Why Does the Government Care about Race?
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- Опубликовано: 29 авг 2024
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Why does the government care about race? If we're all more than our race, why is the federal government keeping track of it? Today we dive into the history of the US census - from its dark history of voter disenfrachisement to the present day where that same information is used to fight gerrymandering.
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Written and Hosted by: Danielle Bainbridge
Produced by: Complexly for PBS Digital Studios
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Origin of Everything is a show about the undertold histories and cultural dialogues that make up our collective story. From the food we eat, to the trivia and fun facts we can’t seem to get out of our heads, to the social issues we can’t stop debating, everything around us has a history. Origin of Everything is here to explore it all. We like to think that no topic is too small or too challenging to get started!
Works Cited Compiled:
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www.census.gov...
www.politifact...
www.pewresearch...
www.gpo.gov/fd...
www.census.gov...
www.brookings....
www.washington...
www.washington...
www.census.gov...
www.census.gov...
www.census.gov...
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www2.census.go...
psmag.com/soci...
www.aei.org/pub...
www.sciencemag....
www.history.co...
www.census.gov...
www.npr.org/20...
www.history.org...
in Europe I never had to fill out which race I belong to and this concept is very strange to me tbh
I was shocked when I fpund out they did this in america
Europe didn't have much immigration, so it makes a lot of sense. European colonies often created these kinds of systems for tracking. European borders are longstanding ways of preventing other people from immigrating, since language and culture were what distinguished neighbors, and appearance was much more difficult to spot.
Tragoudistros.MPH - Europe always has faced immigration for all kinds of reason (just remember both world wars) and even to this day people come /go to Europe.
I always thought the reason we had the race question was to see how many people of each respective race live in the states. :p
@@solala1312 I never meant that there was 0 immigration, but compare most European countries to the melting pots in other colonies and trade hubs, and it would make more sense.
Who are you referring to during the world wars?
As a middle aged white guy from the midwest.... I love this channel.
In school we learned a very male and euro-centric perspective. Glad to see this type of educational resource available to the next generation.
I would argue in America we obtain a very American centric education. Unfortunate but I understand I guess. I’d assume countries in Asia specifically places like Korea or China or Japan have their education shaped in a way that focuses mostly on their countries progression and Asian in general
To each their own, some people like learning new things and some people like to argue.
are you still alive
You're an amazing host! Please start to introduce yourself at the beginning of your episodes!!! You're worth knowing your name!
Thanks! It's a challenge since we're usually racing to get a lot of info into these short episodes! But head over to Instagram, Twitter, or the RUclips community tab for more personal updates!
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Don't give your actual name. Stay free.
I'm part white, part black, part native Brazilian. I hate it when people try to make me pick either one or the other.
I hate answering this question
I believe "mixed" is a valid category on the census.
Well, I agree that you aren't one or the other. Mixed is mixed, otherwise the term race is meaningless. Yes, it is a question of degree of mixture, but 1/3 is a pretty large portion; so, I think that counts as mixed. 1/20, probably not.
You know you can tick more than one right?
Yeah, they think we don't interbreed out of our "race"
Growing up in Germany I was taught that humans don't have races. It was pretty weird for me finding out that people in the us still use the term race for humans, instead of ethnicities.
Wobei das auch mit der Unterschiedlichen Definition von "Rasse" zu tun hat. Im englischen ist "race" weiter gefasst, als seine Übersetzung im Deutschen. So habe ichs zumindest gelernt ^^
@@akrybion Na gut. Hunderassen heißen ja auch Dog breeds.
This is true to in our country where people do not live around any other racial or ethnic group.
What are the demographics in your country in that regard? It may answer your question. 🙂
@@illizcit1 people here make a difference in heritage and not in race. White people may experience racism here, because theyre not German, just like i experienced it going to Poland. Cencus registers foreigners, as soon as they get our nationality however, I don't believe anything is registered.
