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.
First of all, I hate it when people do not use their brain. Like seriously, where does this guy come off? I’d like him to spend one night on the street, one day worrying about he is going to feed his family, one day sick without health insurance, and then make judgments. Its 2010 people! Work those neurons!
Second of all, who does this guy think he is calling people “animals”? This is shocking to me, and scares me a lot to think this guy has any sort of public power. I cannot imagine how someone on public assistance feels, because I am not receiving money from the government, and it upsets me a lot. You do not call another human being an “animal,” unless you are a heartless pig yourself.
I am actually glad this guy misspoke. I think it is important for the American people to know what their politicians are really thinking. In fact, I think in most elections we could make a lot better decisions if these politicians were honest, instead of just saying what they think we want to hear. If someone is representing me, and making decisions that are affecting my livelihood, I’d really like to know where he or she honestly stands. I feel like we can no longer trust anyone, and this is scary and sad.
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The census has a tough job in that is has to collect accurate data and do so without offending anyone. However, I think people should be able to write in whatever race they are and not be constrained to what is given on the survey. People are a mix of races and being confined to just a few options is generalizing people into categories they don’t necessarily belong in.
I agree with the statement in the article that the census both reflects and forges our understanding of race. Do people believe they’re a certain race because they truly think it or do they think they belong to a race because it was an option given on a survey or at the beginning of a standardized test? When people talk about their own race or the race of others they often use the terms that were at the beginning of the SAT’s or a survey they participated in. People don’t list off the mix of nationalities they come from and then determine their race from there. Instead, people commonly refer to what they’re used to seeing. If in surveys there were no options and people had to write in what they thought they were,,what would people say? If the media and society didn’t generalize people into white, black, Asian, or Hispanic, how would people refer to themselves? I think there would be many more “races” that people would refer to if there weren’t already a few broad categories that existed.
I found Ann Morning’s research to be very interesting. She found that out of 138 countries with censuses, 15 used the word “race.” And of that 15% of countries, almost all of them permitted slavery at one point or another. This shows so many countries’ obsession with categorizing people based on the color of their skin. When slavery was legal in the U.S., it was imperative for the government to identify people by race so they could separate voters from non-voters, slaves from free people and citizens with rights between people with no rights. Today, the government doesn’t want to people to fill out a race so they can identify slaves, but that data is still crucial to understand our society and culture. Marketers use that information to segment people based on demographics. The media uses it to add another element to their stories that either prove or disprove peoples’ preconceived notions about certain races.
I think it’s interesting to note that the census is considering doing away with the term negro altogether. Years ago negro was an acceptable term for black people and now it’s considered not only outdated but offensive. The term reminds people of the 1950’s when restaurants had signs that said “Negroes Not Allowed.” Maybe black will be considered outdated and offensive in fifty years. Regardless it’s interesting that the census bureau wants to generalize people into broad categories but doesn’t want to step on anyone’s toes while doing it.
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I completely agree with the fact that people should be allowed to identify themselves as any race that he or she wishes. I don't agree with the small insertion of Negro as an option. I feel as though is a derogatory word that was retired, or should have been retired after slavery and before the civil rights movement. Also, it's not like that there is a vast majority of African American peoples seeking to be called a negro. There is only a small percentage of African Americans who still want to be a called negro, and that percentage range in the older generation. The term negro isn't a race in my opinion, but a derogatory word that was given to African Americans during slavery and should be rid of today.
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I think that the categories we have on our census should be a reflection of what the people taking the census identify with. If there are people that identify themselves as negro, it should continue to be included. There are some countries that have over a hundred different words to describe the ethnic and racial beliefs of its population. I think that if they are able to accept that and allow people to express the racial groups that they truly identify with rather than stuffing themselves into a category they don’t necessarily feel reflects their race, we should allow our citizens to do so.
