Next U.S. statistics could undercount Afro Latinos

Afro Latino groups and researchers are sounding the alarm about a new mandate from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Announced on March 28, the OMB, which sets the country's standards for race and ethnicity and guides how the U.S. Census is conducted, stated it will merge the race and ethnicity questions for those identifying as Hispanic or Latino.

The OMB says it has created a new, combined race and ethnicity question to reduce confusion on the census. They found that many Latino respondents found the race and ethnicity questions unclear and often marked themselves as "Some Other Race (SOR)." However, Afro Latino groups argue that this new question will negatively impact how data is collected on their growing population. "This latest effort effectively erases Latinos' racial diversity and may lead to Afro Latinos being overlooked," stated the nonprofit afrolatin@ forum. "By equating Latino ethnicity with racial categories, Latinos are wrongly portrayed as a group without racial differences, despite research showing that Black Latinos are treated differently from other Latinos."

Dr. Nancy López, a sociology professor at the University of New Mexico and co-founder of the Institute for the Study of "Race" and Social Justice, expressed her disappointment. "You can't cover the sun with a finger—No se puede tapar el sol con un dedo. Race and ethnicity are distinct: they require different questions," López said. "Unfortunately, all the social science research showing the importance of keeping race and ethnicity questions separate for understanding issues like housing discrimination, employment discrimination, and health disparities was ignored."

Racial Differences in the Census

For years, people have discussed how important it is to note racial differences in the Census. Since the 1964 Civil Rights Act ended discrimination based on race, color, or national origin, National Advisory Committees (NAC) have been set up to help the Census Bureau understand racial boundaries.

"The value I place on having racial and ethnic advisory committees for the Census comes from knowing that these groups are hard to count," said Harry P. Puente-Duany, a member of a NAC called the Spanish Origin Advisory Board, in a statement about the 1980 Census. "I haven't found a way to say this without offending the Census Bureau, but there were Hispanics and Blacks in 1980 who didn't fill out a Census form, and no one did it for them. These Hispanics and Blacks were not counted in the 1980 Census and were probably not included in any previous Censuses either."

Recognizing Black Migration to the U.S.

Black migration to the U.S. has been happening for a long time and needs to be acknowledged. Back in 1987, Robert B. Hill highlighted this: "As the prominent Black sociologist, Dr. Ira De A. Reid, revealed in his classic 1939 work, 'The Negro Immigrant,' Black migration to America is not a new phenomenon. Between 1900-1930, the number of foreign-born Blacks increased seven times faster than the number of native-born Blacks. By 1930, foreign-born Blacks reached 100,000 (or 1%) of the Black population. By 1980, this number soared to 816,000 (or 3%) of the Black population, with about three-fourths from the West Indies. However, these figures greatly underestimate the true number of Black immigrants."

Recently, many organizations and researchers have stressed the importance of recognizing racial differences among groups with foreign origins. "Over 200 scholars, academics, and Afro Latino organizations have been concerned about this issue," explained Rep. Adriano Espaillat. "Myself, Yvette Clarke, Richie Torres, and others have voiced concerns that race is not ethnicity. Combining the questions could lead to an undercount of Afro Latinos because respondents might feel they have to choose between identifying as Latino or Black, but not both."

The three legislative delegates intend to take a gander at conceivable regulative courses for managing this new OMB administering, Rep. Espaillat said. "I'm confident that the more prominent local area, especially the more noteworthy Harlem people group - being that Harlem is the home of the African diaspora universally - that we can get the help from that local area." Latino isn't a race The afrolatin@ gathering started coordinating to face the chance of an adjustment of the evaluation's race and nationality question over a year prior. Guesnerth Perea, the gathering's chief, said his gathering started working with other Afro Latino associations to shape the Latino Isn't A Race alliance and revealed more insight into the issue.

Latino Isn't A Race Campaign and Ongoing Efforts

Latino Isn't A Race launched a public information campaign with events and webinars. "The goal was to gather as many comments as possible for the OMB to show that Latino shouldn't be considered a racial category," said Perea. Now that the OMB decision is official, the coalition is planning its next steps. "Initially, we focused on collecting comments. Now, we're figuring out our next move since it seems like the only way to change this is through Congress."

