US Contemplates Asking Black Americans On Census About Slave Ancestry - Reports

US Contemplates Asking Black Americans on Census About Slave Ancestry - Reports

The Biden administration is weighing whether to add categories to the US Census that would help better distinguish between African Americans who are descendants of enslaved Africans and black immigrants who came to the country in recent years, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th March, 2023) The Biden administration is weighing whether to add categories to the US Census that would help better distinguish between African Americans who are descendants of enslaved Africans and black immigrants who came to the country in recent years, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The Biden administration is studying whether to redefine how race and ethnicity are measured on government forms, with potential far-reaching implications for how other institutions collect demographic data, the newspaper said.

The administration has so far only solicited comments from the public about identifying Black Americans' ancestry. The administration has also asked whether the term "American Descendants of Slavery" or "American Freedmen" would be the best terms to describe the group.

The term "Foundational Black Americans" is another option under discussion, according to the report.

The change would help quantify those eligible for slavery reparations if the Federal or state government ever agrees to pay, the Journal said.

The Biden administration may also combine current race and ethnicity questions so that "Hispanic or Latino" would no longer be a separate question, but would be one of several choices people would have on the race question, the report noted.

The administration has also reportedly proposed creating a new race question category for Americans of middle Eastern or North African heritage.

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