Possily dumb question about census re: race

Mrs.Guz · March 2010

So, my husband is Mexican. So, is he considered "white" according to the government? I've heard that that's the case, but not sure. He doesn't consider himself white, he's Hispanic, but that's not an option. Also, would I put Abigail down as being of Mexican origin too? I filled mine out, but beginning to think I got it all wrong....

maykat · March 2010

I just filled mine out and I could have sworn that I saw a section for Hispanic. I would put Abigail down too as Hispanic. Mine is all sealed up or I would doublecheck everything for you.

keg · March 2010

Yep, he's considered white by the government (unless he also identifies with any of the other race categories). For some reason the government classifies Hispanic/Latino as ethnicity. I'm a data nerd so when we analyze race/ethnicity data, we tend to break it down into Hispanic, non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Asian/Pacific Islander.

I think you can go either way with Abigail. I don't like that for ethnicity you can only select one, but for race you can mark as many as apply. For example, my DH is half white, half Asian Indian so we'd mark both boxes. I guess we'll probably mark both boxes for DDs because they are both a quarter Indian.

missmlp · March 2010

keg:

Yep, he's considered white by the government (unless he also identifies with any of the other race categories). For some reason the government classifies Hispanic/Latino as ethnicity. I'm a data nerd so when we analyze race/ethnicity data, we tend to break it down into Hispanic, non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Asian/Pacific Islander.

Ditto! I'm also a Civil Rights Liason and have to collect this data as well and Keg is right on point. In fact, I've been told by higher ups that Hispanics can consider themselves as White Hispanic or Black Hispanic. Yes, I know this sounds crazy.

seansgirl2006 · March 2010

Can I just say that all of this annoys the crap out of me?! My mother is Dominican and my father is caucasian and from US (Macon, GA). When I would fill stuff like this out on my standardized tests when I was younger in school, this stuff freaked me out and I never knew what I "was" and what to put. Vent over.

DizzyBlonde · March 2010

So, i think you already got your answer, but I had to throw in another nerdy tidbit...when I was in college, I took an entire class on race, ethnicity and science, and we did an entire section on how the census has evolved and the use of race and ethnicity on the census, the effects of one versus the other (and why certain groups are considered "racial" and others are considered "ethnic"). The professor actually wrote an entire book called Shades of Citizenship, and compared the US Census and the Brazilian Census and how they deal with race and ethnicity in different ways. It's actually something that I thought was incredibly interesting....if you're into that sort of thing

kekonakelama · March 2010

Mrs.Guz:
So, my husband is Mexican. So, is he considered "white" according to the government? I've heard that that's the case, but not sure. He doesn't consider himself white, he's Hispanic, but that's not an option. Also, would I put Abigail down as being of Mexican origin too? I filled mine out, but beginning to think I got it all wrong....

thank you Mrs. Guz! LMAO I was trying to figure out what category I would be considered too?! Thanks everyone for clarying. (now checking the "white" category for myself; for I have a very "white" name - Jane Porter, I am 100% latina, and I always get mistaken for Asian)

noyoucomehere · March 2010

WTH!?! Makes no sense.

atlbride23 · March 2010

seansgirl2006:
Can I just say that all of this annoys the crap out of me?! My mother is Dominican and my father is caucasian and from US (Macon, GA). When I would fill stuff like this out on my standardized tests when I was younger in school, this stuff freaked me out and I never knew what I "was" and what to put. Vent over.

I always put something random if "other" was not an option. Something like 30-50% of kids born in the US are actually multiracial, depending on where you live- you think they'd list this as a choice.

keg · March 2010

atlbride23:
I always put something random if "other" was not an option. Something like 30-50% of kids born in the US are actually multiracial, depending on where you live- you think they'd list this as a choice.

You can indicate if you are more than one race and I think all government documents have to allow you mark all races that apply (or something like that), but it's the ethnicity thing that gets complicated.

mingaling2 · March 2010

seansgirl2006:
Can I just say that all of this annoys the crap out of me?! My mother is Dominican and my father is caucasian and from US (Macon, GA). When I would fill stuff like this out on my standardized tests when I was younger in school, this stuff freaked me out and I never knew what I "was" and what to put. Vent over.

Me, too! My dad was caucasian and my mom Chinese, and back then there was hardly ever an "Other" category.

almostanO · March 2010

what about when the choice for a black person is just "african american" this annoys the crap out of me. DH isn't an american citizen at all he is just an African. Ugandan to be exact.

i always just put other because it annoys me.

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