@@johannesk4884 I lived in Germany and I found the "heritage" difference the same as how Americans view race but with a different name. In Germany you may be born there, your parents are born there but if your grandparents come from somewhere else society treats you as if you are a foreigner even if you are not! That's very racist. Defining someones identity or nationality solely based on their looks or heritage. My friend is German born and raised in Germany but I often saw people calling him ausländer just because his skin is a little darker.
The US is so obsessed with race. I've travelled to more than twenty countries, lived and worked in four, the US is the only place that asks about race.
shinnam Yes they are 😐
Other countries ask about, and obsess about, other things - which still have the same effect. And in some cases they even even obsesses about very similar things to the US, but just call it something else. For example, ethnicity - while it's technically different from race, it's often just a less charged term used for propogating the same bs.
they do. Ethnicity.
Most other countries didnt free a bunch of slaves and then have to figure out how to take care of them.
shinnam 2:04 pretty much explains most of it
As a genealogist, I loooooove census records!
Niamh-Creates what do you think, as a genealogist, what Isię most accurate and all ebucombacising?
Yep, as a genealogist race on the census is wonderful. It helps to find the right family members when names are very common, helps with nationality of family members, and more information is better while assembling a tree.
yesss I love it! and race is just a thing that is cool to know🤷 like it doesn't matter but it is an interesting thing
@@deviladept Yes, there have been times when the listed "race" on census records helped eliminate certain records as being from the target person at the time. I have a couple ancestors named Jerome Brown. Super common surnames like Brown, Smith, Miller, Jones, Williams, etc are a bit of a nightmare to research sometimes. Jerome is a Greek saint name, and while there are lots of white folks named Jerome, it tends to be very common among the Black communities. So, needless to say, there are a lot of Jerome Browns, lol. The listed "race" does help to eliminate certain records.
That said, race on the census most certainly does have dubious origins.
Niamh-Creates what’s that
What do yall mean the census is boring?!?!? Yo the census is frikin awesome man I can’t wait for 2020 imma fill that questionnaire like a boss
Oui monsieur yo soy de rancho I freaking love doing quizzes, questionares and censuses
🤣🤣
The 1880 census took 7 years to compile the results, and it was estimated that the 1900 census would take more than 10 years; that is, it would still not be finished before it was time for the 1900 census! So a census bureau supervisor had an idea: what if we make millions of stiff paper cards the size of dollar bills (which were bigger back then), and punch holed in them, then build a machine that could count how many cards had holes in which positions? That was Herman Hollerith, who invented the punch cards later used to store information for computers. And yes, the cards remained the same size as dollar bills in 1890 until they became obsolete (but are still used in a few legacy installations, and in computer museums for teaching purposes). Herman's patents were later bought by a corporation known as International Business Machines, which made them global in scope.
I'd like to see a video about the history of intersection between archeology and religion. National Geographic ran an article a bunch of years ago (don't remember the name) talking about sites and finds in Israel and I remember this great line: "nowhere else in the world does archeology so closely resemble a contact sport." Using sacred texts to validate archeological finds (or vice versa) is a very contentious approach to history, but can be a valuable tool if used properly.
The problem is there's a lot of ppl that want to validate their religious beliefs through things like archaeology and science. This often leads to them trying to twist facts and make assumptions about finds that would otherwise not be made. If they find ruins of an ancient city in Israel, they immediately try to find a biblical city that it "must" be. Whereas anywhere else, they would collect every bit of information about the site first and then try to figure out what it was, what culture it was associated with, and if it was referred to in any surviving records.
The problems really start to come up when they ignore conflicting evidence because they're really into whatever biblical narrative they're trying to tie to the location. I think about 3 different "Jerico"s have been found by now. In reality, all we really know about those 3 different locations is that they were ancient Caananite cities that were abandoned or attacked (in one case, it appears the city burned down and the site was abandoned by the survivors). We also have rough dates for when they would have been occupied. None of those cities actually line up with the biblical timeline (assuming you're taking it literally as most of these ppl do).
