What do race and ethnicity mean? The US government is asking

Nyhiem Way is weary of people conflating African American and Black. Shalini Parekh wants a way for South Asian people to identify themselves differently than East Asians with roots in places like China or Japan. And Byron Haskins wants the U.S. to toss racial and ethnic labels altogether.

- Mike Schneider

"When you set up categories that are used to place people in boxes, sometimes you miss the truth of them," said Haskins, who describes himself as African American.

Way, Parekh, and Haskins' voices are among more than 4,600 comments pending before the Biden administration as it contemplates updating the nation's racial and ethnic categories for the first time since 1997.

There's a lot to consider.

Some Black Americans want their ancestors' enslavement recognized in how they are identified. Some Jewish people believe their identity should be seen as its own ethnic category and not only a religion. The idea of revising categories for ethnic and racial identities, both in the census; and in gathering demographic information between head counts, has fueled editorials--and thinktank essays as well as thousands of written comments by individuals in what is almost a Rorschach test for how Americans identify themselves.

The White House's Office of Management and Budget is set to decide on new classifications next year and is hosting three virtual town halls on the subject this week.

Some conservatives question the process itself, saying the overarching premise that Americans need more ethnic categories will only accelerate Balkanization.

"By creating and deepening sub-national identities, the government further contributes to the decline of one national American identity," wrote Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation, in his personal comment posted on the OMB web page seeking public input.

That view contrasts sharply with those who say previous categories have overlooked nuances.