Beyond the Census: African-American Culture in the United States
It’s 2010, and the beginning of a new decade… which means that in the United States it’s time for the Census. The population data collected by the Census is used by the federal government to determine the amount of federal money districts will receive and how many members of congress will represent a state, among other things. On this year’s US census form there are more than 15 different options for Americans to indicate their race and/or ethnicity.
Black… African-American… it’s not the same
Indicating one’s race/ethnicity isn’t always easy; for example the US Census form lists “Black”, “African-American”, and “Negro” as a single category… though there is disagreement about the terms. In the US “Black” generally refers to people with dark skin, assumed to have some degree of African ancestry (race). “African-American” is an ethnicity, and generally refers to people with some degree of African ancestry, almost always being descendents of slaves (ethnicity). Some take offense to the term “Negro”, which is almost never used in modern-day America, whereas some people readily identify as such. (more…)
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