfied. Some words are offensive to some people and not seen as offensive to others. I understand the government wants to keep track of the growing diversity in this country, but why not just let it be? As time goes on, people are becoming more and more diverse. The racial line is becoming more and more blurred. Asking people to check a single box is becoming a much more difficult feat.
In response to a few other people’s posts about the Census Bureau, I do not think that the people working there are racist, old, or not trying to keep up with the times. Yes, the term Negro is offensive to some, but some people, at least 56,000, still use the term. So if the Census Bureau did not include the term, they would be racist for ignoring those that identify themselves as Negro, but if they use the term, they are racist as well. The Census Bureau is in a lose-lose situation. I think as a whole, a lot of people look down on the government and their actions and are very critical, but we need to give them a break sometime. Obviously they are putting some effort in if they are trying to make changes to the census. This article is a reflection of American society, our views of the government, and how society as a whole is continuing to change demographically.
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Although I think it is ridiculous to try to categorize people, I have to admit that I am excited to see more changes to the census. I am not sure if this is a step forward towards creating a more culturally aware nation that respects the differences amongst their citizens, or a step backwards because, in 2010, we are in essence still proclaiming our individuality as a result of our biological background. I have pride in my heritage, but I hate being placed into one category. I hate being clumped into stereotypes and generalizations because I am different. Maybe a good different, maybe a bad different, but different nonetheless, just as every other member of that clump. I prefer to think of who I am in terms of how I respond to the situations placed before me, how I treat other people, and by the experiences that I have survived that have shaped the way I perceive the world. My "race" is only a minor part of that.
I am a first generation individual. I have my roots in both the "American" culture, and the culture of my parents. I admire other cultures, sometimes more than I admire my own. In fact, sometimes I wish that I were Latina because their music is so amazing. Sometimes I wish I could dance like a black girl, and sometimes I wish I could be Asian because I love Asian food. I do not think that I can be defined by the country my family originated from, or by the country I grew up in. I do not want to be asked what my ethnicity is, because really, I am just the same as anyone else in that we are all different.
I remember the college application process and the complaints I would hear from all my friends (of diverse backgrounds) about the lack of choices under the Race/Ethnicity box. “It says ‘check one’ but I’m Hispanic and White and I have some Native American in me, too.” Or, “I’m South Asian. If I check ‘Asian’ I’m going to be competing with all the other Asian kids trying to get into the engineering program.”
The United States is becoming such a diverse collection of cultures that I think it is necessary to offer more race choices on the form. At least our government is acknowledging that our nation is not so black and white [pun intended]. In that respect, I understand the necessity in the census — how it could be useful in creating a better environment more suitable for all backgrounds so that everyone has equal access to all opportunities. I applaud and appreciate the consideration that goes into making a census that is equally pleasing to all members of society, but I wish we could live in a world where race did not qualify or disqualify you for anything.
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This article is very interesting because in the year 2010 we are still arguing about race and ethnicity, and it is still as sensitive of a topic as it was 50 years ago. It is a shame that although our culture is much more advanced and America is looked at as a "giant melting pot" we still do not know how to refer to each other. Political correctness, especially in the media, is a hard and tricky subject. We try to not offend anybody, but in the end, it is impossible to not piss off someone in an entire race. I personally do not understand what is wrong with placing "negro" on the census. Yes, the term is a little outdated, but it has been used on the past census. There are dozens and dozens of names to refer to any group of people from all over the world. I don't understand why if people are offended by the listings, they do not count themselves on it. However, I think that in a country as diverse as the United States, a census will never be close to accurate. As Sam Richards stated in class this week, you can call yourself whatever you want to be. If your mother is from Jamaica and your father is from India, you can be either of the two. You classify yourself the way you want to be classified. This is why being forced to place yourself into a group is a sensitive and potentially offending situation. Each year, more and more people descendants of mixed races which also makes this hard. If people are allowed to check off more than one option, it will still be impossible to count each person. The census is a giant catch 22. If you allow people to classify themselves they are being forced into one extremely broad category. For example, the term "negro" can classify tons of different kinds of people. You can be of African, West Indies, or African-American origin. It is hard to say if it is fair to group all of these people together. Then you have people who can have an African mother and a white father, what is the fair place to put them? If they have dark skin but were raised in a white family, what are they? No one should have to be classified into a category. By having to fill out the 2010 census, we are still creating the same race barriers that this country was established on. It is hard to classify an entire country into various different categories, every family has its own individual roots which make everyone different. Even within each broad category there are different types of people. The term “negro” is just one of the many issues that the United States government will have to debate about on this year’s census as well as in the future. This is a hard topic to tackle, and I don’t think this issue will be resolved in the near future.