And then there's the stuff that St. Helen supposedly discovered when she toured Palestine during her son Constantine's reign. She "discovered" a number of sites that she proclaimed to be the locations of significant biblical events and a bunch of relics. There were a number of monuments and cathedrals built on those locations and most Christians never even question them. In reality, we have absolutely no reason to believe she ever correctly identified anything during her visit to Palestine. The few locations that are not in dispute are the ones that were known long before she arrived there (such as the location of the Temple and the Mount of Olives). But if you question those locations, you'll immediately find yourself under attack for questioning religious tradition.
In Europe we ask for Nationality so we know in what language we can communicate. Nobody here would dare ask for race. That is a big no no. And rightfully so. Peace.
Here in Canada, they ask you what language you speak at home, what language you were raised in and what language you can speak in public. I don't think race was even asked. Language drama is typical in Canada
My mother is terrified of census takers. She thinks our government is planning to round up indigenous people who no longer live in the internment camps (reservations) and force them back into the camps so they can finish wiping us from the face of the earth.
You're government is very scary.... I'd be nervous too America is founded on racism
Well, she has a bit of a point, but rounding people up seems very unlikely. Declining to continue to allow the existence of reservations--a place where the indigenous people can make their own laws and are not subject to the powers of the state or federal U.S. government--seems like a possibility, though the world seems to be still trending against such possibilities as far as I can tell. We have far more pressing concerns as far as race and culture clash go at the moment. However, I could see how those problems could make people less inclined to tolerate the complexity of trying to give other people special consideration. Race is not going to be the issue though.
Would that be classified as genocide?
@@rainbowflowerpower4464 yes.
Oh, that is so sad. But her fear is completely understandable.
Please talk about latinos having problems with the census, I'm talking about african latino, white latino and asian latino, we are not all mestizos who speak spanish
I remember watching a Spanish talk show with Antonio Banderas, where he was joking about how in the U.S. they made him fill the form with race question in it and the officer made him circle “Hispanic” instead of white, although Hispanics is a word for a Spanish speaker, like when people say Anglophone, Lusophone or Francophone. American WASPs coming up with the system didn’t really get that Latin America is very mixed, so they lumped them all up in one category. But putting a European Spanish person in a non-white category was so 19th century America lol
You can fill out race and then put ethnicity or fill in more than one bubble for race. I'm half Cuban (mostly black and spaniard) and half German. Color wise, I'm white. But hair texture, skin type, various features, and the culture I grew up in are Cuban. My mom has the same colors as me but is full Cuban so she just puts down that she a white Hispanic from Cuba
As an amateur historian, I want to have as much info as humanly possible on the census, since that is a fantastic way to find out a lot of information about folks who otherwise would be lost to history.
Meanwhile in Canada when the long-form Census came back...
Canada lost its collective shit and crashed the website.
Which was good. The long form census I mean, not the crashed website. The census had been shortened by a government who disliked being confronted with factual information.
@@AvailableUsernameTed At least that implies that government acknowledged facts, even if it was only in their avoidance.
There are many many forms that you come across in your lifetime that oddly ask for your race...the only new thing is that now it often offers a "I prefer not to answer" option.
Like job applications.
Also, it's stupefying to me how many forms ask your gender. I was filling out paperwork for my town's water co-op and it asked my gender. I was like, "I need water. What do you care?!"
Some places get pissed off if you're multiracial and try to select 2 or more races.
@@Kattywampus ik growing up all the standardized tests really got under my skin (especially living in a white area knowing no one else had to deal with it) I shouldn't have had more than the test itself to concern myself with but I had to get past their wierd ethnic section first. I remember checking a bunch of random things once that I didn't even know what they where at the time. Lol when your brown ... people find you too ambiguous or something.. well that's my experience anyway. It's hurtfull & stupid to ALWAYS be catagorized. The ONLY time I kinda think it's understandable is in a medical situation because there are certain ailments or whatever that certain ethnicities r prone to....but otherwise..we're all just human get over it right?
