Abstract
The lack of theoretical and methodological clarity about “race” and ethnicity is a major stumbling block for mapping and ameliorating inequalities among Latinas/os and other marginalized groups in the United States as well as across the globe. In this article, I examine the findings of the Alternative Questionnaire Experiment Final Report of the 2010 U.S. Census. I explore the value-added by analyzing the social outcomes of Latinos by ethnicity (national origin, ancestry, cultural background) and race (racial status). I argue that you cannot kill two birds with one stone; you cannot capture two analytically distinct concepts with one question.
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Notes
I use the terms Latinas/os and Hispanic interchangeably.
The AQE also tested versions of the questionnaire that omitted the word race – a position that is in direct opposition to the ASA (2003) Race Statement.
This question was replaced by an ancestry question in the 1980 Census.
Since 1980, the parental place of birth question has been replaced by the ancestry question (Humes and Hogan, 2009).
In June 2013, France officially eliminated the term “race” from its legal monitoring system. The AAA (1997) and the 1950 UNESCO Race Statement also recommend elimination of the term “race” and replacement with the term “ethnicity” (Doniger, 1950). It remains to be seen whether the United States will follow this so-called “colorblind” path (Bonilla-Silva, 2005; Omi and Winant, 1994).
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An earlier version of this article appeared as a commentary for the National Institute on Latino Policy (NiLP), 10 January 2013.
In Fall 2011, Dr. Laura Gómez joined the faculty at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). As of Fall 2011, Dr. Nancy López directs the Institute. We are grateful to Dr. Robert Valdez, former executive director, RWJF Center for Health Policy, for providing seed funding for the inauguration of the Institute in January 2009.
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López, N. Killing two birds with one stone? Why we need two separate questions on race and ethnicity in the 2020 census and beyond. Lat Stud 11, 428–438 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1057/lst.2013.25
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/lst.2013.25