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I thought that this article was interesting. Until recently I honestly did not know that the term “Negro” was stilled used in the Census. I didn’t know that people would still classify themselves under that category. I doubt there is a large amount that do so I think it’s a good step for them to take by taking the term Negro out of the categories. I also agree with them in including write-in blanks for people who want to classify themselves in any other way they want. This will allow the census to be more accurate and add more diversity.
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. I understand where this article is going, however I do not really understand why race is such a big deal. Especially that it is such a big deal that we need to get so involved over what to call a certain race. Isn’t the census about how many people there are living in the US, I did not realize it was so much about how many black vs white people there are in the US (or any other race). If race does need to be involved, maybe it would be a good idea to leave the space completely blank and let it be a write in for everyone. That way people can fill in whatever race they are to themselves. In fact, this country is so diverse anymore I see no reason why we must need a constant track on how many different races there are anymore. In my eyes the times are changing, and maybe race does not have to be such a big deal anymore. I am not saying that I do not understand why they try to measure racial differences in this country, because I do. It is great to learn and study from, but the way we ask should not be offending people. If people are so worried about being politically correct, and what word we should be using for different races, I do not understand why we can not just simply leave a space for them to fill in their own race- as they see it. I do, however, think that it is respectful of the Census Bureau to try to figure out what races to put on the senses, because we should all be sensitive to what others would like to be called. For instance, I do not really feel appropriate using the word Negro. I feel as thought it was stopped being used for a reason, and if it is offensive why should it be brought back. I am not black, so if African Americans would rather be called Negros I guess I cannot talk, but I feel as though for a pretty long period of time the word was used in a derogatory sense – and maybe should not be used again – at least just yet. It does honestly surprise me that the term Negro is still used in the American Census. Perhaps older generations of African Americans do not mind the term because they are used to it. However, I think in present day many, if not all, younger black Americans would find the term offensive especially if it was a white person calling them that name. I think that we should just listen to what people would like to be called. The census results are going to be skewed no matter what, especially because people may identify themselves as a different race than others would identify them as. So what it comes down to is, what is more important counting the population, or the racial differences in the United States.
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Although as I initially read this article I was slightly disillusioned, the more I read the more I became both shocked as well as understanding at the same time.
It is interesting to me to hear that the term “negro” is still in use at all, especially as officially as in an official US census. To me, the term just seems rather archaic and outdated. I identify the term with elderly people who grew up before the civil rights movement and when the term was actually in such large use around the country. To read that it is, in fact, not this actual population that appears to be utilizing with the term and it happens to be black people who identify the term was quite surprising to me as I read the first two paragraphs.
As I read the article, I have to say that although I deemed the term as archaic, which I still do feel applies, I understand the Census Bureau’s reasoning for keeping the term on the census. It could potentially change the outcome of the survey if a key racial identification term is not available.
Another thing I found interesting, and at the same time a way of taking a step forward, was the addition, in 2000, of the ability to check more than one racial box. I think it is interesting that it took so long to allow that considering how many racially mixed and diverse people there are in the United States. I do think it is an important step to furthering the census because it is necessary and important to realize that people are not only one race anymore. It makes sense the way the article worded it when they write, “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?” And why should they have to choose? It doesn’t even make sense to have a choice because a person who is mixed is neither black nor white. Or Hispanic or non-hispanic. They are both.
I think that in all this is very interesting. The census brings up many questions about race and ethnicity and who is what and what is “politically correct” and it is interesting to see and to think about the fact that people are just what they are and some like to be called one thing while another may think it is offensive. The hope is that one day we should all be just “American.” And although in many ways I do think it is important to find out if certain racial groups are being misrepresented, I just think its funny that that’s even an issue at all. All people should just be represented because they are here and they are American no matter what color skin they have or where their parents are from. I like their closing sentence and I think I’ll close with it as well, “Census categories reflect perceptions. But they also forge them.”