I think that having the census record people’s race or ethnicity is good because you can look at the change over time in an area
YASS
Hey you never think of the negative ways they could be using that finding out who's paying taxes and who's not and how many people of color are in a certain area so they can rezone the area and strategically place people of color where they want them you never thought about that huh
In New Zealand, many of us are choosing 'Other' and writing 'New Zealander' - which is perfectly true.
All you have to answer on the census is how many people live in the home, constitutionally. Every other question on the census is unconstitutional, just write "5th amendment" on every other question you don't want to answer.
There is no such thing as race. Skin tone is just one, highly visible marker of ethnic ancestry. Unless you are a member of the royal family, we all have complex mixed ancestory. Which has mostly been lost in the mystery of time. There is no such thing as "white". There are nordics, anglo-saxons, slavs, arabs, Italians, jews, etc.... DNA tests show that the average "African American" has 25% European DNA. That is approximately one European grandparent.
Probably not grandparent just ancestor
The way I think of it, race is real but in the way borders or real. Obviously there’s no literal line dividing the US and Mexico but the second you step over that imaginary line you’re subject to entirely different rules and that’s a very real difference with real consequences. The same way if you’re black you have to be extra careful when reaching for the glove compartment when you get pulled over, that’s very real. It’s not a scientifically accurate or useful categorization but the way our society operates has made race a very real thing.
Exactly! Race is just a social construct
Every time I see the spot on a form asking which race I am, I want to put down “Human.” The trouble is, computers won’t let me do that! 🤬
The stupid one is the commerce one where it asks how how long you are out of your house and what hours are you gone. Seriously, do they expect anyone to answer that?
I remember taking my SAT, and they ask for my race. For what????? Why does that matter?????
But, is it better for my race to decline to answer or worse? That question indicates the climate of relations in the U.S.
As a French person I’ve always found the way Americans talk about race disturbing in a way. We are not used to using this term to refer to humans in my country, only animals. It’s seen as offensive by minorities actually. We generally prefer to ask about people’s origins as it seems more relevant to their identity specificity, but also recognizes that they have participated in the building of a shared French culture as a result of that origin story. It’s weird that American racial demographics would count a recent white French expat in the same pool as white Americans, but would consider black Americans to be an entirely different demographics with different ideologies. Culturally white Americans have more in common with black Americans than with me for sure. It’s also disturbing that many make the assumption that we have so much in common because of some ancient genes. Like « oh I’m French too, my great great great grand-father moved here but I love croissant and Paris and oh la laaaaa » 😅
A question for another episode:
When did we decide that we must smile for photos? I have anxiety and am very camera shy so I look as stiff and uncomfortable as people in old photographs.
I don't think it was ever that they shouldn't smile for photos. I think for a while having your picture taking was a once in a lifetime thing for a lot of people, so they wanted to look serious in it. As well, capturing a photo took a lot longer than it does today, so they had to hold a pose for longer.
Personally, I look way better when I smile. But, as Christopher Smith explained, there would certainly be enough historical information to make an episode.
When paintings were first done of people, and when the first pictures were taken, they were serious, because the pictures and paintings took so long that smiling that long would not be good or fun. So the way that I understand it, is that when people could take pictures faster, they were excited about it, and they thought that they looked better when they were happy. It kind of just seems like people liked it so much that they kept doing it. I’m sorry that you have anxiety about it though, I hope that you find some way to not dislike it so much. Best wishes.
I got really upset at the race questions on the census. So, I didn't answer them. My wife was born here, as were her parents. But the census information was used against Japanese Americans to round them up and take away there constitutional rights. Census race information has been used in Gerrymandering also. We are all just humans. There is really no such thing as race, unless we let others tell us there is. Skin color and ethnicity has been used to discriminate, so it needs to go away. What can be used for good, can also be used for bad in this case. These "race" questions need to be done away with and there is no place on the census website to express comments.
If census takers don't accept that I'm human, then I let them know I'm either Vulcan or Klingon.
😂😂😂😂
Not Romulan or Ferengi?
@@boss-anova I'm a Romulan!😂😂😂
Love Danielle's dress today! So pretty!
