Government and Politics

Pigeonholing People By Race

When it comes to categorizing people by race, no American institution beats the Census Bureau, critics complain. Now the agency wants to let people identify themselves as members of more than one racial group when they fill out their year 2000 census forms. The decision has presented Census statisticians with a whole new set of problems, according to observers.

  • A person who lists both American Indian and white could be placed in either of these categories -- but on what basis would the decision be made?

  • The various combinations of whites, blacks, American Indians, Asians, native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, and others could result in 63 officially recognized races.

  • Hispanic is considered an ethnic category and not a racial category.

  • If the government is left to assign one person to one or more categories, the result would add up to more than 100 percent of the population.

At the time of the policy change that allowed people to list more than one race of origin, warnings were heard that the ensuing process would be complicated.

But extraordinary amounts of money and political power depend on how the issue is decided. Important legal decisions in discrimination suits, and some government policies such as enforcement of the Voting Rights Act are also highly dependent on racial statistics, experts say.

Source: Steven A. Holmes, "U.S. Officials Are Struggling to Measure Multiracial Heritages," New York Times, June 14, 1998.

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