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This is an incredibly tricky subject. As Prof. Richards said, our “race” is simply whatever we want it to be, as there is no way to classify people correctly based on just physical appearance. Therefore, since 56,000 people wrote in “Negro” in 2000, it makes sense that it should be included since it is how those people self-identified. If it is in fact a small demographic of “old-school” thinking, then the numbers will show that and it can be excluded from future censuses. I wouldn’t worry about offending anyone, after all some people obviously prefer negro over black and African American or this wouldn’t be an issue.
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I like the idea of the Census and what it does for our country every 10 years. The fact that the word Negro appears on it is only a small portion of the document and many people feel strong about the word in a positive and negative way. Only time can change things like that in who knows in 2040 the word may be gone but until then it’s going to be on there. I don’t think the Census Bureau should be seen as a blind agency to the outside but really they know more than most about the way our culture changes. The Census tells us a lot about the people of this county and helps people understand each other a little bit better if anything.
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The issue of race categories on the census does not seem like a huge deal to me. I believe that it doesn’t really matter what “race” a person is in the first place. What is the point of the census? Just to see statistics of each “group”? I find that to be pointless and dumb. If people care so much about what race everyone in America is, then the census should just be all write in options. With this option, there is absolutely no issue with a person thinking that he or she does not fit in a certain category of race. Through the article I learned that some people were upset that their option was not a choice on the census. To fix this problem, it was a good idea to allow a person to check one or more boxes, but the problem will never go away. As the years pass and different generations emerge, more and more diversity is going to arise in a person and it will be more difficult to recognize this person as a specific race.
Times change and every aspect of life has to alter what was previously done to satisfy the changes that come about. This is prevalent in the census issue of the word “Negro”. It is not used today at all, and if someone does say it, they are looked at strangely. The only time I ever heard someone be referred to as a Negro is in history class when reading old documents or quotes that are from back in the day when it was accepted. Things change and the census picked up on that and changed the Negro option. This was a wise choice considering that in class Sam mentioned that some Blacks were so offended by the “Negro” option on the census that they did not check it off. I found this to be irritating. The Blacks knew what the census was trying to accomplish and I didn’t understand why they could not just simply check off the box. Their ancestors were referred to as Negros and even called themselves this. I understand that it upset them due to the term taking on an offensive meaning, but the census did not mean to harm them. Due to the offensiveness, I guess it was wise for the census to change the term.
This once again brings up the subject of political correctness. The term Negro is not politically correct these days therefore it had to be changed; however, you can never please everyone. If everyone wasn’t so worried about offending everyone else and looking bad, the world would be so much more carefree and less problematic. I feel that to appease the political correctness and please everyone, or at least the majority, it is a must to allow only write in responses on the census. If this was the case people could not argue or complain with the option and boxes they have to check off.
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This article was an interesting read. It was pretty odd to me that the word Negro is still being used on the census. I am not surprised though that in 2000 over 56,000 wrote it in. I’m sure they were senior citizens who have grown up using that word in everyday life. I have never used Negro to refer to someone. I think it is because in the north it is seen as an insult. It is also rarely used and will become extinct in our language soon. Part of me doesn’t see what’s wrong with the word but to most blacks it is seen as an insult.
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I find the U.S. Census to be hypocritical in a way. On the one hand, the Census is changing and adjusting to modern times by allowing people to check two or more boxes when answering what they see fit as their race. This is a big step because the government is acknowledging that many people are made up of many different races which are each equally important to that individual. While it seems like we are making progress in acknowledging everyone we really are not. On the other hand, we are still using the term "negro" which in our society is an inappropriate term. Although many people identify themselves as a "negro" according to this article, we are not improving how we identify people of different races. If our nation is trying so hard to be an equal people, why is the government trying so hard to continue to divide us up, label us, and categorize us in a certain group?
