My U.S. Census 2020 questionnaire is here and while I’m all game and ready to fill out and submit this thing, I will forever be puzzled by the “race” question.
See, when you reach the the “race question” while filling out the 2020 U.S. Census, you’ll get options within five racial categories (see photo below:)
- White
- Black or African-American
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.
This, of course, leaves this café con leche, whitish Mexican blogger born in Mexico practically in limbo, since I’m supposed to select “white” or “some other race” to comply and be able to go to the next window. (And I’m not alone: Remember this Puerto Rican dude during the 2010 Census who was pissed (with reason) and refused to fill out his Census form, because “Hispanic” was not an option under the Race box?)
Also missing in this section are people from the Middle East and North Africa, which I suppose are supposed to do the same: Select “white” or “some other race,” which I think will make it harder to locate where there is need for local bilingual services in schools or during elections, to name a few things.
I’m personally offended because “Human” is not an option under race, so I decided to use the “Some other race –print race” space to spell out N.P.I. (Ni Pinche Idea.)
MI BLOG ES TU BLOG 
Hispanics are an ethnicity not a race. Im curious if there’s an extra question about ethnicity.
Everything I fill out in CA has the Hispanic option. Maybe part of El Cheeto’s “Bad Hombre” legacy…… stupid omission either way.
Jimbo
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Here’s how I answered based on a suggestion from a friend from last time’s 2010 census: for the ethnicity question I chose how I identify (Mexican American/Chicano) and for race I chose American Indian/Alaskan Native. For tribe I listed “Unknown” but you could write in Aztec or Mayan. For all I know you could write in Mestizo?
Honestly, it still frustrating how many American Latinos still don’t understand that “Hispanic” is not a race (nor is Latino on that note). Both Hispanic and Latino are a marker for ethnicity, which has everything to do with culture and nothing to do with race.
Most of us Hispanics don’t know our exact % of race and are honestly too mestizo to even care one way or another. At least that’s the case for most Mexican Americans, so for my fellow Chicanos in particular, you can check both White (and write Spaniard) and Other (and write Aztec/Mayan). This combo is at least true for most of us, especially if you look like an even mix of both races. If you look mostly of one race (soy tan guero) then just put one race (in my case White and Spaniard) only. Ditto if your mostly Native looking (Other and Aztec/Mayan only). This is only based on your own subjective take of course. If you have taken a DNA test, or you have a clear family history, then you should know what to accurately mark/write.
My Cuban friend is also obviously Hispanic, but he’s clearly not the same race as me, so he put Hispanic and then Black or African-American on the page afterwards.
On a side note, I’m not a huge fan of the current president, but a certain commentator said this is somehow Trump’s fault, when it’s not. The census question in the 2010 version was the same, so please don’t make up lies just to stir up the political pot…
Why won’t anyone answer the question, “what should I put?” I’ve been searching all over. “Answer how you identify” is not possible from these choices for my 73-y.o. father in law who immigrated here from Central America in 1977. He is not white. He doesn’t look white, he doesn’t identify as white, and he has not for one minute here in the U.S. been viewed by others as white. He is not Black or African American. He is not Asian at all, nor is he a Pacific Islander. I guess if you could go back far enough, he is some colonial mixture of native people from Central America and Europeans, which “American Indian or Alaska Native” *might* be interpreted to cover, but in reality that term is intended to count people who are descended from or part of the native tribes within this country, as evidenced by the suggestion to list one’s tribe(s). So I still don’t know, WHAT IS HE SUPPOSED TO PUT?