(NAME-MCE) PRESS RELEASE: Multiracial Individuals and Families, AMEA, and Census 2010 Question on Race

[Tova Stabin]

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> PRESS RELEASE (AMEA)
> HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF MULTIRACIAL INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES NOT  
> CAPTURED ON 2000 CENSUS… AMEA AND U.S. CENSUS BUREAU ENSURING AN  
> ACCURATE COUNT IN 2010
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> March 19, 2010 (Los Angeles, CA): The goal of the United States 2010  
> Census is to count all residents living in the United States on  
> April 1, 2010. It will also mark the second census in all of U.S.  
> history, which provides for a “mark one or more” option to the  
> question about race. Today, for the growing number of Americans who  
> self-identify with multiple racial and ethnic categories, and for  
> the growing number of diverse interracial families, including  
> international and transracially adopted households, this option to  
> choose enables the U.S. Census Bureau to truly capture the diversity  
> that exists in the U.S.
> This option was first introduced on the 2000 census, spearheaded by  
> multiracial advocacy groups, families, and allies across the country  
> that petitioned for this option in the late nineties. This movement  
> was led by the Association of MultiEthnic Americans (AMEA), one of  
> the oldest leading national umbrella 501(c)(3) non-profit  
> organizations dedicated to the advocacy of multiracial, multiethnic,  
> and transracially adopted individuals, families, organizations, and  
> allies. AMEA has served on both the 2000 Census and 2010 Census  
> Advisory Committees for the Census Bureau, helping to ensure a  
> multiple check option continues to be available to any individual  
> who wishes to self-identify with more than one racial/ethnic category.
> As a result of this historical change on the 2000 Census, the Census  
> Bureau was able to capture approximately 6.8 million self-identified  
> multiracial/ethnic Americans. The data provided the first glimpse at  
> the “multiracial” population as a whole, including the number and  
> diversity of multiracial combinations, interracial marriages and  
> families; the leading states and cities where multiracial people and  
> families reside; and other key measures of research that have been  
> instrumental in illuminating the importance of data on multiracial  
> people and families on topics such as education and health policy  
> initiatives.
> However, since the 2000 Census was only the first to allow  
> multiracial individuals to self-identify with more than one race,  
> not all multiracial individuals or families even knew that this  
> option existed, or knew what it meant.  As a result, the population  
> that self-identified as multiracial in 2000 may not truly reflect  
> the millions of individuals who could have done so in the past, or  
> who may choose to do so in the present 2010 Census.  Therefore, this  
> outreach effort is aimed to provide awareness and information about  
> the importance of the 2010 Census for multiracial people and  
> interracial families. “The Census 2010 results will provide a new  
> portrait of America, with information on the racial and ethnic  
> diversity in the population, as well as the changes in the  
> multiracial population.  So we are excited and eagerly awaiting the  
> results of the 2010 Census," says Nicholas A. Jones, Chief of the  
> Racial Statistics Branch at the U.S. Census Bureau.
> As a result of her positions as an academic researcher, Census  
> Advisory representative, and as a multiracial community member,  
> Jungmiwha Bullock, President of AMEA, concludes that many  
> individuals and families were not captured in 2000 for other reasons  
> as well. “For example, some were simply unaware that the language  
> had changed to allow a multiple-check option in Census 2000, and  
> therefore reported only one race. Others expressed hesitance to  
> choose more than one race for fear this might take away from the  
> overall figures for the single race populations with which they also  
> proudly self-identified. Others were unclear about the larger  
> benefits and/or consequences of choosing to identify with multiple  
> race groups. But, in preparation for the 2010 Census, AMEA hopes to  
> dispel some of the misinformation that has been circulated in order  
> to help the Census Bureau and the American public gain a more  
> accurate and insightful count of the growing numbers of multiracial  
> individuals, interracial families, and multiethnic communities in  
> the United States.”
> Harold Gates, Vice-President of AMEA explains, “We are not trying to  
> tell people how to self-identify, for there are many personal  
> reasons why someone may choose not to express a particular identity  
> or identities. Instead, we believe it is important that people  
> understand the option exists if they choose to do so. It is  
> important to understand that this information will help multiracial/ 
> multiethnic advocacy groups like AMEA, MAVIN, Biracial Family  
> Network, and iPride, just to name a few, to better serve the unique  
> needs of this growing and diverse population in decades to come.”
> In partnership with the U.S. Census Bureau and staff, the  
> Association of MultiEthnic Americans has created a “Most Commonly  
> Asked Questions and Answers” document to help individuals and  
> families concerned or confused about how to fill out the question  
> about race on the Census 2010 form, so they understand the  
> opportunities that are available and how they may help to ensure a  
> more accurate count of the multiracial population.
> ***
> For more information, visit http://2010.census.gov or contact 2010  
> Census National Partner, Association of MultiEthnic Americans  
> (Jungmiwha Bullock or Harold Gates - Phone: 818.230.2285; Email: amea2010census at gmail.com 
> )
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