One thing I never got is why they ask race, and then if I'm from Hispanic origins.
Having traveled Latin American (Carribean & Central America) I could not help how people view each other as equals not the color of their skin. In the USA it is the complete opposite.
I know in Canada it is seldom asked in government forums. Mostly for indigenous aboriginals for tax season so they get the correct rebate aswell as extra forums for write offs.
However I have had online job applications ask me my race and I feel that is just fucking wrong. I have an unusual name and during a blind interview had a company assume and boldy state "they thought I was black because of my name". They even directed the only black girl in the room by my name. Her name was Nicole... I got the job but turned it down when they called me to start.
My problem with it? The only race that exists is the HUMAN race. Realistically it's ethnicity. We weren't all created in separate laboratories.
so glad i came across this youtube page! i literally could sit and watch your videos back to back! i love history and i’m obsessed with it! knowing the origin of things explains how things are how they are now ❤️
Filling out race means better record keeping which can be good, or can backfire a lot.
maybe
I wonder how many people are missed? And how likely people are to correctly answer.
I’m originally from the Middle East, I heard that they’d add MENA (Middle East and North Africa) to the census, my family will fill out as “White” to minimize discrimination.
Then what are Middle Easterners supposed to fill in as? Black, White or Asian?
@Rowan Jasir I think that the people of recent immigrant ion have to fill in as the country they came from but Native middle easterners should fill in their most common physical traits, so if a Person has darker skin and typical sub Saharan facial features they would fill in as black but other ethnicities with a lighter skin tone should fill in as white or if they lie somewhere in between they could fill in as mixed, do you agree?
Since the individual census questionnaires are confidential for 70 years after that census, your information cannot be used against YOU in order to discriminate. However, if too many members of ethnic groups which are in the minority, or of religions which are in the minority, just put down "white" or "Christian" (even if they aren't) or "no religion," the GROUP will be undercounted, and policies which are discriminatory to the group's members will be seen as "not hurting enough people" to worry about. So if you do count yourself as a member of a minority group, you are HELPING your fellow minorities and yourself to look numerous enough, and thus powerful enough, to fight discrimination.
For example, suppose you are Muslim. If there are, say 20 million Muslims in the US (which may be an overestimate, but this is just an example), and half of them, fearing discrimination, put down "no religion" or "Christian" (which is believable, because the American-born "Black Muslim" movement came out of a population which is mostly Protestant, while a substantial number people of Arab or Middle-eastern Heritage may be Catholic), then the public record only shows 10 million Muslims. So the voting power and public image of Muslims would be underestimated.
The "citizenship" question that the Trump administration wants added to the census cannot legally harm an individual (since it is illegal for ICE to look at census forms to locate people to be deported), but if enough individuals BELIEVE it can be so used, they will evade filling out the census, and the states and cities where they live will have incorrectly low populations, and incorrectly low counts of how many immigrants there are who may need various services. And that is exactly what Trump and his party want!
Although I am proud of my partial identity as an American, I just wish this country could start from scratch again. Just with the same land.
This young lady is excellent in explaining the US Census as well as the racial component in questions dating back to the first US Census held in 1790, just one year after our first President George Washington took office. There are so many different options on how a person can respond to the “race question,” that it’s very difficult to not be able to report your race as well as that of all members living in the household. The question of Citizenship will be decided by the US Supreme Could on April 26, 2019 in an expedited appeal due to the the US Census printing
Indonesia also question the ethnicity and religion of its citizen, because we have hundreds of it. Healthcare facilities also ask for the info too, because some ethnicity are prone to some diseases and some religion cannot consume certain things.
I’m Kenyan, Egyptian, Irish and Japanese. I’d have trouble getting an organ donner!😂
Not really, most differences between organs and genes are between individuals, you wouldn't have that much of a problem
Alejandro Zarzuelo really!? Oh my god thanks. I heard that if you are mixed then it’s harder to find a match. I’ll live!!
