Census data does not reflect lived experiences of Latinos and Afro-Latinos, study finds

A report released by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute highlights significant issues with the way federal surveys, including the U.S. Census, collect racial and ethnic data concerning the Latino community. The analysis reveals that current methods fail to accurately reflect the lived experiences of many Latinos, especially Afro-Latinos, leading to data that does not fully capture their identities.

The report, titled "Latino is Not a Race: Understanding Lived Experiences through Street Race," argues that the current data collection methods used by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) do not account for the complexities of racial identity within the Latino community.

In March, the U.S. government revised its approach to racial and ethnic classification, combining questions about race and ethnicity into a single query on federal forms. This change allows respondents to select multiple categories simultaneously, such as "Black," "American Indian," and "Hispanic."

However, critics argue that this approach could lead to the misclassification of Afro-Latinos and other minority groups within the Latino community. As the report explains:

"For example, those who designate a Latino ethnicity alongside a racial identification (e.g., white or Black) risk being designated by the Census Bureau as "multiracial" rather than a person of Latino ethnicity who is a certain race. Additionally, the Census has historically prioritized its own idea of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity as descending from a Spanish-speaking heritage, and therefore excludes groups like Brazilians. These issues call into question the principle of self-identification and could also render Afro-Latinxs and other groups more invisible."

Cecilia Nuñez, a co-author of the report, told the Associated Press that these shortcomings have far-reaching implications for policy development and resource allocation:

"Accurate and actionable data is essential for crafting effective policies and interventions that address the systemic inequities impacting Latinos and bringing meaningful change."

In this context, the UCLA report proposes introducing a "street race" question in the Census, asking respondents how they believe others perceive their race based on physical appearance. This, the researchers argue, would provide a clearer understanding of how Latinos are racialized in public, addressing some of the issues arising from the combined race and ethnicity question.

"The street race question disrupts the myth of race as a matter of genes or biology by emphasizing the social aspect in how others see your race and that race is a largely visual status," explains the study. "There is no way to strictly designate "genetic or biological" races. Rather, race is a social status that is made up of several factors, including where you are from and what you look like."

The study argues that the concept of street race "is becoming increasingly popular to better understand racialization and disparities" and take into account experiences of discrimination among visible minorities.

In the case of Afro-Latinos, researches explain that their "phenotypic similarities to Black-alone individuals may place them at a higher risk of racism than white Latino individuals in the U.S., which may also be exacerbated by having limited English proficiency or questioning their immigration status."

Among the conclusions of the study, researchers cite the need for the federal government to allocate funds to test the addition of street race as a question in OMB surveys, including the Census. Researchers also concluded that both institutions should "clarify that race, ethnicity, and nationality are analytically distinct and define these terms for all federal data collection instruments."