A Diverse U.S. Population
The U.S. population has always been diverse. However, in the past few decades alone, the diversity in the country has only grown. Now, the government is looking to update its way of categorizing its citizens.
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For many who have been asking for this change for years now, this move is long overdue. While some critics of this process do remain, most have welcomed the changes with open arms.
New Diversity Changes
The Office of Management and Budget announced these latest revisions to the categorizations of the minimum race and ethnicity categories on government documents.
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Previously, questions revolving around both race and ethnicity were asked separately on forms. However, now these questions will be combined into one. This then allows respondents to check off multiple categories, such as Hispanic and Black, at the same time.
Fixing Past Issues
By combining these previously separate questions, the government is hoping to better clarify what they’re asking respondents to fill out. This will, in turn, help show the government the diversity of its population.
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Past research has proven that many Hispanic people aren’t sure how to answer questions about their race, mainly because they view race and ethnicity to be the same thing. This then results in Hispanic people choosing “some other race” on the document. Now, however, this won’t be an issue.
New Categories
New categories to these questions about race and ethnicity will also be added. Many organizations in the U.S. have long asked for these changes to occur, as the U.S. population has grown incredibly diverse in the last few decades.
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Many people felt, upon filling out these papers, that they couldn’t find a race or ethnicity that fit them perfectly. The addition of these new categories can help with this problem.
Middle Eastern and North African Additions
Most notably, Middle Eastern and North African categories will be added to all questions regarding race and ethnicity on government documents.
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For years, descendants from countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Iran weren’t sure how to answer these questions, mainly because there were no Middle Eastern and North African options. Many of these people ended up identifying as white, simply because they had no other option.
Missed Opportunities
Because of these limited options, the government had many missed opportunities to better understand its population. This fact was driven home after the results from the 2020 census came in.
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In this census, respondents were asked to elaborate more on their backgrounds, race, and ethnicity. This led to 3.5 million citizens identifying as Middle Eastern or North African.
Eliminated Words
While many new categories were added to government documents, many words were also eliminated, simply because they are no longer seen as helpful. Words such as “Negro” and “Far East” have now been taken away. These words are now considered derogatory when discussing race and ethnicity.
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Generic terms like “minority” and “majority,” concerning race, have also been discarded. These terms now fail to truly help define the U.S.’s diverse population.
More Detailed Answers
The U.S. government is also hoping to gain some more detailed answers when it asks respondents what race and ethnicity they are. As many people in the country come from diverse backgrounds, the government is now allowing more detailed categories to be on documents.
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For example, someone who checks Black on a document can now also check either Haitian or Jamaican, as well. This is a more detailed response that clarifies how a person identifies.
What Documents Will Change
These new classifications for race and ethnicity will only appear on certain federal government documents. Surveys and forms from the government will reflect these updates.
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Census questionnaires, which occur once a decade, will also have these new categories and questions. State governments and private sectors will likely follow suit in their own data collection, as they tend to follow the federal government’s lead in this regard.
Changes Have Happened Before
While this is the first time the U.S. government has made a change in how it collects this type of data in 27 years, these types of revisions have happened before. The government first released its federal standards in 1977. However, past censuses have shown how things have changed.
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For example, in 1820, the category “Free Colored People” was included for the first time in the decennial census. Meanwhile, in 1870, the census included the category “Chinese” because of the country’s recent influx of Chinese immigrants.
The Importance of Change
Already, many analysts have welcomed these changes. While these revisions will definitely help the government understand how diverse its people are, it will also allow regular people to feel better seen, according to Meeta Anand, the senior director for Census & Data Equity at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
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“You can’t underestimate the emotional impact this has on people,” Anand explained. “It’s how we conceive ourselves as a society. … You are seeing a desire for people to want to self-identify and be reflected in data so they can tell their own stories.”