Census and Categorization

Abstract

Census categorization by race and/or ethnicity has long been an overlooked topic of study, although scholarly interest has grown. Such interest may be attributed to the multiple, overlapping, and sometimes competing political purposes that categorization serves. States categorize to satisfy larger goals of governance. Many public policies rely on ethnic and/or racial data. For example, in the United States, racial data are used to track the electorate's geographic distribution at the state and congressional district levels for the purposes of voting rights legislation. On the other hand, states may decide not to enumerate by race and/or ethnicity in order to preserve national cohesion and or uphold a national identity. The French census, for instance, expressly does not contain an ethnic/racial inquiry because many French believe that such an inquiry violates French national identity itself. Finally, census classifications are used to expressly combat ethnic or racial discrimination. In the United Kingdom and the United States, for example, ethnic and class data are used to track socioeconomic inequalities and to devise racial and ethnic‐targeted public policies. Given all that is at stake politically, it is not surprising that ethnic and racial categorization in censuses is often highly contentious.