Killing Two Birds With One Stone? Why we Need Race and Ethnic Data for Latinas/os

• In Event: 421 - Regular Session. Ethnic, Racial, and Other Social Group Formations among Latinos/as in the United States

Abstract

In this article, I examine the recent findings of the Alternative Questionnaire Experiment (AQE) Final Report of the 2010 U.S. Census. In my discussion, I depart from the premise that the primary purpose of the collection of national and local data on race and ethnicity is to assess our progress in creating a more perfect union for all. I argue that you can’t kill two birds with one stone; specifically, the AQE conflation of race with ethnicity into one question has found that this questionnaire format produces less detailed information on Latinas/os. Furthermore, this sweeping change may have the unintended consequence of producing data that will be analytically bankrupt for capturing the very different lived realities of our heterogeneous Latina/o communities. The value added by having two separate questions on race and ethnicity, not only for Hispanics but also for other demographic groups, surely outweighs the cost of having poor data that will hinder our ability to assess distinct pathways of inequality, equity and inclusion.

Author

• Nancy Lopez, University of New Mexico