Dr. López points out that the new OMB rules do allow for gathering additional relevant information. "There's a sentence that says you can add extra questions if needed. If you're interested in understanding diversity in housing, work, and school discipline, you should consider adding a perceived race question. This isn't just about self-identity but understanding how others see you. For example, if two siblings look different, will they be treated the same when they vote or look for an apartment?

"We'll ask people, if you were in public, what race do you think others would assume you are based on your appearance, including skin tone, facial features, and hair. This can help reveal disparities that might not be visible if we only ask about self-identification."

Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-CA), chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, emphasized the need for thorough research and collaboration with the Afro Latino community to ensure accurate data collection. "The Congressional Hispanic Caucus will continue to partner with the Administration, the Census Bureau, and Latino community leaders to ensure the best data collection processes for the upcoming census."

Unexpectedly, as nations in the Caribbean and Latin America have started including registration counts of their Afro Latino populaces, the U.S. gives off an impression of being turning the alternate way. Since the 1990s, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Panama, and Venezuela have been among the most unmistakable countries to remember Afrodescendants for their statistics count. "I believe that in specific areas of Latin America, Afro Latinos are at long last being perceived," said resigned teacher Hector Bonilla, who is situated in New Jersey. "The incongruity is that in a portion of these spots, your criollo populaces are starting to check out at Afro Latinos for their own social approval. Like, in Nicaragua they're presently commending the [Afro Nicaraguan] Bluefields culture. I had dance bunches where when I was youthful as an educator to specify [Afro Puerto Rican] bomba to a portion of those Puerto Ricans, it was like you were telling them, 'Kiss me, I have Helps.' Presently, you know, even the brown Puerto Ricans are moving bomba- - I've seen that turn of events, I view that as rather fascinating. "However, Afro Latino culture has forever been available in Latin America all along. There's not one public freedom development in Latin America that wasn't either begun or driven by Afro Latinos, and that incorporates Argentina. That culture has recently been minimized for the last three, 400 years… I see now that people are starting to adjust to it and acknowledge it."

The Upcoming U.S. Census: Will Afro Latinos Be Undercounted?

Afro Latino groups and researchers are sounding the alarm about a new mandate from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that could impact the counting of Afro Latinos in the next U.S. Census.

On March 28, the OMB, which sets the nation’s standards for race and ethnicity and guides how the Census is conducted, announced it will combine the race and ethnicity questions for those identifying as Hispanic or Latino. The OMB claims this new, combined question will reduce confusion, as many Latinos previously found the race and ethnicity questions unclear and often marked themselves as "Some Other Race (SOR)."

However, Afro Latino groups argue that the OMB’s new approach will hurt the accuracy of data collection for their growing population. "This latest move means Latinos are effectively deracinated and may lead to Afro Latinos being erased," stated the non-profit organization afrolatin@ forum. "Listing Latino ethnicity alongside racial categories inaccurately portrays Latinos as a group without racial differences, even though research shows Black Latinos are treated differently from other Latinos."

Dr. Nancy López, a sociology professor at the University of New Mexico and co-founder of the Institute for the Study of "Race" and Social Justice, expressed disappointment over the decision. "You can't cover the sun with a finger—No se puede tapar el sol con un dedo. Race and ethnicity are distinct: they need different questions," López said. "Unfortunately, all the social science research showing the importance of separate questions on race and ethnicity for understanding issues like housing discrimination, employment discrimination, and health disparities was ignored."

Why Racial Distinctions Matter in the Census

For years, people have talked about how important it is to recognize racial distinctions in the Census. Since the 1964 Civil Rights Act ended discrimination based on race, color, or national origin, National Advisory Committees (NAC) have been set up to help the Census Bureau understand racial boundaries.

Harry P. Puente-Duany, a member of a NAC called the Spanish Origin Advisory Board, pointed out the difficulties in counting certain groups during the 1980 Census: "I haven't figured out a way to say this without offending the Census Bureau, but there were Hispanics and Blacks in 1980 who didn't fill out a Census form, and no one did it for them. These Hispanics and Blacks weren't counted in the 1980 Census and probably not in any previous ones either."

