Racial Form Follows Function: On Linking What We Measure

to Why We Measure

Wendy D. RothAssistant Professor of Sociology

University of British Columbia

Overview

The most important function of measuring race = monitoring discrimination

But race statistics are often drawn from self-identification

In U.S., a move from interviewer enumeration to self-completion 1960 – Mail census sent to most urban areas 1970 – 86% of US households 1980 – 96% of US households

2000 U.S. Census Questions

Overview

The assumption that individuals’ self-perception matches how they’re seen by others is often false

(Campbell & Troyer 2007; Harris & Sim 2002; Itzigsohn et al. 2005; Rockquemore & Brunsma 2002; Rodríguez et al. 1991)

Shift in what is being measured

Data: Qualitative study of Dominicans and Puerto Ricans, focusing on migrants living in New York

Components of Race Concept

A fluid concept with multiple components (Harris & Sim 2002; Rockquemore & Brunsma 2002; Rodríguez 2000)

Campbell & Troyer (2007):

“Internal”

“Expressed”

“Perceived”

“Observed”

Components of Race Concept

A fluid concept with multiple components (Harris & Sim 2002; Rockquemore & Brunsma 2002; Rodríguez 2000)

Campbell & Troyer (2007):

“Internal” – Subjective self-identity

“Expressed”

“Perceived”

“Observed”

Components of Race Concept

A fluid concept with multiple components (Harris & Sim 2002; Rockquemore & Brunsma 2002; Rodríguez 2000)

Campbell & Troyer (2007):

“Internal” – Subjective self-identity

“Expressed” – The race you say you are

“Perceived”

“Observed”

Components of Race Concept

A fluid concept with multiple components (Harris & Sim 2002; Rockquemore & Brunsma 2002; Rodríguez 2000)

Campbell & Troyer (2007):

“Internal” – Subjective self-identity

“Expressed” – The race you say you are

“Perceived”

“Observed” – The race others assume you to be

Components of Race Concept

A fluid concept with multiple components (Harris & Sim 2002; Rockquemore & Brunsma 2002; Rodríguez 2000)

Campbell & Troyer (2007):

“Internal” – Subjective self-identity

“Expressed” – The race you say you are

“Perceived” – The race you believe others see

“Observed” – The race others assume you to be

Research Design

30 32

30 28

Dominicans

Puerto Ricans

Home Country

(Non-Migrant)

New York

(Migrant)

Measuring Race Components

“Internal” – Open-ended self-identification

“Expressed” – 2000 U.S. Census questions

“Perceived” – “What race do the majority of Americans think you are?”

“Observed” – Interviewer classification

Two Cases

Bonifacio Puerto Rican, San Juan

Internal: Puerto Rican Expressed: White Perceived: Black Observed: Black

(maybe Hispanic)

Raquel Dominican, New York

Internal: Black Expressed: Black Perceived: Dominican Observed: White

Developing Internal Race

There was a confusion, at least for [me]...about what race is…So, for me, it was an experience like an epiphany one day when I found out that there are only three races…and you have to decide which you belong to. So not only by the color of the skin, but there are a lot of other factors…There would be your ancestry—you need to look at your grandparents, your great-grandparents. You need to look at the shape of your mouth, the size of your ears, how your nose is, the texture of your hair…In the Dominican Republic, as soon as you’re a little light or medium light, already you can’t say that you’re Black. No, that’s like a sin. So, after you educate yourself and after you accept that there are either three or…four [races], but you need to choose one of these three or four. You can’t invent a new one. So I don’t have any other option than choosing Black because I’m not White or Asian. So I must be whatever’s left.

Q: Could you say a little about your epiphany? How did that happen?