@@chelseashamim9148 yeah like only 8-13% of your genetic diversity is due to region, that's why humans are among the only mammals to have no races (using ra e as a scientific term in the study of animals)
@@chelseashamim9148 maybe because of racism in the medical industry or because of blood type which are more or less common in certain areas? I don't know but I never heard about it, well here in Europe I'm sure I'll have the best thing available no matter who I am
Alejandro Zarzuelo thanks! Race today is still a big factor even though we are once race. The human race
The guy in the stock photo at 9:22 reminds me of Miles from Above the Noise. "Excuse me, sir, have you ever wondered whether the census is outdated? And how your information is used?"
I work as an enumerator for the 2016 Census in Canada. I don't really understand the emphasis in this video about enumerator being a weird word. The census in Canada, like in the US, is mandatory, but from what I could tell we had little we could do to enforce this, at least as an enumerator.
There was movie called Bulworth offering a very intriguing solution on how to end racism. Now, if I could just remember the exact quote...
I find it interesting that other countries, like Mexico, and the Ottoman Empire didn't record race. They had different views of race than the US.
Recording information doesn't cause racism any more than diagnostic tests cause disease. 'Same tool for different purposes' so it's who uses it.
I like having the ability to measure, and it's awesome for genealogy to narrow down your search.
True, here in Mexico the only ethnicity-related question is whether the person IDENTIFIES as belonging to an indigenous group or not and if they speak an indigenous language, but that's about it. Back when we were a Spanish colony, royal authorities were much more concerned with race, producing an absurdly complicated system of 'castas.' Modern-day Mexicans are the result of a mix of mainly European and Native American populations and the vast majority would identify as 'mestizos' if asked, but for the most part we know that anwering that question would be really subjective and absurd. We see it as just another 'gringo' oddity, haha
Those questions on the census will certainly go away once we abolish the concept of race and skin color becomes an alterable cosmetic.
Personally, I like the census and I don't mind listing my ethnic background, Japanese-American's and other Asian-Americans get overlooked due to the 'model minority' myth and very often we're also considered as 'honorary whites' when we don't voice our culture and such... but I feel like listing that I am Japanese-American and seeing the actual numbers of other Asian-Americans in the US helps me feel like we're seen and not being looked over.
Love your dress (or dress combo). It's so cute! Thanks for the info on why the census is important!
While I understand how the data can be used to protect gerrymandering and identify groups from being targeted, I still don't understand the way that the Census identifies those of Hispanic or Latino origin. How does one justify categorizing people as a separate race based (sometimes it seems) solely on their mother tongue? That doesn't tell us what their race is; it often just tells us who conquered the lands of their origin.
I always joked that they should ask more interesting questions. Like, "what's the best Eminem album?" or, "who do you support in the election?" or, "how's your sex life been going?". Shit like that.
I think all high school in America should show these videos. They really help you understand things better
This video taught me history about the Census better than my teachers would.
Germany doesn't ask that sort of thing at all but has mandatory residency registration and will ask you to update it upon move, marriage and child birth.
All other information is collected trough other sorts of surveys.
With automatic voter registration and changes in voting district size being administration focused (rather than only relating to votes).
I truly enjoy and have learned so much from this channel. I recommend it to many others. The commentator is a lovely young woman but would it possible for her to slow down, just a bit? A lot of information going by so quickly. For me a little difficult to keep up with. Thank for all your hard work and integrity!
Interesting and weird in the same time. I’m from Kuwait and we never mention race or ethnicity in the census even though we have different ethnicities like mainly Arab, African , Persian and others.
What happens if you don't fill one out?
The census was responsible for knowing where all the Japanese-Americans were before they in turn them in camps and took all of their belongings. That's why I ask so many questions they think it's their stuff already
You know how some people have the same name, well if they didn't keep track of your ethnicity then how are they gonna know who you are?
The US definitely has ulterior motives in continuing to ask about race!
Well, I'll be able to accurately record my religion in 2020. In 2010, I was still living with my parents and they put my religion down as Christian (which it wasn't by that point in time).