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Im really interested to see how this years census turns out. There are many different identifiable options for people to choose from and in some cases there are two or more choices that are in all reality, the same exact thing. I don’t see the difference between black and negro. According to the article, it is because some people are writing these terms in the option line where they are able to do so. I think the solution to this problem is to give a general choice to every individual that fits a general race and DO NOT give them any other options to write anything in. There is no reason to be so specific when determining which race they are.
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This article was extremely thought-provoking. The census is an interesting indicator of many things, not leaving out culture and what is prominent in the average American's society. What we call each other and what we call ourselves says a lot about who we are. Even the fact that when people ask me what I am, I tell them that I am a mutt of sorts. My dad is a bunch of different things, and my mom is half and half. Now I am not even sure what being negro means nowadays or back when many people called themselves that on the census. I know the word means "black" but that it has a negative connotation (mostly) in today's society. I usually try to make it a point to be politically correct with people as to not offend them, because I would not like to be offended either.
It is under my impression that most people my age would not be too happy about being called negro, but then again I could be wrong. I don't think it should be that big of a deal to have a bunch of things to pick from to check on the census. The article mentioned that there are laws that were put in place to keep the validity of the data obtained from the census; well, maybe in today's world these laws need to be reconsidered and changes made to allow more people content with answering their race.
It would be nice to be able to remove race from the census, but I think it is an important component in today's world. Not necessarily "race" but the fact that in this country we have many people of different races represented. This is not the case in so many other countries. We are still not in a day and age when we are willing to call ourselves simply American rather than German, Irish, or Italian (just to name a few). I think we may still carry that over from whoever immigrated here first. Although when we do go to other countries they recognize us as American and we are quick to call ourselves Americans, very intriguing. It is getting hard to categorize people though. Maybe we should just accept that our country is full of all kinds of skin colors and backgrounds, and call it a day. Then again, we like to remember where we came from; I think it helps us recognize who we are. Everyone likes knowing who they are otherwise they feel lost. Maybe that is why many people are ambient about making sure we know their heritage; maybe they are just trying to press upon us the importance that they feel.
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I thought this was a very interesting article. It seems as though the Census Bureau is stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they keep the option of Negro on the form certain black activists and politicians will become very upset, however if they take that option off the form fifty-six thousand others will be upset (they wrote that they were Negros in the 2000 census). So what is the Census Bureau to do? Some people are so offended if they are called something other than what they identify themselves with. For example, some people will be offended if they are called black instead of Negro or if they are called white instead of Caucasian.
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I am very surprised and happy that the Census Bureau is trying out these new changes. (They are testing 15 different changes to questions about race as well as Hispanic origin. For each new change around thirty thousand households will also receive a questionnaire so that workers at the Bureau will be able to decide if the changes actually helps, hurts or does not affect the accuracy and consistency of information that is collected. Some changes that are proposed is to get rid of the word race altogether or even combining questions about Hispanic origin into one question. When reading it made me wonder. Why would they put the Hispanic origin questions into one single question? Are the African origin question a single question or is that question in multiple questions? Are they discriminating against the Hispanic origin questions or are they making the questionnaire more uniform?
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It is very exciting that these changes are happening in our lifetime. These simple changes could have huge impacts on the way that we think about the world. For example, the census data is used in numerous ways such as corporate marketing strategies and even federal regulations. If the census shows that there is an influx of Hispanics than marketing agencies may be more inclined to run commercials geared towards Hispanics. If these Hispanics watch these commercials and see people like themselves in the commercials then they are more likely to want to buy this good or service that is being advertised.
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It really surprised me that the first census (in 1790) only asked about whites. It is interesting to read how the different categories came into play; for example, “mulatto,” “quadroon,” and “octoroon.” It is also interesting to see that with the rise of immigration, Chinese and Japanese were able to be added to the census yet Irish and Italian were not. It is also interesting to see how the Census changed over the years with the changes in laws, like the civil rights era of the twentieth century.
