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Racial Form Follows Function: On Linking What We Measure to Why We Measure. Wendy D. Roth Assistant Professor of Sociology University of British Columbia. Overview. The most important function of measuring race = monitoring discrimination - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Racial Form Follows Function: On Linking What We Measure
to Why We Measure
Wendy D. RothAssistant Professor of Sociology
University of British Columbia
Overview
The most important function of measuring race = monitoring discrimination
But race statistics are often drawn from self-identification
In U.S., a move from interviewer enumeration to self-completion 1960 – Mail census sent to most urban areas 1970 – 86% of US households 1980 – 96% of US households
2000 U.S. Census Questions
Overview
The assumption that individuals’ self-perception matches how they’re seen by others is often false
(Campbell & Troyer 2007; Harris & Sim 2002; Itzigsohn et al. 2005; Rockquemore & Brunsma 2002; Rodríguez et al. 1991)
Shift in what is being measured
Data: Qualitative study of Dominicans and Puerto Ricans, focusing on migrants living in New York
Components of Race Concept
A fluid concept with multiple components (Harris & Sim 2002; Rockquemore & Brunsma 2002; Rodríguez 2000)
Campbell & Troyer (2007):
“Internal”
“Expressed”
“Perceived”
“Observed”
Components of Race Concept
A fluid concept with multiple components (Harris & Sim 2002; Rockquemore & Brunsma 2002; Rodríguez 2000)
Campbell & Troyer (2007):
“Internal” – Subjective self-identity
“Expressed”
“Perceived”
“Observed”
Components of Race Concept
A fluid concept with multiple components (Harris & Sim 2002; Rockquemore & Brunsma 2002; Rodríguez 2000)
Campbell & Troyer (2007):
“Internal” – Subjective self-identity
“Expressed” – The race you say you are
“Perceived”
“Observed”
Components of Race Concept
A fluid concept with multiple components (Harris & Sim 2002; Rockquemore & Brunsma 2002; Rodríguez 2000)
Campbell & Troyer (2007):
“Internal” – Subjective self-identity
“Expressed” – The race you say you are
“Perceived”
“Observed” – The race others assume you to be
Components of Race Concept
A fluid concept with multiple components (Harris & Sim 2002; Rockquemore & Brunsma 2002; Rodríguez 2000)
Campbell & Troyer (2007):
“Internal” – Subjective self-identity
“Expressed” – The race you say you are
“Perceived” – The race you believe others see
“Observed” – The race others assume you to be
Research Design
30 32
30 28
Dominicans
Puerto Ricans
Home Country
(Non-Migrant)
New York
(Migrant)
Measuring Race Components
“Internal” – Open-ended self-identification
“Expressed” – 2000 U.S. Census questions
“Perceived” – “What race do the majority of Americans think you are?”
“Observed” – Interviewer classification
Two Cases
Bonifacio Puerto Rican, San Juan
Internal: Puerto Rican Expressed: White Perceived: Black Observed: Black
(maybe Hispanic)
Raquel Dominican, New York
Internal: Black Expressed: Black Perceived: Dominican Observed: White
Developing Internal Race
There was a confusion, at least for [me]...about what race is…So, for me, it was an experience like an epiphany one day when I found out that there are only three races…and you have to decide which you belong to. So not only by the color of the skin, but there are a lot of other factors…There would be your ancestry—you need to look at your grandparents, your great-grandparents. You need to look at the shape of your mouth, the size of your ears, how your nose is, the texture of your hair…In the Dominican Republic, as soon as you’re a little light or medium light, already you can’t say that you’re Black. No, that’s like a sin. So, after you educate yourself and after you accept that there are either three or…four [races], but you need to choose one of these three or four. You can’t invent a new one. So I don’t have any other option than choosing Black because I’m not White or Asian. So I must be whatever’s left.
Q: Could you say a little about your epiphany? How did that happen?