Hey, non-american here with no experience about the census. How does it work? Do the enumerators go house to house asking questions? If yes, do the people who are either homeless or living in hotels etc get missed? And what if you go to a house to find immigrants, say international students, living there. Do the enumerators ignore them and move on to the next house or are they also recorded?
Part of it is for health reasons. For instance, the more people who report being Native American means that more money will be set aside for Native American health issues.
Thank you! Very good information and it helps explain why we are in the mess we are in.
In Malta (Europe) we don't register to vote. We show our Identity card or passport. For the US census, wouldn't it make more sense to write one's ethnicity (heritage/descent) or nationality rather than race? On the Maltese census we're asked our nationality. Race isn't asked.
Oh wow, great work! This is super comprehensive for a ten-minute video!
Fantastic reporting but I’m still confused by what category I fall under. I’m a Latina of South American decent born in the USA. Most of my life that has meant that I’m “white” and although I fully recognize the privileges associated w/ my skin tone (until I open my mouth) it doesn’t align with how I see my identity. Additionally I think it would be wrong to check the Black or Native American box even though both groups are part of my heritage. So do I answer “other”?
Being Latin American, I think our ethnicity is "latin" or "latino" to the rest of the world. Because we are one culture of different heritages and different skin tones. we can have light or dark skin, we are still the same culture. In the US is different because people literally developed along the years different cultures based on skin color due to segregation.
Doesn't the US have a concept of ethnicity? What's with you people and colours?
More recent surveys (not sure about the census in particular, though) often do things: ask about Hispanic/non-Hispanic in a separate question and allow people to choose multiple answers to the 'race' question. In the end, it's your choice.
@@attomicchicken We do. It's just that people don't know/don't care. Most American white people don't know if their family is English, or French, or whatever. Most just know their American history.
It's the same for African Americans, we definitely don't know where (because...slavery) and most just know their *American history* so that's why Americans only go by race. Your ethnicity means nothing, because white people from Seattle and white people from Boston aren't that different.
Hell, you can say "White American" and "African American" are the ethnicity groups. There's "Native American/Pacific Islander" and then there's "Asian" and "Other". Latino/Latina isn't a race, and so it has a different box.
It also doesn't help that "American" isn't considered an ethnicity anywhere.
alarcon99
So you’re white Spanish, right? I mean, in your home country.
I don’t get the whole Hispanic category in the papers, because it’s just there to count how many Latin American immigrants they got in the country. They just should get rid of it and let Latinos check either white, Native American, black of Mixed category. Majority would be mixed Mestizos.
Danielle repeatedly states that all women were barred from voting but that wasn't technically true. Women who were heads of sufficiently wealthy households could and did vote, it was just very uncommon since head of household was the husband by default. Voting for women was essentially limited to rich widows and women who never married.
It’s even funnier that my spouse is someone who was born in Africa but became an American citizen, and is technically a white African American! Also what about black folks who aren’t from Africa?
I hate that I'm "white" but subcategoried as Hispanic or Latino bc I feel they Can twist the data as they want, and it also just plays into colorism
The only reason your government needs to know your race is if it is necessary to know how many identify as each race. Anything else? Nope!
I once worked for the US Census and it was a good job. I was an independent contractor meaning I worked when I wanted. They pay good money. They pay you everyweek. I hope to do it again next year.
I’m mixed but I’m mostly African but and my skin is very light it looks white so I always get weird looks whenever I circle African on any document 😂
What makes you african though?
Whats the criteria?
I mean im a white European... so I would not have a problem but who or what decides what race you in?
That sounds like im talking about the fucking Nürnberg laws...
Yeah that’s why you should tick Mixed.
I am half black and I don’t tick black. To people in Africa I am white. That would be strange for me to do that.
🥀 Written & Hosted by: Danielle Bainbridge, for me was certainly MORE APPEALING than the cold, hard reality behind the history of the U.S. Census. Danielle possesses that "WoW" factor that leaves an intriguing impression long after she finishes speaking. In other words, she's fascinating. 💝 (S.F.)
