(how) did you fill out your census form?

Last week I filled out my first Census form ever. I admit, I was actually looking forward to receiving it and "being counted." lol. Most of my excitement was the ability to "check all that apply" under the race category. The 2000 Census was the first time respondents were allowed to do so. About 6.8 million Americans, 2.4 percent of the population, checked more than one racial box. I'm assuming my mom would have filled this out for me (and my other siblings) and marked the appropriate boxes, but it was nice to do it myself this time.

For multiple reasons, the Census is always a big strumu (that's a VI term basically meaning controversy in this instance, I have no idea the proper spelling lol) but particularly because it is a large determining factor for a lot of state and federal funding. In particular, advocates for minorities are especially concerned about their number being counted. It's actually quite a sticky subject. In fact, some black groups were against allowing multiracial individuals to choose more than one race, because of how this would affect the population counts. Kenneth Prewitt, who directed the 2000 census, said some civil-rights groups have resisted the concept of checking more than one race out of fear that it will dilute their influence. As someone whose job is all about data and statistics, I have to say that the more detail they collect the better. I did a huge project at work looking at racial/ethnic disparities in child health and believe me, these things make a difference.

Anyway, I did my duty and filled out my form the day I got it in the mail. And it made me quite happy to check two boxes :-)  This made me think about times when I couldn't check more than one box. I don't remember every time, but I actually think I would sometimes choose "black", sometimes "other." I would never check white if I could only choose one. I guess I've fallen victim to the "one-drop rule" mentality lol.

The whole issue of racial (self)-identificaton is fascinating to me. The other day I read a tidbit about how bi-racial actress (and wife of Ribin Thicke) Paula Patton is actually offended by the term biracial. This was quite perplexing to me as a headline, but she explains it somewhat in an interview:  “I find [the term biracial] offensive. It’s a way for people to separate themselves from African-Americans….a way of saying ‘I’m better than that...I’m black because that’s the way the world sees me. People aren’t calling Barack Obama biracial. Most people think there’s a black president….People judged me because I was light-skinned. [They'd assume] I didn’t want to be part of the black race.”

While I respect her opinion, I can't say that I agree with her. I identify as biracial not because I think I'm better than or want to separate myself from African Americans. I say that I am biracial because it is a more accurate description of who I am and how I identify. It would be even more accurate to reflect that I am West Indian or Caribbean black and white, but I suppose those specific categories are captured in other more detailed surveys by the Census Bureau and others.

In any case, I was happy to be able to choose more than one race on my form. I actually am happy whenever I fill out forms and am allowed to do so. The "check all" option actually occurs almost all the time now. I rarely am forced to choose. (By the way, there was a great study done looking at task performance of multiracial individuals allowed to identify all their racial components compared to those who were instructed to choose only one. Those who were allowed to choose more than one performed better on tasks than those who were forced to choose one!)

Of course, there are issues for other demographic groups as well. If you find this stuff interesting, check out this article.

So, did you fill out your Census form? Did you think about this stuff at all?? Any other issues come up for you filling out the form? What do you think about Paula Patton's comments?

Of course you know today's *big chune* had to come from a mixie right?? Remember the group Groove Theory, most known for their big chune Tell Me? Well, the lead singer is Amel Larrieux (black mom, white dad), who went on to release her own albums. I couldn't pick between two of my favorite songs of hers so today is a 2-for-1 ;-) She has some other great ones too though, so check her out.


"For Real"





"Weary"



:-D