Diversity and the Census
by Sarah Badawi
Every ten years, as required by Article I of the Constitution, the U.S. government carries out a census. A census is an official count of a population. In the United States, census figures are used to shape key aspects of daily life, including representation in Congress and distribution of over $675 billion in federal funds to local, state, and tribal governments. The statistics gathered by the census are also important for understanding the changing demographics of the United States. Demography is the study of human populations or the makeup of a particular human population, and demographics are the data that come from that kind of research.
The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the Department of Commerce and administers the census. The head of the Census Bureau is appointed by the president.
The process of developing and administering the census raises important questions about diversity and membership in U.S. society. How do we decide how to count different groups in the country? How do we decide who is part of which group? In what languages will the census be available? And who should make these decisions?
When classifying people based on race, the Census Bureau uses terminology and definitions revised by the government in 1997. (See text box at left.) Since the 2000 census, people have been able to “check the box” for more than one race. In that year, only about 2% of respondents chose that option. About 3% did in 2010.
Besides race, many people in the United States have an ethnic identity that is an essential part of who they are. The census addresses this quality in different ways ― depending on the ethnicity ― and uses the term “origin” when doing so. Since 1970, it has included a separate, specific question to ask if a person is “of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin.” People who claim that origin may be of any race.
In 2020, for the first time, the census questionnaire will provide a space for people to indicate their ethnicity or national origin when they answer the question about which race they identify with. The image below shows how the question will be asked, including examples of “origins” people might indicate.
Many people have raised questions about the terminology and definitions the census uses. They argue that the census options reflect neither how they see themselves and their heritage, nor how many people in the United States see them. For example, under current Census Bureau definitions, people whose families originated in Southwest Asia, North Africa, or the Middle East are counted as white. But Arab and Iranian communities have been lobbying the bureau for many years to create a separate race category for people of Middle Eastern or North African descent. They point out that their ostensible inclusion in a group that has, in fact, frequently discriminated against them effectively “erases the community.”
Throughout the nation’s history, discrimination and exclusion have persistently been responses to the diversity that has also always been a defining characteristic of this country. Yet recent censuses and census projections indicate that diversity will continue to grow and shape the nation in important ways.
Indeed, terms like “minority groups” or “minorities,” refer to people who make up less than 50% of the population. But while white people remain the majority in the U.S. as a whole, in many parts of the country and sectors of society, it is people of color who make up the majority. For example, since 2014, children of color have made up the majority of public school students in the United States. The table below shows how the United States has become increasingly diverse over time and how that trend is expected to continue.
Another important marker of the diversity of the U.S. population is the number of languages spoken by people who live in this country. Census questionnaires and other forms have also increasingly reflected this. For the 2020 census, the Census Bureau has added seven new languages in which survey materials will be available. Arabic, Tagalog, and Haitian Creole are among them; this means that as of 2020, census materials will be available in a total of 13 languages.
Questions for Discussion
- Why is it important for the United States to conduct a census every ten years?
- How have changing demographics shaped definitions of race and ethnicity in the United States over time?
- Read the notes under Table 1 carefully. What do you think it means when a group of people cannot accurately identify themselves on the census? How do these past instances relate to the concerns of people from the Middle East and North Africa, as explained in the text?
This article was originally published as part of Constitutional Rights Foundation’s The Challenge of Democracy, a series of texts and lesson plans made possible by a generous grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation. Click here to access these materials on the themes of Governance, Diversity, Violence, and Information.
