Race, Ethnicity, & Prejudice Essay

At genius point in design the U. S. numerate defined someone as a negro if they were one-sixteenth black. That is, if one of your sixteen great-great grandp atomic number 18nts was of African descent (and the other fifteen were of white European descent), you were defined as negro. In Jamaica, people believed to be of unclouded African descent are described as black. People who are bi-racial are usu altogethery described as colored. In Brazil, in that respect are even more variediations of those believed to be of African descent. The point of all this is that our definitions are culture-bound and socially constructed.They are, in that respectfore, not particularly scientific and change everyplace time. This does not mean that bucket along and ethnicity perk up no real meaning. They pose meaning because we give them meaning. 1. What method do census enumerators use to disunite people harmonize to race? A census enumerator is a person who collects census data. Before 1960, census enumerators were themselves responsible for categorizeing people according to race. However, in 1960 there was a switch to self-reporting. From this point on, individuals were in date of classifying themselves.It was no longer the census enumerators who classified individuals, but individuals who classified themselves. count enumerators would just compile the results. 2. Which categories of ethnicity are employ by the census sureness? The categories of ethnicity and race used by the census bureau throw away undergone many changes over the years. At first, from 1790 to 1880, the census recorded except color. During this time period it was a persons skin color that was of importance and there were three categories White, Black, and Mulatto.The categories expanded in 1890 and consisted of five gradations Black, Mulatto, Quadroon, Octoroon, and White. It was in 1900 that the word race actually appeared in the census. The question immediately asked for each persons col or or race. At this time the census used only both categories White and Black. It wasnt until 1950 that the word color was completely dropped and the census only asked for the persons race. In 1960 people were able to classify themselves. Shortly following the census added the course other. In 1977 there were quaternary racial categories established American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asiatic or pacific Islander, Black, and White. Plus there was the Other category. Also, the census added two ethnicity categories Hispanic origin and Not of Hispanic origin. 3. How have categories changed for the 2000 Census? Since 1977, the racial and ethnic makeup of the country changed significantly. There were no questions as to whether the previous(prenominal) standards still reflected the diversity that was present in the United States. So, with that, the categories for the 2000 census were revised.The categories now consisted of American Indian or Alaska Native Asian Black or African Ameri can Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander and White. The category of Some Other Race is also included. In regards to ethnicity, there are two categories Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino. Aside from changes in the categories, another significant change for the 2000 census is that respondents are allowed to check off multiple race boxes. 4. What problems do you jut out with the Census definitions? The diversity in our society is increasing.Putting people in categories is becoming more problematic because the categories are arbitrary none of the groups have clear or unambiguous boundaries. clubifying people into a certain category is restrictive and doesnt take into account that people classified as Asian and Pacific Islander represent scores of different subject area and linguistic backgrounds, and American Indian or Alaska Native includes people from hundreds of different tribal groups (Healey 13). The census definitions are very limiting and they dont do diversi ty justice. Also, there is still no place for a number of groups among the categories listed.For example, where should we place Arab Americans and recent immigrants from Africa? (Healey 13). I understand that it is unrealistic to have a category for every single group, but we should realize that the definitions used by the census, the classification schemes, have limited utility and application. In addition, there is a growing number of mixed-race individuals for whom there are no categories. Although presently that number is relatively small, it is projected to increase rapidly due to a growing number of marriages across group lines.How should those individuals be classified? Sources Healey, Joseph F. (2010). Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Class The Sociology of Group Conflict and Change. (5th Ed. ). Pine Forge Press, an Imprint of SAGE Publications, Inc. Sweet, pawl W. (2011, Feb. 25). A Brief History of Census Race. Retrieved from http//knol. google. com/k/a-brief-history-of-cen sus-race U. S. Census Bureau, Population Division. Racial and Ethnic Classifications Used in Census 2000 and Beyond. Retrieved from http//www. census. gov/ cosmos/www/socdemo/race/racefactcb. html.