Race and identity

Because the US is  so race conscious, race matters to people even if it biologically doesn't make sense.  Here are some examples of race and how people identify (or have trouble doing so):



Here are the current definitions of "race" according to the US census:
https://www.census.gov/topics/population/race/about.html

Here are the changes being considered for the 2020 census:
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/06/18/census-considers-new-approach-to-asking-about-race-by-not-using-the-term-at-all/



Here are some articles on the difficulty of categorizing Hispanics:

The Census Can't Fit Latinos Into A Race Box And It's Causing More ...

www.huffingtonpost.com/.../census-latinos-some-other_n_53758...

The Huffington Post

May 22, 2014 - The Census Can't Fit Latinos Into A Race Box And It's Causing More Confusion ... U.S. Latinos changed their race category from “some other race” to “white” between the 2000 ... Latinos Who Don't Get A Race On The Census ...

Is being Hispanic a matter of race, ethnicity or both? | Pew Research ...

www.pewresearch.org/.../is-being-hispanic-a-matter-of-race-ethni...

Pew Research Center

Jun 15, 2015 - When it comes to reporting their racial identity, Latinos stand out from other ... at least one of the five standard, government-defined racial categories ... This suggests that Hispanics have a unique view of race that doesn't necessarily fit ..... into one group even though a good 20 % don't speak Spanish at all ...

Hispanics Resist Racial Grouping by Census - The New York Times

www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/.../20041025monday.html

The New York Times

Oct 25, 2004 - "We don't fit into the categories that the Anglos want us to fit in," Mr. ... of Hispanics who would include themselves in traditional racial groups ...

Here is another example of the difficulty of racial categories:

In The Latinos of Asia, Anthony Christian Ocampo shows that what "color" you are depends largely on your social context. Filipino Americans, for example, helped establish the Asian American movement and are classified by the U.S. Census as Asian. But the legacy of Spanish colonialism in the Philippines means that they share many cultural characteristics with Latinos, such as last names, religion, and language. Thus, Filipinos' "color"—their sense of connection with other racial groups—changes depending on their social context. 
From NPR:

http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/05/24/478560399/filipino-americans-blending-cultures-redefining-race