October 31st

Response to “The Beginning of the End of the Census?”, “For Many Latinos, Racial Identity is More Culture than Color”, & “Confessions of a Black Gentrifier”

In the article ‘The Beginning of the End of the Census” the way the Census Bureau polls collects their data is explained. How each year the Census Bureau polls a representative, randomized a sample of about three million American households about demographics, habits, languages spoken, occupation, housing and various other categories. It is the largest data set and is used across the federal government. The census is a flawed system and this issue is discussed in “For Many Latinos Racial Identity is More Culture than Color”. This article discusses how the census bureau spends billions of dollars and deploys hundreds of thousands of workers to get an accurate portrayal of American society yet, more than eighteen million Latinos checked the “other” box in the 2010 census. Up from the 14.9 million Latinos that checked the “other” box in 2000. This indicated the major disconnect between how Latinos perceive themselves and how the government wants to classify and count them. Many Latinos believe the country’s race categories do not adhere to them. Latinos as a group tend to identify themselves more by their ethnicity, and or shared cultural traits. I believe this occurs with many people, that feel like the categories do not fit them.

In the article “Confessions of a Black Gentrifier” discusses the occurrences when “demographic change doesn’t involve color. The author suggested that since most black Americans were raised in metropolitan areas, there a correlation to the inclination to live in cities. These articles in particular all discussed the many issues associated with gentrification. The issue of color, which is a prominent part of the gentrification; ‘Who is the gentrifier?’ debate.