Caribbeans Urged to Write in Ancestry on US Census

Individuals identifying themselves as "Latino, Hispanic, or Spanish origin" in the 2010 U.S. Census questionnaire are able to be more specific in regards to their ancestry (Mexican-American, Cuban, or Puerto Rican). But those who check the box for "black, or African-American" are unable to be specific if they are from the African country or a Caribbean Island. Some Caribbean-American leaders are urging their communities to write their nationalities on the line under "some other race" as well as checking the racial categories they identify themselves with. The campaign in the multiethnic Caribbean community reflects a tendency, born from multiple waves of migration, to establish identity first by country, then by race.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/02/24/us/AP-US-Census-Caribbean-Identity.html?scp=1&sq=latinos&st=cse

Posted by Janeth Tapia