…I was in college...and one day I was taking a sociology class. I was reading in the book and it said that there were three races: Asian, White, and Black. I kept looking for my race because there wasn’t a race for me. And I was talking with my teacher and so, during the conversation, he explained it to me. Sincerely, I tell you, with all the experience that I had—before that day it was one thing and after that day is another. (Raquel, Dominican migrant, assistant principal)
Two Cases
Bonifacio Puerto Rican, San Juan
Internal: Puerto Rican Expressed: White Perceived: Black Observed: Black
(maybe Hispanic)
Raquel Dominican, New York
Internal: Black Expressed: Black Perceived: Dominican Observed: White
Puerto Rican Race Measures
Internal Expressed (Census)
Perceived Observed
Latino/ Hispanic
17.9 28.6 46.2 32.1
Nationality 46.4 35.7 34.6 --
White 14.3 42.9 3.8 60.7
Black 7.1 14.3 3.8 25.0
Mixed/
Intermediate10.7 7.1 -- 3.6
Multiple responses coded; N=28
Dominican Race Measures
Internal Expressed (Census)
Perceived Observed
Latino/ Hispanic
59.4 53.1 41.4 34.4
Nationality 18.8 25.0 48.3 --
White 6.3 9.4 -- 40.6
Black 3.1 12.5 20.7 43.8
Mixed/
Intermediate15.6 18.8 -- --
Multiple responses coded; N=32
White, Black, Hispanic
It’s a little disconcerting for us, people who were born in other places and were raised in other places, when we arrive here, and usually in our countries we think that there are people of Caucasian, Black, Asian race. And it’s the biggest surprise when you come to New York and see that you don’t qualify in any category that you thought you belong to…
Q: Are you saying that they don't consider you White?
[Yes.] I think it’s that there’s always a perception that Hispanics are another thing different than Caucasian.…I first realized [it] when I was… working as a teacher in a program in Brooklyn and in the summer we had assistants, students, and most of them were Black. And one day one of the girls told me “Ah, you’re the Puerto Rican that thinks he’s White.” And I was so surprised because until that moment I didn’t think that there were any differences between [them], and then I learned that each thing is seen different. (Miguel, Puerto Rican migrant, community liaison for a public corporation)
Consistency between Expressed & Observed Race
Puerto Ricans Dominicans
Consistency 32.1 18.8
Inconsistency 35.7 71.9
Identified as ethnic; classified as panethnic
10.7 --
Multiple answers, one consistent
21.4 9.4
N 28 32
Conclusions
The shift toward racial self-identification makes Census race questions about “self-expression”
But self-expression is not a purpose for collecting racial and ethnic data
The form of race data need to be better represent the way that discrimination functions.
How can this be done?
National censuses could return to interviewer enumeration and adopt a variety of measures of race
Return to interviewer-enumeration for the Census 5% sample
Develop separate nation-wide surveys that focus on race and discrimination
How can this be done?
Develop new technologies to measure skin colour
Tailor research design to particular types of discrimination
Thank you
Photographic Instrument
Interview Context
• Conducted in Spanish
• Completed with a native Research Assistant
• Discussions with RAs for their perspectives
“Folk” Racial TermsTerm Approximate meaning
Blanco(a) White Blanquito(a) Literally, little white; figuratively, elitist, upper-class Colorao(a) Redheaded, reddish skin Rubio(a) Blonde Cano(a) Blonde, fair-skinned Jincho(a) Pale-skinned; sometimes used pejoratively Blanco(a) con raja Literally, white with a crack; white with some visible black features Jabao(a) Fair-skinned with curly hair Trigueño(a) Literally, wheat-colored or brunette; usually light mulatto Moreno(a) Dark-skinned; usually dark mulatto Mulato(a) Mixed-race; rarely used in public Indio(a) Literally, Indian; brown-skinned with straight hair Café con leche Literally, coffee with milk; tan or brown-skinned Piel canela Literally, cinnamon skin; tan or brown-skinned Prieto(a) Dark-skinned; usually derogatory Grifo(a) Dark-skinned with kinky hair; usually derogatory De color Euphemism for black; usually meaning black Negro(a) Black; rarely used as a term of reference Negrito(a) Literally, little black; usually used as a term of endearment
Source: Duany (2001).
Variants of Racial Schema
Latin American racial schema Any Latin American “folk terms” beyond just White and Black
U.S. racial schema
Pure U.S. schema Uses only categories White and Black, with any racial mixture classified as Black.
Hispanicized U.S. schema Uses categories White, Black, and Latino (or Hispanic).
Nationality racial schema
Pure Nationality schema Uses only nationalities and ethnic groups.
Panethnic Nationality schema Uses nationalities and ethnic groups, as well as Latino (or Hispanic).