http://www.civilrights.org/issues/censu ... m?id=42215

How you identify your race on the Census form could change in 2010.

The United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) held a hearing on April 7 to discuss the effectiveness of the current race categories used in the form. The hearing was held to help the Census Bureau with the development of questions that will appear on the 2010 Census.

Respondents to the 2000 Census form had the choice of five race categories: White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. A separate question on Hispanic origin preceded the race question.

In order to obtain data that represents more accurately how Americans see themselves respondents were allowed to check multiple boxes on the 2000 Census.

However, the 2000 Census questions did not adequately represent America and presented problems for government agencies that use the data, according to experts at the USCCR hearing. "The present classification, however, is so beset with ambiguities that it risks failing the nation as we grope toward coherent policies for the 21st century," said Kenneth Prewitt, Carnegie Professor of Public Affairs at Columbia University and former director of the Census Bureau.

Experts say that the Census is not meant to be a vehicle for self-expression, but a tool for government agencies. "No question is on the Census that does not have a programmatic purpose," said Prewitt. "The primary purpose [of the collecting racial statistics] is to inform the government and the society if there are population groups that continue to suffer from past discrimination, or are today being discriminated against..."

Another problem that emerged from the 2000 Census was the addition of the "Some other race" category, which experts say is not a race at all. The category was included as a way to decrease the number of non-responses to race questions, particularly by Hispanics who don't identify with any of the five major race categories.

After the 2000 Census, the "Some other race" category was the third largest race group in the United States, according to Charles Louis Kincannon, current director of the Census Bureau. However, ninety-seven percent of those who identified as "Some other race" were Hispanic.

Prewitt suggested eliminating the "flawed" distinction between race and ethnicity by adding "Hispanic" to the main list of racial categories as a way to diminish the likelihood of non-response rates from Hispanics. He said that this option would eliminate the need for the "Some other race" category.

While it is too late to eliminate the "Some other race" category from the 2010 Census, experts agreed that it has no real function since most federal programs do not include it in their race classification.