U.S. Census Bureau Mid-decade Research on Race and Ethnicity: 1960-2015

• In Event: 398 - Visual Media Poster Session

Abstract

This infographic timeline captures the U.S. Census Bureau’s research on race and ethnicity from 1960 through 2015. More specifically, this infographic visually: 1) summarizes mid-decade research focused on improving the Decennial Census race and ethnicity questions; 2) displays the percent changes in racial and ethnic identification for each decade between 1960 through 2010; and 3) highlights key political, social, and economic moments influencing the social construction of race and ethnicity. Presenting the relationship between research; data; and political, economic, and social moments is important in order to understand the current historical context of the 2015 National Content Test (NCT) and the possibility of design changes for the race and ethnicity questions in the 2020 Census. In doing so, this visualization can be a starting point for community stakeholders, race and ethnicity scholars, and Census data users in understanding key race and ethnicity analyses undertaken by U.S. Census Bureau researchers.

Authors

• Rachel Marks

• Beverly M. Pratt, U.S. Census Bureau

• Nicholas A. Jones, U.S. Census Bureau