Categories and Group Identities

Abstract

This chapter addresses a number of themes associated with categorisation and group identities. Firstly, census practices are considered with respect to the ethnic group categorisation of Black Africans in the 1991, 2001, and 2011 censuses, what we can learn from census practices in other countries, and approaches to categorising Black Africans in future censuses and surveys. The chapter next examines emerging patterns of national identity as an identity dimension added to the census in 2011, including identity and belonging in Britain and transnational identities. Religion, language, and other identity dimensions are then addressed. Finally, a number of overarching themes relating to ethnic group identity are explored: stability and change in ethnic group identity; group membership and fuzzy boundaries with respect to who is Black African; the acceptability of a colour-based term at the intersection of social categorisation and group identification; how Black Africans identify themselves without prompting by a classification; the concepts of ‘Africanness’ versus ‘blackness’ in categories and group identities; and the concealed heterogeneity in the ‘Black African’ collectivity.