Unfortunately, most people think ethnicity is race. It's not... Hispanic? You're white...

The next Census could reveal a very different America

By Cristian Arroyo-Santiago

If you’re a self-identified Hispanic or Latino, or a Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) person in the US, chances are that every 10 years answering the Census gives you pause. More specifically, you might have been challenged to answer the race question, which, at least until the last Census in 2020, included five categories: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian and Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.

According to 2020 Census Bureau data, of the 54.6 million Americans who reported that they identify as Hispanic or Latino, 43.6% either did not respond to the race question or responded by selecting the “Some Other Race” option, a category that’s not federally recognized. As for the 3.5 million MENA people in the country, they are are classified as White – a racial category many don’t see themselves represented by.

Now, the standards for maintaining, collecting and presenting data on race and ethnicity (Statistical Policy Directive No. 15) in the federal government, as set by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), are about to undergo the biggest change in almost 30 years after a revision announced late last month. The two most controversial changes are the introduction of a combined question for race and ethnicity and the addition of two categories — MENA and Hispanic or Latino — as possible answers to that single question. Until this change, people could select “Hispanic or Latino” as an ethnicity but couldn’t designate it as their race.

The announcement has been embraced by some and criticized by others within and outside the affected communities. It has the potential to significantly change how the population of the US is viewed and to help shape government policy in new ways.

These standards not only apply to the decennial census but to the American Community Survey and all federal agencies’ surveys and administrative forms. The OMB said the Office of the US Chief Statistician is leading these efforts “to help agencies collect and release data under these updated standards as quickly as possible.”