Initial Proposals for Updating Race and Ethnicity Statistical Standards
by Nyhiem Way-El and Natalie Rozzell
There is an on-going effort by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to get a better idea of the racial and ethnic make-up of the United States. This federal office is currently taking comments from U.S. residents on how they officially want to identify on federal forms, etc. Most forms ask for Race and Ethnicity for data purposes which directly feeds federal programs, grants, legislative decisions and lawmaking, and the overall budget, in general. As Black people, however, our data often gets skewed by other groups, especially Black immigrants. We can no longer just identify as “African-American” since the U.S. sees almost 100,000 Africans, people from the Caribbean, and others who identify as ‘Black’ arriving to this country for work, school, family or safety reasons each year.
“First of all, it’d be pretty hard to figure out who to compensate. We’ve had waves of immigrants as well come to the country and experience dramatic discrimination of one kind or another so no, I don’t think reparations are a good idea.”- Mitch McConnell
As American Freedmen and reparationists, this is a huge opportunity for those who are descendants of chattel slavery in America. We can now have our data separated and programs and funding directed where it should be - to those still experiencing the effects of slavery and other government sanctioned treatment in this country. Instead of having our wealth, educational, and employment rates, for example, coupled with immigrants who often have enough money to fly to America, study at the finest institutions, and the capital to own businesses in this country, we now have the opportunity to separate the data. This is not only important so funding, scholarships, diversity initiatives, etc. can go where needed, but it helps as we continue the fight for reparations for slavery, Jim Crow, Black codes, redlining, convict leasing, mass incarceration, and so much more that occurred before mass Black immigration opened up in the United States in the early 80s. Harkening to the quote above, people like Mitch McConnell use this excuse every time we demand reparations.
We are asking YOU to answer this call-to-action and submit a comment to the OMB today. Comments started in late January and there are almost 2,800 comments from all groups of people at this time. We need more regarding Black Americans.
To read more about what is entailed or to view other comments from U.S. residents all over the country, go to this link: https://www.regulations.gov/document/OMB-2023-0001-0001.
To make a comment, hit the blue ‘Comment’ button or click here: https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/OMB-2023-0001-0001.
As we go about our busy lives, we know it is sometimes difficult to find the time to sit down and find the right words. So, we have a letter template you can use to ensure your voice is heard. Simply copy and paste it into the Comment section at the link above. Be sure to insert your name where necessary.
Greetings. I am [insert your name] .I am writing to submit our recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). One of which is to add ‘American Freedman’ as an ethnic identifier in a revised version of SPD 15. I am offering 3 separate recommendations which are based on:
Ethnic name
Replacing the term “Race”
Updating the definition of “Black”
Recommendation 1.
American Freedmen has been used to recognize African Americans (those emancipated from slavery) in this country as its own ethnic designation in the past. Because Reconstruction was short lived for American Freedmen (12 years approximately), usage of the term fell out of favor for terms more suited to, and rooted in slavery (Black, Colored, and Negro). These labels became static in identifying our unique population. Now, someone can migrate from Africa or the Caribbean and will be classified as ‘Black/African American’ which blurs the identity of our unique American ethnic group. In comparison, reconstruction for the Black Indian Freedmen (Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee, Seminole, Cherokee), lasted until 1979 (113 years). These groups retained not only an understanding of the status, but also the name “Freedmen '' and because of such, in the present day, use as ethnic identifiers, names such as Cherokee Freedmen, Chickasaw Freedmen, Choctaw Freedmen, etc. Below is recommendation 1. This is our proposal for how our unique group is requesting to be identified in the OMB:
Ethnic definition:
American Freedman. A descendant of persons emancipated from slavery in the United States
Ethnicity:
– American Freedman
– Non-American Freedman
Recommendation 2.
The American Anthropological Association recommends the elimination of the term "race" from OMB Directive 15 since the 2010 Census. They have noted that “During the past 50 years, "race" has been scientifically proven to not be a real, natural phenomenon.” We agree with this position.
We recommend that the term “race” be replaced with the term “population group.” The term can be abbreviated to read “Pop. Gr.” or some variation.
Recommendation 3.
The current definition of Black in SPD15 reads:
Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
This definition (although "Black" is a mere social construction, as compared to the other definitions, is vague. If Black represents a whole race of people, the phrase “black racial groups of Africa” is confusing as it implies a race differentiates racially as opposed to ethnically. This definition is construed in this way only for the Black racial classification and no other. We believe this to be a technical error.
Our suggestions:
Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the original people of the African continent.
or
Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the original ethnic groups of the African continent.
I thank you for considering our recommendations to update and revise the racial and ethnic categories.
Now is the time to make our voice be heard and to get one step closer to delineation and reparations! Please submit your comments before the April 12, 2023 deadline.
Thank you in advance.
