VOA News | Thursday, March 28, 2024
US Government Changes How it Classifies People by Race, Ethnicity

The U.S. government is changing how it classifies people by race and ethnicity in a move that officials hope will better count people who identify as Hispanic or of Middle Eastern and North African heritage. Announced Thursday by the Office of Management and Budget, the revisions are the first changes to the official categories in 27 years and mark an attempt to more accurately count the U.S. population. Those who support the revisions say they will better reflect people’s identities and help define voting districts, among other things. Some people living in the United States won’t see the changes until the next once-a-decade census in 2030, but others may see the revisions reflected sooner in other forms and surveys from the federal government as well as state governments and private businesses and universities that take their cue from Washington. Under the revisions, questions about race and ethnicity that previously were asked separately will be reformatted into a single question, which will give people the option to pick multiple categories at the same time. “Select all that apply,” the instructions read. A Middle Eastern and North African category will also be created. Previously, the U.S. government counted such individuals as White, but now they have the option to identify themselves in the new, separate category. These revisions to the census began in 2014…Read more