The White House Office of Management and Budget, now under the Biden administration, announced significant changes to questions related to race and ethnicity in most standard federal surveys and questionnaires, including the U.S. Census. This is the first such change in nearly 30 years.
The first major change is that race and ethnicity, which were previously covered in separate questions, are now being conflated, although respondents can still select multiple options. One of the purposes of this change is to AP This is reportedly to simplify the process for Hispanics. The Associated Press notes that Hispanic people often “don’t know how to answer race questions,” resulting in them either choosing “other race” or leaving the question blank. He claimed that.
A new racial category will also be added. Since 1997, the United States has recognized her five minimum racial categories. They are American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White. Respondents will now have the additional option of selecting the Middle East and North Africa.
OMB said those responsible for survey development should also consider further disaggregation of some racial categories. For example, the Bureau suggests that some people who select the “Black” category may identify more specifically as Haitian or Jamaican.
Finally, OMB has removed the terms Black, Far Eastern, Majority, and Minority from federal surveys and questionnaires because they are offensive or inappropriate.
Many on the left are celebrating these new changes, which were made over the past two years by “a group of federal statisticians and bureaucrats who prefer to stay out of political fray,” according to the Associated Press. .
“It’s nice to see,” said Florida Democratic state Rep. Anna Eskamani, whose parents were born in Iran. “When I was a kid, my family checked the ‘white’ box because we didn’t know what other boxes reflected our family. We thought it was meaningful to have that representation. I feel it.”
“You cannot underestimate the emotional impact this will have on people,” added Meeta Anand, senior director of census and data equity at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “We’re seeing a desire for data to help people identify and tell their own stories.”
But the Associated Press report also notes that the new changes, which significantly reduce the number of people considered white, are likely to have political implications in terms of congressional districts and the understanding and enforcement of civil rights laws. are doing.
Others have some reservations because they believe the Middle East and North Africa category is not yet comprehensive enough. “This does not reflect the racial diversity of our community,” said Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute. “And that’s wrong.”
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