EXAMPLE 2 What’s your race?

The U.S. census asks, “What is this person’s race?” for every person in every household. “Race” is a variable, and the Census Bureau must say exactly how to measure it. The census form does this by giving a list of races. Years of political squabbling lie behind this list.

How many races shall we list, and what names shall we use for them? Shall we have a category for people of mixed race? Asians wanted more national categories, such as Filipino and Vietnamese, for the growing Asian population. Pacific Islanders wanted to be separated from the larger Asian group. Black leaders did not want a mixed-race category, fearing that many blacks would choose it and so reduce the official count of the black population.

The 2010 census form (see Figure 1.1) ended up with six Asian groups (plus “Other Asian”) and three Pacific Island groups (plus “Other Pacific Islander”). There is no “mixed-race” group, but you can mark more than one race. That is, people claiming mixed race can count as both so that the total of the racial group counts in 2010 is larger than the population count. Unable to decide what the proper term for blacks should be, the Census Bureau settled on “Black, African American, or Negro.” What about Hispanics? That’s a separate question because Hispanics can be of any race. Again unable to choose a short name that would satisfy everyone, the Census Bureau decided to ask if you are of “Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin.”

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Figure 1.1: Figure 1.1 The first page of the 2010 census form, mailed to all households in the country. The 2010 census form can be found online at www.census.gov/2010census/about/interactive-form.php. (Source: Census.gov.)

The fight over “race” reminds us that data reflect society. Race is a social idea, not a biological fact. In the census, you say what race you consider yourself to be. Race is a sensitive issue in the United States, so the fight is no surprise, and the Census Bureau’s diplomacy seems a good compromise.