What does the US Census Bureau mean by race? What are Latinos or Hispanics considered?
When the Census Bureau gathers information to determine the country’s population, they ask about one’s race. What does the term mean in this context?
The US Census Bureau refers to race as a social category that people use to describe themselves, according to the race or races with which they most closely identify. They collect data on race according to guidelines given by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
What does the US Census Bureau mean by race?
According to the bureau’s website, “An individual’s response to the race question is based upon self-identification. The Census Bureau does not tell individuals which boxes to mark or what heritage to write in.”
People can choose to indicate more than one race when referring to their racial mixture, such as “American Indian” and “White”.
The Census Bureau recognizes five racial categories: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.
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What are Latinos or Hispanics considered?
The Census Bureau also recognizes ethnicity as a separate category from race. Ethnicity refers to a person’s national origin, ancestry, culture, and language. The Bureau includes two categories for ethnicity: Hispanic or Latino and Not Hispanic or Latino.
Latino or Hispanic is not considered a race by the Census Bureau. Instead, it is an ethnicity that refers to people who trace their origin or descent to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central, or South America, or other Spanish cultures. Hispanic or Latino individuals can identify as any race, and they may choose to select a racial category in addition to their Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.