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Stories like this one tend to frustrate me. If only the citizens of the United States could go through a couple of classes of Sociology 119 with Sam. It is just annoying to see people get all worked up about something that does not even matter. It seems like sometimes people just look for something to argue about. I fully understand that the rest of the country does not necessarily get that race is just a social construct and should not have any weight placed upon it. However I just do not get the problem with words. When people who are racist use derogatory words to cause harm that is one thing. In this sense, Negro being placed as a choice on the census should, in my opinion, be viewed as inoffensive. It is an outdated term in America in 2010 for my generation, but I doubt anyone associated with the census is using Negro to refer to part of the black community in a negative way. If some black people did not still identify themselves as Negroes, I’m sure the term would definitely not appear. They do though, and by keeping the word on the census to fairly accommodate them, we run the risk of offending someone else. You cannot please everyone. This is one of the annoying things about political correctness. If one does not identify him or herself as a Negro, I feel like it would be pretty easy to simply move past it instead of getting offended by a word that a lot of people don’t even use anymore. As far as race questions and the census goes, it would be really nice to take race questions off and view our country as three hundred fifty million plus Americans, but for health reasons it is sometimes important to know who is making up our country. Certain populations are at a higher risk for specific diseases and also there are disparities in health care. These problems could be attributed to socioeconomic status differences more than race but right now we are not entirely sure so it is important to see who makes up our country so that health disparity statistics have more meaning. As long as race questions are going to show up on the census, it is a positive that we are aware enough to realize that white, black, and brown do not cover everyone. America is very diverse. As the article said, we have added more terms to the census. Allowing people to choose more than one race is very good. Whether you think the census should have race questions or not, it is still going to be distributed in order to obtain statistical information. At least it keeps improving, and its nice to see that we are measuring the characteristics of the American people as they wish to be known instead of forcing them to fit into a given set of choices.
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I think that the option to write in your race is by far the best option described in this article. One should be able to explain to the best of their ability what their race is, and I think that is the best way for them to do so. As for the word Negro however, I don't see that big of a problem with the word. To me, it seems as though older people seem to use the term more so than black people today. To me, if my grandparents were OK with being called a certain term, I don't think I would have a problem with it.
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I learned additional crucial information about the census in my 400-level Sociology class today. For every person in a community that does not fill out a census, the community does not receive a certain amount of additional funds that go to hospitals and other organizations in the community, which greatly need these funds and use the money to benefit people in the community. Since a large percent of State College consists of college students, we greatly affect the amount of money that the town gets. This applies to all communities so if there is an option on the census that offends someone or race options that they feel do not apply to them, then this is affecting everyone else in the town and if very unfortunate.
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I would say the Census Bureau is trying to do as thorough a job as possible, they want everybody to be accounted for. It's not like, from this self-identification process, you will be alienated, that's not it's purpose. "Negro" is an outdated term, but some people identify themselves as a Negro, that's the bottom line. However, I believe if the Bureau took the word off, those people would then identify themselves as black or african american, otherwise they don't get counted. People need to see the process for it's official purpose. STOP taking the words used for identification as judgement towards your character, that's not it's purpose. The government and our nation as a whole is much more sensitive than it once was. These census revisions are proof that somebody is being real careful not to offend anyone. The words that ARE and ARE NOT "politically correct" are always being revised, I as a nation, we are pretty conscious. The word "Negro" seems to be floating between politically correct and not politically correct. Because of things like The Negro Leagues and UNCF, the word "Negro" has, at times, had a positive association with accomplished black folks, even though these organizations were created to segregate.
I like the last section of the article. How it says the people using "Negro" to identify themselves will be gone in-time. Segregation and racial divide is pretty non-existent in my life, my personal history doesn't give me a reason to be offended by a term like "negro", I think the majority of people taking the census would agree. But, for those people still using "Negro" to identify themselves, they may continue using it until they die, at which point the word may cease to exist soon after.
Even if "negro" disappears from the census, our country will still be conscious of segregation. I think being a certain race or ethnicity is like a team game, where people build up pride for their own team. Division will be ever-present as long as we look different.
It's like wearing a certain color jersey, for a person really involved in the game, that's a sign as to what side your on. If someone is so proud to be on a certain team, I think there will always be divisions, and inevitably, hatred between teams. It's not the label itself that makes people feel alienated, it's the history connected with the label. People can't let go of the past, therefore segregation remains.
The purpose of the census is to gather official data, as accurate as possible. It's not there to make a person feel alienated because they chose "african american", "black", or "negro". If they feel alienated, it should be because the implication of the word had a NEGATIVE effect on THEIR life, not those in the past.
