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Cited by 188Racial and Ethnic Identity ResearchRace, Genetics, and SocietyRace, History, and American Society

Racial Measurement in the American Census: Past Practices and Implications for the Future

Snipp, C. Matthew·2003·Annual Review of Sociology
DOI 10.1146/annurev.soc.29.010202.100006
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Abstract

▪ Abstract In 1977, the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) established an official classification standard for the measurement of race in the American population. In so doing, the OMB authorities created what amounted to a racial cosmology that spread throughout American society, affecting public perceptions about the racial hierarchy of American society. In 1997, the OMB issued a revised version of this classification in which small changes may profoundly affect the way policymakers and the American public think about race. At the very least, these revisions present significant challenges to social scientists who study race and ethnicity. This review begins with a brief historical overview of racial data collected by the federal government. It subsequently examines the circumstances leading up to the 1997 revisions of OMB Directive No. 15 and discusses how these revisions may affect social scientific research on the subject of race and ethnicity.

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  • National censuses not only quantify members of racial social groups, but also create and constitute the boundaries of these social groups themselves.

    “Furthermore, censuses not only quantify members of racial social groups, but also create and constitute the boundaries of these social groups themselves .”

    From Towards a critical race methodology in algorithmic fairness (2020) · cites this paper as [112]

  • The 1997 revision of Directive No. 15 separated out Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, set Hispanics and Latinos apart as an ethnic group rather than a racial group, and allowed respondents to provide multiple responses to racial heritage.

    “The 1997 revision of Directive No. 15 separated out Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, set Hispanics and Latinos apart as an ethnic group (rather than a racial group), and allowed respondents to provide multiple responses to racial heritage [112].”

    From Towards a critical race methodology in algorithmic fairness (2020) · cites this paper as [112]

  • Racial categories defined in the Census in the latter part of the 19th Century reflected fractional referents to Black racial lineage based in the ascendant movement of eugenics and race science.

    “Whereas the passage of the 14th Amendment guaranteed all Americans being counted as a whole person regardless of race, racial categories defined in the Census in the latter part of the 19th Century reflected fractional referents to Black racial lineage based in the ascendant movement of eugenics and race science mentioned above.”

    From Towards a critical race methodology in algorithmic fairness (2020) · cites this paper as [112]

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Authors
Snipp, C. M.
Affiliations
Stanford University (US)
Corresponding author
Snipp, C. Matthew
ORCID
Snipp, C. Matthew
Venue
Annual Review of Sociology
Publisher
Annual Reviews
Published
2003-08
Volume
29
Issue
1
Pages
563-588
ISSN
  • 0360-0572 (ISSN-L)
  • 1545-2115
DOI
10.1146/annurev.soc.29.010202.100006
OpenAlex
W2138150284
Cited by
188
References
34
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 4
FWCI
2.06
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Annual Review of Sociology (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Race, Genetics, and Society
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Race, History, and American Society
Keywords
racial classification, census, Office of Management and Budget, racial hierarchy

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