Mixed-race respondents who are unsure about which box to check on the 2010 U.S. Census form should check all races that apply to them and their family members, according to federal officials.
Households across the nation have either received or will soon receive their 2010 census form, which asks 10 questions. Early reports indicate that some Filipino-Americans of mixed race aren't sure exactly how to respond to question No. 9: "What is Person's race?"
"For years, some mixed-race people would check for whatever reason that they are black- or white-only when they are actually a combination of both races," explained Jungmiwah Bullock, president of the Association of MultiEthnic Americans, a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization, during a March 24 press conference at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center. "This time we're urging mixed-race individuals to check or fill out all the races that apply to that person."
Bullock said that many mixed-race individuals have been asking the federal government to place an option for them on census forms since the 1980s and 1990s. The federal government added the "mark one or more boxes" option to question No. 9 about race in 2000.
Bullock said the option is still fairly new in terms of the once-every-10-years Census process, and not many mixed-race people are aware that they can check multiple race options.
"Right now, we're just trying to get the word out there," she said.
Bullock added that a mixed-race person checking the two-or-more box option would help minority communities, which have historically been undercounted in census data. Officials at the Search to Involve Pilipino Americans, a non-profit advocacy group based in Los Angeles, contend that at least 800,000 Filipinos went uncounted in the last Census in the year 2000.
Some people might think that having mixed-race individuals check one or more options on question No. 9 would lead to an overcount of some ethnic groups, according to Bullock. But, she added, the process used by the U.S. Census Bureau will sort out the information, with the data on the mixed-race population tabulated for a separate category, and appropriate sorting and consideration made to maintain an accurate count of the individual ethnic groups.
Bullock urged mixed-race Filipinos and others with more than one ethnicity to check all of their race combinations.
"It will help in education, health issues, it will help with all the resources out there that can help the community," she said.
The Census form is designed to accurately count the U.S. population every 10 years. The information affects the numbers of seats a state is assigned in the U.S. House of Representatives, and helps determines how the federal government will allocate resources for infrastructure and other public works projects as well as services such as hospitals, schools, senior centers, and emergency services to local communities.
As of press time, 84% of California households who have received a census form had not turned it in, according to federal officials.
More info:
• 2010.census.gov
Joseph Pimentel is a writer for Asian Journal.
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