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I chose this article particular article because I feel it so closely relates to what we have been talking about in class over the last few days. I think that it is well written and also well thought out making some very interesting points. Personally, I do not find the word Negro offensive but I can see how it may rub black people the wrong way. The word is definitely one that can be found derogatory to people of African descent. With that in mind, there are so many countless other words in today’s society that are used to describe people of black skin color. Even some of those words used today are very derogatory.
I think they use of the word “Negro” has been outdated because of the generation today. It was a word that was used in everyday language to describe an African American over 25 years ago. It has been outdated but because it is so outdated, in my opinion, I don’t feel that African Americans should take real offense to it.
Looking at this from the perspective of the census, I think that it is a move that has been long overdue. Citizens should be able to check off more than one box, because people in this country should not be limited or have to put a label on just one race in which they identify themselves. This is part of the reason I feel that some people do not take things such as the census so seriously. Because after all, things such as the census can be in ways ignorant when trying to cater to and identify people of the different races. People are so quick to judge whether people are either this race or that race, without thinking about what if they are a cross-bred and have can fall under more than one race.
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What is your race? What is your nationality? What ethnicity do you identify with? Are you male or female? Are you an orthodox or southpaw? Are you dark haired or blonde? Are you gay or straight? What is your religious affiliation?
Constantly we are asked questions and the reason behind it is to get a better understanding of whom we really are. Do any of these affiliations really help others understand us better? Why can’t we all live together as human beings without worries about classifications? With those classifications come competition, racism, and discrimination. One race believes they are better than the rest, they believe their customs are ethical and others are wrong. Other problems arise like the politically correct term to call certain races. When Sam showed the statistics in class I was shocked at the high number of white people that preferred to be called white rather than Caucasian Americans. I can relate though. As an African American I have no disagreement with others calling me black. It is simply a way to describe my background. Negro is a bit extreme but to each its own.
Aren’t we all Americans? Canadians are usually referred to as Canadians, Chinese as Chinese, Egyptians as Egyptians, Spanish as Spanish (Spaniards) but Americans like to be specific. Are you a dark American or light American? Are you a first generation American or second?. Are your family members from Africa or Europe? Does that even matter? Does it help bring us any closer or help the government govern any better? I think not. It simply helps with statistical data., unnecessary statistical data. The reality is we are all living in America and for the most part our families are to so why does it matter where we migrated?
Reality is we will never be seen as just Americans, as one people although that is our nationality. Web definition defines nationality as people having common origins or traditions and often comprising a nation. White Americans, Black Americans, Native Americans, and Spanish Americans all comprise America so why cant we simply check American?
Our classification system just becomes another social divider in our lives. It becomes another barrier in our lives, another obstacle and hurdle we must overcome. The unfortunate truth about this is that we will never overcome this hurdle. This barrier is insurmountable because we as Americans will not accept each other as individuals. We generalize and create assumptions about others based on the color of their skin. Skin color has little to do with the way we act. We are unique individuals that cannot be understood simply by taking statistical data. We are complex and unique human beings that change and react based in emotion, instinct and passion not based off of numbers.
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I think that this is an interesting article, and includes things that needed to be said. As we heard in class, the issue of having the word “Negro” on the census has been debated for many years, but a consistent number of citizens continue to refer to them using that word. However, times are changing and race is still a sensitive subject, so I believe that we are due for a change. Farther along in the article it talks about having a line for people to elaborate on their checking off of white or black. I think that this is a great idea, so that people can really get across the race that they want to be affiliated with.
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This topic really caught my attention. We had already discussed it in class, but this article was a great follow up. I understand that the government is trying to appeal to everyone and attempting to avoid under-representation. That’s great. My initial reaction in class was “Wow, really? Who still says ‘Negro’?” But immediately afterwards I realized that there truly are older blacks who would much rather identify that way, which is fine. Personally, if tomorrow we came up with a savvy new term for “black” I probably wouldn’t want to have anything to do with it. I’d want “black” on my census. I also think it’s wonderful that this isn’t just about black and white anymore. We are starting to give more recognition to others and giving them equal opportunities to express how they prefer to be identified rather than so much guesswork…or simply content ignorance. Way to go United States! But we’ve still got some work to do, but this is a start!
