Word: race
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When Sgt. James Crowley arrested Professor Henry Louis "Skip" Gates for disorderly conduct in July, it's unlikely that Crowley foresaw what was to come: a nationwide debate over race relations that made even Mr. President lose his cool, and an ensuing "beer summit" at the White House that was meant to diffuse the tension surrounding the controversial incident. Though an October night at the bar seemed to indicate that Gates and Crowley have since kissed and made up, the brouhaha evidently has yet to subside...
...word Negro to describe a black person has largely fallen out of polite conversation - except on the U.S. Census questionnaire. There, under "What is this person's race?" is an option that reads, "Black, African Am., or Negro." That has raised the ire of certain black activists and politicians as the Census Bureau gears up to mail out its once-a-decade questionnaires. The controversy has been cast by many as an instance of a tone-deaf agency not keeping up with the times. In actuality, the flash point represents a much larger theme: the often contentious way the Census...
...Census Bureau is aware that times are changing - and not just when it comes to the word Negro. As part of the 2010 Census, the bureau will test 15 major changes to questions about race and Hispanic origin. For each, approximately 30,000 households will receive a slightly different questionnaire so that demographers and statisticians can use data - along with follow-up interviews - to decide if the modification helps or hurts the accuracy and consistency of information collected. "We hope this will help us better understand the way people identify with these concepts," says Nicholas Jones, chief of the Census...
Those modifications could have a lasting impact on how Americans think about race. Census data underpin broad stretches of society, from federal regulations to corporate marketing strategies, and how data are framed when collected speaks to our collective worldview (both contemporary and historical). Consider that in a 2006 study of 138 censuses from around the world, New York University sociologist Ann Morning found that only 15% of those asking about ancestry or national origin used the term race. Almost all of those that did were former slave economies. (See a video of perspectives in Harlem on President Obama's first...
...Still, some observers are skeptical that Ilitch has the stamina and gravitas to endure a grueling political race. Apart from being on the Bing transition team, Ilitch has little political experience (she was also elected to the University of Michigan's board of regents), and her views on many social and political issues are largely unknown. In recent days, local news reports have presented her as the Obama Administration's preferred candidate, but she has reportedly donated money in the past to Republicans as well as Democratic causes and candidates. Fundraising is expected to be tricky in the current economic...