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Does the census project a way of thinking about race, or does it reflect the population's views on race? The answer to that should be it reflects the views of the people, but if the classifications of the survey are limited than the results are going to skewed. At the same time however if the classifications of the survey are too broad, the results will be spread so thin that a judgment about them would be difficult to make. So it is important to have a lot of options on the Census, but it also needs to have an option available to make your self more specific. For example if you marked the box that says black you can write in that you are from the west indies, or from africa, or african american. But also if you mark hispanic you can write in you are from central america, or south america, or from spain. White people can say if they are descendant of Europe or northern africa. Going through each "race" on the Census and providing the opportunity for elaboration for each one would increase the accuracy of the information provided by the census. With a more accurate picture of the population, advertising would be aimed at more specifically. With an area for elaboration it would be easy to remove the need for negro and black and african americans to all be condensed into one group.
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I honestly believe that the changing of these terms and names for people of different colors, races, and ethnicities is due to the fact that society is changing. That means that these terms are not real or set in stone. Why was it okay to call people Negro before but not anymore? Why did people use the term “colored” before and not as much anymore? Another factor could be the fact that so many more people are coming into the United States, bringing more diversity and even new groups of people with different preferences in what they want to be called. This might affect the previous groups that used certain terms to refer to themselves with. Before, black people were considered African Americans. However, now we know that it could mean anybody who is of such dark skin.
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Felecia Brown
I recently completed the census and I found it crazy that the word Negro was still on it. The options for black people were African American; black or Negro were all-ridiculous. I think that they should probably have emlinated African American and the Negro and just had the only option as black. The term black could be used for an African American person or somebody who refers to themselves as Negro.
I think in the year 2010 blacks should not be referring to themselves as Negro. Referring to yourself as Negro is like referring to yourself as a nigger, which shouldn't be done. I understand that some older people in the south still refer to themselves as Negro but its time for them to get up to date with recent times. The African American community is trying to get rid of the word nigger and the fact that some people are still referring to themselves as that word its going to be impossible to stop the use of the word. I don't think that if they deleted the word it would cause any confusion or make people fill out the census incorrectly. Anybody doing the census knows that black means African American or it could even mean Negro.
Just like how on the census the term white is used to refer to all white people. There isn’t a different option for Italian or polish they are all considered white. I am sure that some recent Italian immigrants or northern Africans feel more passionate about their countries but they have to put their pride aside and realize that they are white. The same could be done for African Americans the passionate people would just have to get over and consider themselves black for that moment.
I also don't think that the word African American isn’t necessary to have on the census. Since I have taken a sociology class I know that there is a difference between black and African American but I don't really think the vast majority of the in the United States know the definition. Like Sam mention in class that some blacks get really offended when people refer to them as African American so then there’s already two things that's offensive to people one the word negro and the term African American. The census should try to do all things possible that would not offend when you have the only option as white, black or Hispanic it would make things a whole lot easier and then there would be any problems.
That's is what I think should be done with the new census.
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Times have dramatically changed since the word Negro was a popular term for Black people. They HAVE to change in order for our world and society to evolve. It's just the way of life. The census is a great way to gauge where we are at in terms of race and population, but i feel like we have let the Census control HOW we think about these things, and in a way it kind of holds us back in moving forward with positive progress. This is America, the GREATEST country on the planet, and it is a very diverse nation, as it should be. We have MANY ethnic groups and mixed races, how are they supposed to identify which race they are? They cannot tell which race is the majority! We have to start getting rid of these generalizations or else we will still be stuck in the year 2000.
The word Negro is still taboo in a way because it sound like the word Nigger. I think it is a word that will disappear in time like most old words like that. People will just stop saying it LOL. We come up with new words for people, places and things everyday, so it does not really bother me. There are so many different words to describe stuff, who knows what will happen next? But I like that changes are being made for the better so that we can advance as a planet!
Due Feb. 5th
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