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I guess after reading this I realize how fortunate I am. I'm white, and although my ancestry comes from various places across Europe, I consider myself more 'American' than anything else. I've never had any hesitation when filling out my race/ethnicity on a census. Unfortunately, it can be more of a hassle to millions of other people living in the United States. Listed on the census are probably no more than ten different options for race/ethnicity, the last usually labeled as 'other.' It's good news for many people out there that they will be able to actually identify themselves rather than marking 'other' or a general category such as 'negro' that applies to nothing more than the color of their skin. I never realized how offensive a simple survey could be. Because it never applied to me. This is an awesome step for our society.
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I thought this article was very interesting considering the topics we recently went over in class. While discussing the different words and classifications people use for race, someone asked why the census even wants know about race in the United States in the first place (which is a question I still wonder about myself). Like the article says, “race was about civil status” when the first census was taken in 1790. The reasons for asking about race on the census now are clearly different than when they first started.
I think what is really interesting about this is how the terms we use for race or ethnicity change over time. When did the term “negro” become offensive? And why do some people still identify with the term, if it is offensive to others? It is simply because back when “negro” was on the census, that is what most people actually identified as. It was the politically correct term for people of that ethnicity. Older people that lived during this time grew up identifying as such, so why should they change. So at what point did “negro” start to fade away? This is where the census gets in a sticky situation. If there is a large amount of people that still identify with a certain term, leaving it out would cause a large mistake in the representation of a certain people’s ethnicity. Then again, leaving it in would cause certain people to be offended. For now, however, I think the most important thing in mind for the census bureau is getting an accurate statistic. How accurate the statistics turn out each year, I’m not sure.
Somehow I feel like they can’t be as accurate as we would like. If you think about it, two people that might be from the same country with the same ethnicity might identify themselves as two different things. The fact is, people will identify themselves in any way they want to. Before I joined this class, I had no idea what the difference was between African-American people and black people. I do not think I would have guessed that “African-American” would be a term only used for those that can trace their ancestry to slavery in the United States. If I didn’t know that, maybe some people that actually aren’t African-American have identified themselves as such.
Another thing I thought was very interesting is the fact that those with Hispanic backgrounds aren’t considered white. I had always thought that white people were tied to European backgrounds. If Spain really is in Europe (which it is), why are those from Spain not considered white? Why do we have a separate category just for them? If it is because their skin is slightly darker than other Europeans, why, then, don’t we have a separate category for Sicilians and southern Italians? After a while, you can make a case for each separate country having its own special race category. It just gets redundant. This is the kind of thing that makes you wonder why we even have to ask about race at all.
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I don't understand why the census needs to take race into consideration. I think ethnicity is a better indicator of people's backgrounds today, especially since there is so much confusion over race categories. In addition, I think people value their ethnicity more than their race anyway. It is something that can be traced and is not changing as rapidly as race and race's definition are. The fact that people must choose a race from a limited list is forcing them to categorize themselves into a group that they may not feel they identify with, for example, Negroes would rather identify themselves as Negro than Black or African American. If the race category must be included, I think it should be a write-in form only.
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Times have undoubtedly changed since the release of the first Census over 200 years ago. From the increases of race categories throughout these years, to the ability of citizens to choose more than one race in the 2000 Census, we have come far from the days of slavery. I feel like we as a nation now know what is right and wrong when it comes to civil rights. We know that the color of a person’s skin has no influence on the way that person should be treated or respected. We know that every race is guaranteed the same civil rights, and any other right for that matter, under the law. With that said, it is not as easy to classify these races. The main problem is that a term that may be offensive to some is perfectly acceptable to others. I believe that the Census has recognized all different types of races in the nation, and that no one is truly left out. This means that every single American should be able to check their own race off in the 2000 Census—the changes allowing them to check more than one box diminishes any uncertainties about what race they identify themselves to be. But as the article describes, this does not leave the Census without problems.
When it comes to describing race, especially one’s own, people get very timid. They do not want to be classified into a general category, with the fear of leaving some part of their heritage out of this classification. Take two brothers, for example, who grew up in different households (to eliminate the environment aspect of how they might identify themselves). Biologically, they have the same parents, the same grandparents, the same great-grandparents, and so on, regarding every single family member. So naturally, they are exactly the same race, tracing them back as far as anyone wishes to go. But one brother may describe himself as ‘black’ and the other as ‘Negro’. Why? Because all it comes down to is how comfortable they are describing their race with certain terminology. It is mainly how they were brought up. If one brother’s step-father commonly referred to his son as Negro, that son may not have a problem with calling himself Negro. But the other son, who grew up in a different house may not feel comfortable classifying himself as Negro. But still they are exactly the same race.
