The U.S. Dept. of Census Is Misinformed

I believe the U.S. Dept. of Census is misinformed when it comes to those little check boxes on their forms, and on any other document in which they ask you for your race.

While there is only one check box for the entire black race, in fact, all people of color do not actually fit under one race. In fact, people from the Caribbean are very different – extremely different – from African Americans.

They don’t think alike. They don’t talk alike. They don’t dress alike. They don’t eat the same food. They don’t worship the same way. They don’t listen to the same music. They don’t dance the same. They are in fact, quite different. Yet, the U.S. Dept. of Census has but one box, labeled African American, where I think they should have two: one for African American and one for Caribbean/West Indian. I think this would provide a much more accurate representation of the American population.

Everyone talks about how the Hispanic population is growing. The Asian population is growing. What about the island population? Jamaicans, Haitians, Bahamians, Dominicans. There are more and more of them in the U.S. every day, but does the government really have an accurate read on their growth?

Think for a moment how this information is used. The make-up of your region’s population could determine how much federal and state funding your schools get and what the money is used for. It could play a role in which grants are set up, where they’re set up and how much money is put into them. It could make a difference where nonprofits set up shop, do their work and what they determine their mission to be.

It’s also used to deliver marketing messages. Today, it’s a top priority for marketers to create a message that is relevant to its audience. Marketers jump through hoops and over barrels on a daily basis to try to understand who their audiences are, where they are and how best to reach them without wasting their message on people it is not appropriate for. Marketers would definitely benefit from more accurate Census data.

Some people are uncomfortable filling in these boxes and feel they should not be there at all. But if they are going to be there, and we are all going to be required to fill them out, then at the very least, they should be accurate. It’s time for a change. I strongly recommend that the U.S. Dept. of Census add one more box to their population form – for Caribbean/West Indian. Let them stand up and be counted. They deserve it.

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