Government bureaucrats divide Americans into racial groups (White or Caucasian, Black or African-American, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander). Government bureaucrats also classify into two ethnic groups (Hispanic or Latino, or non-Hispanic or Non-Latino).
Some government agencies break down the racial group into subgroups, e.g., Asian subgroups are Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino. Other government agencies use terms like “multi-racial” or “Two or more races” to describe mixed races. Government bureaucrats define every American as having two identifying attributes, racial identity and whether of not they are of Hispanic ethnicity.
What are the reasons for racial and ethnic classifications? The government will tell people that racial and ethnic classifications are used to avoid discrimination and promote affirmative action. Really? Our 1790 census (pre-affirmative action) asked the following questions: Number of free white males under 16 years; number of free white males aged 16 or higher; number of free white females; number of other free people; number of slaves. These questions held racial implications.
How would my nephew, who is French and Chinese, be categorized? How would my other nephew, who is Eritrean and White, be categorized? How would my nephew’s son, who is Eritrean, White and Hispanic, be classified? How would my Goddaughter, who is Hispanic and Jewish, be classified?
The purpose of racial classifications, used from our very first census, and ethnic classifications may have ancillary uses in avoiding discrimination and promoting affirmative action (post 1964), but the real purpose of these classifications is to divide people. If the government can divide people, it can claim differences among the groups. Once differences are claimed, comparisons inevitably follow. Once comparisons are made, differences are accentuated. The government becomes the primary promoter and supporter of racial and ethnic discrimination.
In another column, I wrote about the differences between the American and French revolutions. America was and is based on a foundation of natural law with life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Americans have unalienable rights and a limited government with checks and balances (although the checks and balances seem a bit out of kilter at the moment).
The equal opportunity guaranteed for all has been warped by government intent on dividing groups based on race and ethnicity. Ironically, the United States Supreme Court (Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. at 813) outlawed racial profiling of any type. While the case cited refers to a police stop, the Department of Justice published a guide for federal law enforcement agencies that stated:
“Racial profiling” at its core concerns the invidious use of race or ethnicity as a criterion in conducting stops, searches and other law enforcement investigative procedures . . . racial profiling in law enforcement is not merely wrong, but also ineffective. Race-based assumptions in law enforcement perpetuate negative racial stereotypes that are harmful to our rich and diverse democracy, and materially impair our efforts to maintain a fair and just society.”
Classification by race and ethnicity “perpetuate negative racial stereotypes that are harmful to our rich and diverse democracy, and materially impair our efforts to maintain a fair and just society.” Therefore, the government should cease classifying Americans on the basis of race and ethnicity. Hyphenated Americans will disappear.
This is the legal and moral case for elimination of classifications of race and ethnicity.
Pragmatically, our country is rapidly changing. Minorities make up over half our children under five. Whites will be a minority by 2043. Hispanics will be a majority. The United States is more racially mixed than ever before. It is time to eliminate this racial and ethnic classification nonsense. Immigrants come to America to become Americans, not to be classified by some nameless, faceless bureaucrat and subdivided into a non-descript grouping.
Further, multi-racial identification grew faster (32%) between 2000 and 2010 than single race identification (9%). The number of Americans who identify as White and Black soared by 134% between the census years. The number of Americans who identified as White and Asian soared by 87%. Asian and Black increased by 74%.
Every time the government asks me to check a race box, I always write in my race as “human.” End of story.