This is the problem that occurs in the Census. Sure I agree people come from different backgrounds, and as Dr. Sam Richards has said, there are an infinite number of races in the world. I agree with this. Someone who has three grandparents from the same exact African tribe as another, but they only differ with their fourth grandparent, are different. But not by much. They may want to classify themselves as a different race, but in my opinion, they can be grouped together. I believe the Census is doing the right thing in letting people fill in their own race, and expand upon this through write-in responses. But in reality, the Census needs to narrow down the number of races to a reasonable number in order to produce the statistics they need. Allowing for hundreds and possibly thousands of race categories would make this impossible.
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I though that this article presented a lot of very interesting viewpoints on the topics of race and ethnicity. One thing that I thought was particularly fascinating was the section of the article that stated that the United States is the only country that truly differentiates between race and ethnicity on census forms. In other countries, race and ethnicity are treated as one term to describe people. In class, we defined race as the physical or biological characteristics of a person or a group, while we defined ethnicity as the social or learned, or taught, characteristics of a person or a group. I believe that these two entities need to be separated because they lead to stereotypes. If we associate the physical appearance of a person or group with the social characteristics that the person or group display then we are creating the opportunity for stereotypes to flourish. Furthermore, we learned in class that the Europeans created the term "race". Before this term was coined by the Europeans, culture had ruled the day in the history of characterizing people. The Europeans decided to categorize people based on their physical appearance. Ultimately, physical differences are real and can truly provide a distinction between people. On the other hand, races are not real and just a term without boundaries in the description. This means that there could be infinite races if we used it as a defining term. The differences in peoples' physical appearances generally stem most importantly from peoples' skin color. Skin color is a product of our ancestry. Most humans had ancestors with different skin colors just one hundred years ago. Our ancestors who lived close to the equator had to develop characteristics to help them cope with the amount of sunlight that people were exposed to. Thus people with darker skin developed this in order to help protect themselves from the ultraviolet light and heat that they were exposed to. In modern society, the color of one's skin is only an indication of how close to the equator and how much sunlight one's ancestors received. Furthermore, had our ancestors been unable to develop these differences, we may not be here today. I believe that all of this information validates how race and ethnicity should not be intertwined. That's why I think that America should adopt a new form for identifying peoples differences in the census. I believe that America should purely use a fill-in system. This would allow people to identify their identity and heritage the most effectively. The census can then group these people in a standardized system if they felt so inclined to do so. The world is a very diverse place, and I think that if we allow people to identify themselves in the way that they felt most aligned with, the census would be much more accurate.
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Honestly I feel that everyone has different beliefs and feelings about certain words. No word that the census chooses to use is going to satisfy every person and there will always be that one person who is offended or feels differently. I think this is a very touchy topic and with such changing times, there are always going to be different views. An example of this is in the older generations the use of the word Negro is accepted, while the younger age groups find this to be offensive. I thought it was really interesting how the Census added Chinese and Japanese, yet Irish and Italian were not added. It seems like at that time they were not trying to be too discrete about keying in on the Asian race.
I do not believe that by removing Negro from the Census it will majorly affect counting the number of Black Americans. I think it actually contradicts their belief in that it is causing more Black Americans to not state their race because they disapprove of the term. I believe that in today’s society more blacks disagree with the use of Negro then actually use it. The Census Bureau needs to respect the beliefs of Black Americans and take it off the Census.
I believe that everyone takes things too personally in the world today. If everyone just relaxed for two seconds before criticizing and putting people down for their own beliefs we would all understand each other so much better. Being a white American I find it difficult to truly talk about race openly. I feel like I might say the wrong thing and offend someone so as a result it is better to just not say anything. By not talking about it, it is really hard to learn about this topic. This reminds me a lot about one of the lectures last week where Sam talked about the race table. It is very true because now the Census Bureau is trying to sit down and fix these issues when in reality there really is no right answer. No matter what they decide to change about the Census someone will always oppose it and be unhappy. I am unsure about what the correct thing to do in this situation dealing with race. I think it is unfair to completely take race out of the Census because I feel that it is important for people to try to understand the variation of people living in the United States. I think it is good that the Bureau has put in a box to write your opinion of what race you are. It will really show what people believe is the correct terms for this decade and show how things have really changed.
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