Have you filled out your census form yet? This year, the census is going all out in an effort to reach out to the Latino community. Schools are giving materials out to kids to give to their parents, churches are incorporating messages into their sermons, and Spanish language media is launching massive ad campaigns through radio, publications, and television. Street theatre featuring a masked and caped hero called Supercenso 2000 are part of a bilingual campaign in southern California while on the opposite side of the country a salsa rapper spreads the message in Arkansas. Forms are being distributed in multiple languages including Spanish and Census Bureau Director Kenneth Prewitt assures that all information is kept confidential, with a $5000 fine or up to five years in prison for anyone violating this confidentiality pledge. Border states like California and Texas are being especially aggressive because they have been especially been affected by the census undercount. When people don't get counted, communities lose out on federal funding and representation. So please send that form in!
Now that we have this public service announcement out of the way, here's some
Food for thought
When I had to indicate my race, I always marked "Other", because neither black or white was appropriate. Pretending to be white when I was clearly not was wrong. If I could "pass" which I couldn't, there was always the question Puerto Ricans asked when someone became too arrogant about the value of their white skin: "Y tu abuela,Àdonde está?" Asking "Where is your grandmother?" implied that in Puerto Rico no one really knew the total racial picture and claims of racial purity were suspect.Almost A Woman , Esmeraldo Santiago, p. 57
The census questions have been a source of controversy throughout the years. For some Hispanics, it is easy to categorize themselves as predominantly European or African but most Hispanics are some mixture of European, indigenous, and/or African descent confusing the whole issue of race in this country and making the census' division of white vs. black Hispanics misleading. This year, we are allowed to 'check any that apply' and the order of questions asking for race and Hispanic/Spanish/Latino origin has been reversed. What difference does that make?
According to Who Counts:The Politics of Census-Taking in Contemporary America, a lot! In 1987 the Census bureau did tests with 515 people, which took these two census questions and looked at the effect of reversing the order. The sequence with the Hispanic origin followed by the race question gave a higher response rate for the Hispanic origin question and reduced the percentage of individuals who checked "other" as their race.The Census Bureau estimates that 97% of the almost 10 million who checked "other race" were Hispanics. If you call up the census to ask, the recording will tell you that the race question is a matter of self-identification, not any definite biological or scientific criteria, so it's left up to the individual to decide which box or boxes to check.
Your Turn Will the changes on this year's census change the way you fill out the census or does it even make a difference to you? Feel free to start a discussion on our message boards on how you feel.
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