Can the Census get the job done?
By Joycelyn McGregor
“When you take 10 minutes to answer 10 questions, you help your community get what it needs for the next 10 years.” The Census bureau is pushing ads like these in an effort to get people to fill out the brief questionnaire that boasts the ability to change communities for the better. While the government seems sure about the Census’ efficiency, young adults who will be filling it out for the first time question the validity of such a claim.
“The Census claims that they need to know demographics so that they can build schools and stuff like that,” says 21-year-old Simone Dublin, a recent Graduate of SUNY Oneonta and current Brooklyn resident. “That’s what the commercials say, but who really knows.”
Simone Dublin, among the others interviewed in this article, are first-time Census takers between the ages of 18 and 23 and are college students or recent graduates. As New Yorkers, they are aware of how diverse the world can be and regularly witness the various fights and protests for change that take place in the city.
This year’s Census has caused some participants to feel left out. The existing questions on race and ethnicity have offended some while the nonexistent ones have left others feeling misrepresented. Another controversy exists within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The fact that not one question on the Census represents them has left many demanding change.
The United States Census takes place decennially. The tallying of the nation’s population allows the government to determine how many seats each state has in the House of Representatives and how it will spend over $400 billion in government funding – funding that will supposedly be spent on everything from hospitals to public works projects like parks and bridges to senior centers.
Yet another racial discrepancy involves the East Indian demographic. Some government forms list Indians under whites, the census lists them with Asians. Neither recognizes Indian as its own race.
“That’s a big mistake that needs to be fixed,” says Darryl Moore, a 21-year-old senior at Baruch College. “Especially when there is a great population of Indians.” He notes that discrediting this demographic won’t bring the right programs to areas “heavily populated with Indians.”
Kapildev Sohan, a 23-year-old Queens resident, says, “as a person of Indian decent I feel insulted. When I am at an interview I am not looked as white I’m looked as as an Indian person. If I was white I would not be randomly asked to step aside to check for explosive devices at the airport.”
The many changes the census has undergone since 1790 extends far beyond race. While the general census never use to be more than 10 questions, according to the Census Bureau, one in six households would receive the “long-form” that consisted of 53 more in depth questions.
For the first time ever, people will only receive the “short-form.” This has future census participants divided. Many question if the census is detailed enough to do its job. Others feel the addition of new, more detailed questions, are pointless or will marginalize different groups of people.
As the nation and its people have changed, the face of the Census has changed since its induction in 1790. For example, the census has always asked about race. According to an article written by Rob Farley, a staff writer for the St. Petersburg Times, the number of free whites, the number of “other free persons” and the number of slaves were the type of race questions asked 220 years ago. Today the Census requires a detailed examination of race and ethnicity in America, with 14 different races listed and a “some other race” fill-in box.
Hispanic, Latino and Spanish are not any of the listed races.
“The Latina side of me is disgusted,” said Latisha Ford, an 18-year-old college student from Brooklyn. “I don’t see why we, half the population, aren’t given the credit of being counted as the race that we are.”
Publications like Changing Race: Latinos, the Census and the History of Ethnicity in the United States seek to approach the historical and contemporary issue of ethnicity versus race with regards to Latinos.
While Latinos, or those of Spanish decent, are considered an ethnicity to the Census bureau, “Negro” is still a valid classification.
“I don’t think they should have Negro on the census,” says Dublin. “I mean come on – it’s not 1950.”
Another first-time census taker from Brooklyn, Michaella Dauphin, reacted a bit more strongly. “What the f*** is Negro? Why would I put that? If they could explain to me what it is then, by all means, I’ll fill it out. But until then… what the hell?”
The New York Daily News quotes Jack Martin, a spokesperson for the Census Bureau, as saying, “Many older African-Americans identified themselves that way, and many still do. Those who identify themselves as Negroes need to be included.” On the contrary, this method of inclusion has excluded the rest of the census takers.
Martin speaks of including the older demographic of Blacks in America yet its younger demographic and more recent inhabitants are not included. Dublin asked, “Where’s Caribbean?” CaribID 2010, a campaign based here in New York City, and West Indian-American leaders throughout the city are asking the same thing.
Once one identifies oneself as “Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish Origin” they are able to fill in their specific country of origin. But if one identifies oneself as “Black, African Am. or Negro” there are no further options. No identity is given to those who come from Africa or the West Indies. While CaribID 2010 is currently lobbying for a category to identify Caribbean-Americans or West Indians, others are being urged to identify themselves in the “Some other race” box.
In this day and age, many feel the census should include a transgender category.
“They’re people. They’re not male, they’re not female but they are people. Just like there’s a mixed category; they’re not Black, they’re not white. But they’re people,” Says Dauphin.
With there being such a “large transgender community,” says Dublin, “there should be a category recognizing such.”
Milosz Skowron, a 21-year-old Queens resident and Baruch senior, feels such a question is unnecessary because he doubts many would be truthful when answering.
An even larger community in America is that of gays and lesbians. The fact that they are advocating for equal rights and fair treatment is evidence of the size and influence of this community. Yet, the census makes no effort to count these people.
“Chelsea has a large gay community and, statistically, if you sleep with one out of four men in Chelsea, you are sleeping with someone who has AIDS. Knowing where, for example, a new gay community has sprung up could help make facilities like AIDS clinics or gay rights centers,” says Skowron. “Seeing how many gays are in a state may inspire lawmakers to maybe legalize gay marriage.”
A petition by the name of Queer the Census also advocates for gender and sexual orientation identification on the Census. It’s homepage greets you with a cry for equality. “We know it’s a little cliched – but here’s what we want to tell the census: We’re here. We’re queer. And we want you to ask us about it.” It goes on to say that, “It’s crazy – the U.S. Census Bureau wants an accurate count of everyone in the country – but there’s no question in the survey that asks if you are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.”
Although Skowron and others advocate for classifying people based on their sexual orientation and gender, another census participant is against it.
“It just marginalizes people. There’s no need for that,” says Dauphin.
While it is clear that the census has many divided on its form and effectiveness, the feeling that we should take the time to fill it out is unanimous.
“Despite everything, people should still fill out the census,” notes Ford. “It may not be the best solution to the nation’s problems, but for now it’s all we really have.”