…I was in college...and one day I was taking a sociology class. I was reading in the book and it said that there were three races: Asian, White, and Black. I kept looking for my race because there wasn’t a race for me. And I was talking with my teacher and so, during the conversation, he explained it to me. Sincerely, I tell you, with all the experience that I had—before that day it was one thing and after that day is another. (Raquel, Dominican migrant, assistant principal)

Two Cases

Bonifacio Puerto Rican, San Juan

Internal: Puerto Rican Expressed: White Perceived: Black Observed: Black

(maybe Hispanic)

Raquel Dominican, New York

Internal: Black Expressed: Black Perceived: Dominican Observed: White

Puerto Rican Race Measures

Internal Expressed (Census)

Perceived Observed

Latino/ Hispanic

17.9 28.6 46.2 32.1

Nationality 46.4 35.7 34.6 --

White 14.3 42.9 3.8 60.7

Black 7.1 14.3 3.8 25.0

Mixed/

Intermediate10.7 7.1 -- 3.6

Multiple responses coded; N=28

Dominican Race Measures

Internal Expressed (Census)

Perceived Observed

Latino/ Hispanic

59.4 53.1 41.4 34.4

Nationality 18.8 25.0 48.3 --

White 6.3 9.4 -- 40.6

Black 3.1 12.5 20.7 43.8

Mixed/

Intermediate15.6 18.8 -- --

Multiple responses coded; N=32

White, Black, Hispanic

It’s a little disconcerting for us, people who were born in other places and were raised in other places, when we arrive here, and usually in our countries we think that there are people of Caucasian, Black, Asian race. And it’s the biggest surprise when you come to New York and see that you don’t qualify in any category that you thought you belong to…

Q: Are you saying that they don't consider you White?

[Yes.] I think it’s that there’s always a perception that Hispanics are another thing different than Caucasian.…I first realized [it] when I was… working as a teacher in a program in Brooklyn and in the summer we had assistants, students, and most of them were Black. And one day one of the girls told me “Ah, you’re the Puerto Rican that thinks he’s White.” And I was so surprised because until that moment I didn’t think that there were any differences between [them], and then I learned that each thing is seen different. (Miguel, Puerto Rican migrant, community liaison for a public corporation)

Consistency between Expressed & Observed Race

Puerto Ricans Dominicans

Consistency 32.1 18.8

Inconsistency 35.7 71.9

Identified as ethnic; classified as panethnic

10.7 --

Multiple answers, one consistent

21.4 9.4

N 28 32

Conclusions

The shift toward racial self-identification makes Census race questions about “self-expression”

But self-expression is not a purpose for collecting racial and ethnic data

The form of race data need to be better represent the way that discrimination functions.

How can this be done?

National censuses could return to interviewer enumeration and adopt a variety of measures of race

Return to interviewer-enumeration for the Census 5% sample

Develop separate nation-wide surveys that focus on race and discrimination

How can this be done?

Develop new technologies to measure skin colour

Tailor research design to particular types of discrimination

Thank you

wroth@interchange.ubc.ca

Photographic Instrument

Interview Context

• Conducted in Spanish

• Completed with a native Research Assistant

• Discussions with RAs for their perspectives

“Folk” Racial TermsTerm Approximate meaning

Blanco(a) White Blanquito(a) Literally, little white; figuratively, elitist, upper-class Colorao(a) Redheaded, reddish skin Rubio(a) Blonde Cano(a) Blonde, fair-skinned Jincho(a) Pale-skinned; sometimes used pejoratively Blanco(a) con raja Literally, white with a crack; white with some visible black features Jabao(a) Fair-skinned with curly hair Trigueño(a) Literally, wheat-colored or brunette; usually light mulatto Moreno(a) Dark-skinned; usually dark mulatto Mulato(a) Mixed-race; rarely used in public Indio(a) Literally, Indian; brown-skinned with straight hair Café con leche Literally, coffee with milk; tan or brown-skinned Piel canela Literally, cinnamon skin; tan or brown-skinned Prieto(a) Dark-skinned; usually derogatory Grifo(a) Dark-skinned with kinky hair; usually derogatory De color Euphemism for black; usually meaning black Negro(a) Black; rarely used as a term of reference Negrito(a) Literally, little black; usually used as a term of endearment

Source: Duany (2001).

Variants of Racial Schema

Latin American racial schema Any Latin American “folk terms” beyond just White and Black

U.S. racial schema

Pure U.S. schema Uses only categories White and Black, with any racial mixture classified as Black.

Hispanicized U.S. schema Uses categories White, Black, and Latino (or Hispanic).

Nationality racial schema

Pure Nationality schema Uses only nationalities and ethnic groups.

Panethnic Nationality schema Uses nationalities and ethnic groups, as well as Latino (or Hispanic).