CENSUS
"Aren't we all just members of the human race?" (RutherfordInstitute)
The census is a way for the government to get an overall idea of how Americans categorize themselves according to race. There were 5 categories plus an option given on the Census in 2010 including - white, black or African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (State & Country QuickFacts). The option of checking two or more races was also provided which allowed people to choose more easily. People have difficulty categorizing themselves into 1 category because everyone is so different. 5 categories for 318 million people, seems pretty narrow. One of the categories the census gives is being white, even though white is simply just a color. German scientist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, originally divided all humans into categories of red, yellow, brown, black and white, only to find out today that we humans identify themselves with more than just a color. Or do they? The census website defines the race category as a social reflection of race rather than biologically, genetically or anthropologically. The whole census survey is based on self identification, if this is so does this mean this race question is purely personal (United States Census Bureau). How are individuals of multiple races supposed to categorize themselves. The census is making racial categories more broad every year because people are starting to see racial categories much more fluid than before. Children of multiracial families have difficulties figuring out what category they should be placed in. There is no solution to get rid of race questions on the census completely because the government needs the information to create political policies (Prewitt).
As time progresses from the 1970s onward, there is acknowledgement that humans should be categorized differently in terms of race, but there still seems to be a confusion today about how. In the expansion of time will the United States Census ever be able to recognize Americans as purely apart of the human race and not ask the question of race at all? It does not look like there will be a huge expansion or contraction of racial categories in the near future based on the information about census categories (shown below).
As time progresses from the 1970s onward, there is acknowledgement that humans should be categorized differently in terms of race, but there still seems to be a confusion today about how. In the expansion of time will the United States Census ever be able to recognize Americans as purely apart of the human race and not ask the question of race at all? It does not look like there will be a huge expansion or contraction of racial categories in the near future based on the information about census categories (shown below).
Information from the table above was gathered from the United States Census Bureau.
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How do Americans define themselves? The video on the left focuses on the census, racial profiling and the question of self identification. "Aren't we all just members of the human race?"
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Image Citations:
Silvrique. "there is nothing as lucky, as easy, or free." WeHeartIt. N.p., n.d.
Web. 27 May 2014. <http://weheartit.com/entry/14360749/via/
silvrique>.
Video Citations:
RutherfordInstitute. The Race Question on the 2010 Census Raises Serious
Questions. YouTube. N.p., 22 Mar. 2010. Web. 27 May 2014.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DbS_ROpoEY>.
Silvrique. "there is nothing as lucky, as easy, or free." WeHeartIt. N.p., n.d.
Web. 27 May 2014. <http://weheartit.com/entry/14360749/via/
silvrique>.
Video Citations:
RutherfordInstitute. The Race Question on the 2010 Census Raises Serious
Questions. YouTube. N.p., 22 Mar. 2010. Web. 27 May 2014.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DbS_ROpoEY>.