US Census Audio

The speaker discusses the recent US Census update regarding the race and ethnicity question. They explain that the census data is important for shaping economic spending and government policies. They criticize the revised version of the census, which combines the race and ethnicity questions, as it implies that race and ethnicity are the same, when in fact they are different. They also argue that the new update erases mixed identities and waters down the experiences of Afro-Latinos. The speaker believes that the census should be more inclusive and reflective of the true makeup of communities to ensure that resources are distributed properly. They invite readers to share their thoughts and express their opinions on the topic. Hey guys! Welcome back to my blog. I know, I know, it's been so long since I've posted, but you know, a lot of stuff has been going on. Life is life. I had a water leak, I recently went to Mexico, I got back and trying to get back into the 9 to 5, but that all is gonna be detailed in a different blog post that I'll be publishing when I post this post as well. But today I wanted to get into a recent topic that has really interested me. It has to do exactly with what I want to study, law, race, and how that all connects to society and all that stuff. I know we live in a society, but it's just, this is my niche and seeing this topic pop up in the news, I really wanted to talk about it. And that is the recent US Census update regarding the race and ethnicity question and a lot of scholars and just advocate groups for different racial communities, specifically marginalized communities, such as Afro-Latinos, have already been critiquing this update. So I'm not really going to get necessarily into the nuts and bolts of everything because I described that in my blog post, so you can read it there. But basically the TLDR is the US Census data is really important data that is used in the shaping of economic spending that the federal government does. So it has to do a lot with economic policy when it comes to educational grants, things like FAFSA, and also plays a large role in how the government approaches voting distribution and such as like districting. And this data has often correlated with waterfront lining because the census is usually created with a lot of specific intentions. So these questions are tailored for the specific goals of whoever is creating the census and the larger political ramifications the census can have. So for example, originally the census had two different questions. It was how would you describe your race and how would you describe your ethnicity? These are two separate questions. However, and you can go to my Instagram for my blog to see the specific page that they revived. But before it was two separate questions regarding race and ethnicity. Those two were usually separated. And in my opinion, I think that is better because race and ethnicity are not the same thing regardless of what anything or anyone tells you on Twitter. They're not the same thing. They're completely different. And this new revised version of the census has a more simplified single question which is what is your race and slash or ethnicity? And when I first saw this question, it already rubbed me the wrong way. I was like, but those two are different. Because again, this is from my studies, my research. Race is just a social and political construct that has been invented to put people in certain categories for certain purposes. Most glaring example, United States slavery. The slavery hierarchy was created with the intention of keeping black people in a subordinate position. And it was often race that was used to justify this subordination. So we have had science, quote unquote science, really fake science, be created to justify this fake idea of race and to help explain why there's a difference between the races. When in reality, there is no difference. It just is a matter of skin tone. And this is very different than ethnicity. Ethnicity is more of how one identifies culturally. So for example, someone can be racially black, but ethnically Latina, specifically, Cuban, El Salvadorian, Afro Mexican, these identities are very real, and they're very valid. And a lot of critics have already pointed out that, and I completely agree. So this is not a new critique at all. I cite some of the people who have made this critique in my blog. But by combining the two questions, it implies that race is an and or, like you can substitute one for the other, when that is not all the case. For example, me personally, racially, I would be considered Mexican. However, ethnically, I consider myself to be also Japanese, Mayan Mexican, and also Lebanese. Part of my mom's family is from Lebanon. So like, I have a lot of stuff going on. But race, my race is not the same thing as my ethnicity. And this question just completely implies that they're the same thing when they're not. Because also, I would describe myself as specifically Mexican American, as an ethnicity too. Because I have the two experiences of going between Mexico and America, which not every Latino or Mexican person has. And that's different as well. And also, I just think that this question just completely just erases mixed identities like myself. And I don't want to harp too much on myself. But I already don't fit in any box of this census. So for me, it's difficult. But like, for example, it's even more difficult for Afro Latinos who have already been trying to fight for recognition their entire lives, that they have multiple identities. This question even more waters down their experiences. And also a lot of researchers are really against the idea of adding an entire Latino box, which they have also added. Let me go back to what else they added. So they combined that question. And then they also decided to, they decided to add a more detailed white box, and a more detailed Latino box. And they've also added new boxes such as Middle Eastern or North African. So I'm all power to the census for listing more identities. That's great. No one's against that. But however, specifically with the boxes like Latino, it's like implying that everyone who is from Latin America is exactly the same, when that is just not true. My experience is very different from the experience of a darker skinned Afro Latino person. And my experience is very different than, for example, my sister, who's a white passing Mexican, but she appears more Japanese. So people will always assume that she's Asian. That is a completely different experience. But, and what a lot of researchers have pointed out, is that this type of like, blurring the idea of race and ethnicity can really have unintended, unintended or harmful consequences on mixed race communities. Because it's then painting the entire Latino community as one monolith, when even within the Latino community, there are more wealthy Latinos, and there are more impoverished Latinos who need more support. But with a question like this, that support is gonna be really hard to get to these specific communities, because it is just combining this idea of, oh, you're Latino, then this is what exactly you're supposed to be. When in reality, again, Latino isn't a race. Latino is not like, Latino just means that you are from Latin America. In reality. And there's nothing wrong with people who identify as Latino. That's a way that's wonderful. However, let's not get it twisted and act that if one person is identifying as Latino, that means every other person from Latin America has to identify that way. And they shouldn't necessarily have to be punished or their experience erased just because they don't fit in these boxes. And I know I'm probably preaching to the choir here. But if someone does come across my blog, who doesn't know these ideas, I would love for them to share their thoughts, you know, down below. And just what you think of everything that I've said so far. Obviously, this is a safe space for open conversation. And yeah, I just thought this new update was very interesting. Also very interesting timed politically because we are in an election year. But I have to get going now. But yeah, these are some of my thoughts on the US census update and how they tackled that specific race, ethnicity section better, but could be improved a lot more. Because I mean, I understand why they phrase things a certain way. There's always like bigger agendas behind everything. But you know, it's, it's nice to see them because in the articles to I specify that a lot of them try to tailor this to reflect the idea that race is a social and political construct. But I really think they didn't go about it the way I would have. And I do always feel like it could be more inclusive, and more reflective of the true makeup of these communities in order to ensure that resources get where they need to be. But yeah, enough rambling. I hope you guys have a great, lovely, wonderful day. Be safe. Besitos. Gracias, everyone.