US Census Classifications and Arab Americans: Contestations and Definitions of Identity Markers

Abstract

Arab Americans represent an ethnic group that has been deeply divided over state and Census official classifications of racial, ethnic and ancestry identities. Classified as ‘white’ by race due to historical court cases, there have been initiatives by Arab American organisations to obtain a sub-race or alternative racial/ethnic checkboxes since the 1980s. The rise of multiculturalism and ethnic pride, combined with influxes of new, more diverse immigrants, has created large segments of Arab Americans who do not feel ‘white’ and who perceive themselves as persons of colour. The divergent opinions on the race issue and disputes over the meaning and value of ‘Arab’ and of ‘Middle Eastern’ led to many contestations of the US federal classifications on race and ethnicity from the mid-1990s. Ongoing negotiations and alliances with the Census Bureau have highlighted the differences between Arab American organisations over self-definitions of community as well as strategies for obtaining state recognition as an ethnic group. Since 1980, the most viable solution has been to create an aggregate ethnic or ancestry group from responses that range from country of origin to broader regional identifiers. The logistical challenges of defining identity markers for Census enumeration have emphasised the diversity and complexity of the communities in question. Through archival legal research, census records, congressional testimonies and interviews with key players, this paper examines how the state's racial definitions have acted to split and unite different elements within the community defined as ‘of Arab ancestry’.