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Race and the Evolution of the US Census: Historical Census Data: Race/Ethnic data
A. Populations in the American Colonies of 1775
Ancestry Percentage
English 48.7%
African 20.0%
Scot-Irish 7.8 %
German 6.9%
Scottish 6.6 %
Dutch 2.7%
French 1.4%
Swedish 0.6%
Other 5.3%

B. The history of US Census data collection reveals the evolution of race as

a classification system. To be a citizen of the USA, from its inception, you
had to be white.

1790: First Census Data:

1. The question of race on the U.S. Census has racist beginnings. According
to the FAQ on the U.S. Census Bureau website, "the Census Bureau has included a
question on race since the first census in 1790.” According to, US Census.gov, “The
six inquiries in 1790 called for the name of the head of the family and the number
of persons in each household of the following descriptions: Free White males of 16
years and upward (to assess the country’s industrial and military potential), free
White males under 16 years, free White females, all other free persons (by sex and
color [free black, mixed race, etc.), and slaves.” Indentured servants were counted
as ‘free’ people. Indians were not counted unless they were taxed (rare).See the
images below from the US Census Bureau.

2. Taxation and representation was determined by the whole Number of

free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years
(indentured servants).
1. Excluded were Indians (they were not taxed);
2. Slaves counted only as 3/5 of a person. To establish representation in
the House of Representatives, free men were counted as one person, and slaves
were counted as three fifths of a person! The Census started as a tool of racism.
3. Constitutionally, race is trekked to divvy up HOR positions and to keep
population data for budget purposes.

1830: White Foreigner category added.

1850: Different questionnaires used for free people and for slaves. Free people:
One was assumed to be White.
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If not white, one was marked as Black or Mulatto. Slaves were marked as Black
or Mulatto.

1870: Census expanded to include Chinese (all Asians counted as Chinese).

American Indians were included.

1890: Census expands to these categories: White, Black, Mulatto, Quadroon,

Octoroon, Chinese, Japanese, or Indian.

1920: Color or Race question expanded to include: Hindu, Korean, and Filipino.

1930: Racial classifications change: Mulatto category eliminated. A person with

both White and Black (any at all) ancestry recorded as Negro. Black and
American Indian ancestry recorded as Negro, unless Census taker considered the
individual to be "predominantly" American Indian and accepted as such by
Indians. A person with both White and American Indian ancestry was to be
recorded as an Indian, unless accepted as White within the white community.
In general, persons who had minority interracial ancestry reported as father’s race.
Mexican is listed as a race.

1950: Color category is removed from the Census: so are Korean and Hindu.
Categories: Native Born Whites, Foreign Born Whites, Negro, Other Races.

1960: The word “color” is re-added to the racial question. “Indian” changed to
“American Indian.
Added Hawaiian, Part-Hawaiian, Aleut, and Eskimo. Other Race category
removed.

1970: Changes: Negro or Black designation; re-added Korean and the Other Race
option.

1980: New Races added: Vietnamese, Indian (East) Guamanian, Samoan. Color
again removed as a racial question.

2000: Reclassifications: Racial and Ethnic Classifications Used in Census 2000.

Respondents had five race category choices: White; Black or African American;
American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian (expanded with examples; and Native
Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. A separate question on Hispanic origin preceded the
race question.

2010: Hispanic ethnicity more clearly defined as not a race. Negro added to Black
or African American

2020: White, Black or African American (Negro deleted), American Indian or

Alaska Native, Asian. Hispanic (or Latino) remains an ethnicity not a race.

C. U.S. Definition of Race Categories Used in 2020 US

https://www.census.gov/topics/population/race/about.html
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The U.S. Census Bureau must adhere to the 1997 Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) standards on race and ethnicity which guide the Census Bureau in
classifying written responses to the race question:

White – A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle
East, or North Africa.

Black or African American – A person having origins in any of the Black racial
groups of Africa.

American Indian or Alaska Native – A person having origins in any of the original
peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains
tribal affiliation or community attachment.

Asian – A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East,
Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia,
China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and
Vietnam.

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander – A person having origins in any of the
original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

The 1997 OMB standards permit the reporting of more than one race. An
individual’s response to the race question is based upon self-identification.
An individual’s response to the race question is based upon self-identification. The
Census Bureau does not tell individuals which boxes to mark or what heritage to
write in. For the first time in Census 2000, individuals were presented with the
option to self-identify with more than one race and this continued with the 2010
Census. People who identify with more than one race may choose to provide
multiple races in response to the race question. For example, if a respondent
identifies as "Asian" and "White," they may respond to the question on race by
checking the appropriate boxes that describe their racial identities and/or writing in
these identities on the spaces provided.

V. According to the sociologist/cultural theorist Stuart Hall, race is a

floating signifier: What can we conclude from these classifications besides the
fact that the USA remains obsessed with classifying people by race? As a floating
signifier, race is a constantly evolving social-historical construction, tied to culture,
government agendas and demographic shifts in population. Inherently unstable, the
real importance of race is not as a biological or scientific category but rather as a
cultural representation, a kind of language, argues Hall, that signifies and
symbolizes social, political, and economic conflicts and interests. Designations such
as white and black are accepted as “real” by members of our society to subordinate
certain groups. Racial legacies of the past—slavery and bigotry—continue to shape
the present. Moreover, our nation has been deeply involved in the maintenance of
racial lines, particularly those that separate white and black. We use race as a
shortcut to classify people: like gender, race is an appearance we use to categorize
others.
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Watch Stuart Hall discuss Race as a Floating Signifier:

https://vimeo.com/87470149