Voluntary Black migration to the U.S. has been happening for a long time and needs recognition, as Robert B. Hill noted in 1987: "As the well-known Black sociologist Dr. Ira De A. Reid revealed in his 1939 work, 'The Negro Immigrant,' Black migration to America is not a new phenomenon. Between 1900 and 1930, the number of foreign-born Blacks increased seven times faster than native-born Blacks."

Advocating for Afro Latinos

Recently, several organizations and researchers have spoken out about the importance of recognizing racial differences among groups with foreign origins. "Over 200 scholars, academics, and Afro Latino organizations have been worried about this issue," explained Rep. Adriano Espaillat. "Yvette Clarke, Richie Torres, and I, along with others, have voiced concerns that race is not the same as ethnicity. Merging the questions could lead to an undercount of Afro Latinos because respondents might think, 'If I choose Latino, I shouldn't choose Black—or vice versa.'"

Rep. Espaillat and his colleagues are looking into possible legislative solutions to address this new OMB ruling. "I'm hopeful that the broader community, especially in Harlem, which is a global hub for the African diaspora, will support us."

Latino Isn't a Race

The afrolatin@ forum started organizing against the potential Census change over a year ago. Guesnerth Perea, the forum's director, said his group teamed up with other Afro Latino organizations to form the Latino Isn't A Race coalition to bring more attention to the issue.

Latino Isn't A Race launched a public info campaign, hosting events and webinars. "Our goal was to get as many comments to the OMB as possible to show that Latino shouldn't be considered a racial category," Perea said.

Now that the OMB decision is official, the coalition is planning a new campaign. "At first, we focused on gathering comments. Now, we're figuring out our next steps. How do we respond? It looks like the only way to change this is through Congress."

Collecting Accurate Data

Until there's a change, Dr. López points out that the new OMB rules do allow for the collection of additional relevant information. "They include a sentence that says you can add additional questions if applicable. I would suggest that if you're interested in understanding the diversity line in housing, employment, and school discipline, you should consider adding a perceived race or street race question. Clarify that this is not about self-identity but about understanding how others see you so we can determine if two siblings who are related and maybe have the same parent, but one does not look Black and the other does: Will they be treated the same way when they vote or look for an apartment?"

Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-CA), chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, emphasized the need for thorough research and collaboration with the Afro Latino community. "It's critical that OMB, which is now establishing an Interagency Committee on Race and Ethnicity Statistical Standards, conduct more in-depth research and work with the Afro Latino community to ensure our nation collects the most comprehensive and accurate data possible."

Photo credit: AfroLatin@ Forum

A Diverging Path from Latin America

Ironically, while countries in the Caribbean and Latin America have started including census counts of their Afro Latino populations, the U.S. appears to be moving in the opposite direction. Since the 1990s, nations such as Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Panama, and Venezuela have included Afrodescendants in their census counts.

"I think that in certain parts of Latin America, Afro Latinos are finally being recognized," said retired professor Hector Bonilla, based in New Jersey. "The irony is that in some of these places, your criollo populations are starting to look at Afro Latinos for their own cultural validation. In Nicaragua, they're now celebrating the [Afro Nicaraguan] Bluefields culture. When I was young, mentioning [Afro Puerto Rican] bomba to some Puerto Ricans was like telling them, 'Kiss me, I have AIDS.' Now, even brown Puerto Ricans are dancing bomba - I've seen that development, and I find it quite interesting.

"But Afro Latino culture has always been present in Latin America from the beginning. There's not one national liberation movement in Latin America that wasn't either started or led by Afro Latinos, including Argentina. That culture has just been marginalized for the last three, 400 years... I see now that people are beginning to adapt to it and accept it."

As the U.S. grapples with how to accurately count and represent its diverse population, the voices of Afro Latinos and their advocates are crucial in ensuring that their unique identities and experiences are acknowledged and respected. The outcome of this debate will have significant implications for the representation and resources allocated to these communities in the future.