Data can always be used for nefarious reasons, but if a road block to doing good is lack of data, it's one of those situations where the good comes with the bad.
I worked for census in Census 2000.
We are one race…human race
We are one color…Everyone bleeds red
We are all created in the image of God
Stop talking about racism-Morgan Freeman
As an ethnic mutt I’ll just check the least specific answer. Hopefully it’ll make some beaurocratic office worker frustrated
Lot's of studies are done in universities and other orgs. Studies of men, women, all races, interracial, citizens, non-citizens, first gen citizens, second gen citizens, etc. Plenty of reason these days to have this knowledge. Those of you who claim that Europe doesn't know the race of its citizens, doesn't know a whole lot.
I’m a proud Navajo Apache Native American
I like this lady.
I really appreciate your work and honor it🧞♂️✊✈
Always very interesting!
I think the objection is that the word “race” is outdated. Until we find a better one, just stick with what all people (“folks”?) understand.
Which leads to my suggestion: differences in English vocabulary. Example: in Canada we never use “folks” as a synonym for “people.”
The Canadian census asks origin question as a cultural group.
These questions are necessary until they stop being important. If a definable group needs support, you need to know how many there are in the group to define it.
I would like it if the census asked about orientation, and differentiated sex and gender.
In Canada of course we also ask questions about language use (“mother tongue,” language used at home and at work) because we are a bilingual country and French and Native language speakers get extra protection.
Does the US census ask language questions?
The debate on what information is collected on a census is an important one. An equally important one is what role information gathering and distribution should have in the private sector. How is it okay to argue against census' taking my race down when facebook is already using and abusing that information?
Please talk more about controversial questions/content like the one regarding citizenship in the upcoming one
Germany doesn't ask for the race. I was quite taken aback.
Illien Galene didn't Germany murder all their minorites in WwII?😬 the dead Dont count.
Could you guys do an episode on this topic applying to Job Applications? I am from Cuba originally so when applying for jobs they some times mix Latino (ethnicity) with white(“race”). Even this had nothing to do with the job, I suppose its there to ensure equal opportunity but would love a video on this all the same.
Ok, but why the heck does every job application ask if im Mexican or not? That has nothing to do with census.
Excellent content as usual! Thanks!
I have studied early US census data for my family that has the number of owned slaves and country of parents' origin. Now people don't want their race identified. It has gotten less clear as we have more mixed races. Like globalization in economics and cultures, human racial (and gender) identities will become less distinct and less meaningful.
If they have the "other" option, I'm always going to pick that one. Race shouldn't matter anyway.
Speaking Truth quotas are illegal and have been for 30 years.
Speaking Truth using hiring demographics and having quota systems are not the same thing.
Well, all in all, it doesn't matter what race we are, we're still human at the end of the day.
Speaking Truth I believe differently. So we can agree to disagree about that
As an afro-latino, I'm often conflicted about the proper boxes to tick when asked about race. Why does the census specify black non-hispanic?
Why don't you ask about ethnicity? For example Italian, German, Korean, Chinese...
Just like Canada
Here people ask about ethnic origin of your ancestors not race
I always write in my race
MEAT POPSICLE
I’m Mexican Venicewalin sorry can’t spell that Japanese and Korean
Quality content 👍
That is odd here in the U.S.A. Why is race and the Census so important 🤔. To me that's sounds so mismanaged. Just my opinion folks 🤷.
I've honestly never really understood race. Like there is White and Black, but then there are Pacific Islanders and stuff like that.
Like legit just make it North American, South American, European, etc. Or just do ethnicity.
Wow I love that shelf!!
People from the Caribbean should have their own category, independently from his speaking language. A Spanish speaking from the Caribbean ( Cuban, Santo Domingo or Puerto Rico) has a totally different concept of themself when compared with Spanish speaking people from Latino America. In the same way people from Jamaica, Vigin Island, and other Caribbean country have more in common with people from the Caribbean than any other White, Black, Oriental or Negro classification than people than no have a clue of Caribbean experience can come out with.