Is Latino a Race or an Ethnicity?

A brief overview of where Latinos fit in the "checkbox" of race and ethnicity.

Race and ethnicity are terms often used interchangeably as categories to identify the population, however, the two terms have different meanings.

Race refers to the division of people into groups based on physical characteristics. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, race is a group humans are divided into based on physical characteristics such as appearance or knowledge of descent. It is something created and recreated over time. Whereas, ethnicity is a broader categorical term identifying populations of people based on geographical regions, language spoken, customs, and history. Ethnicity is a form of social organization based on real or perceived cultural traits rooted in common descent. 

For the U.S. Census, race is associated with biology such as hair texture and skin color - especially, skin color. Even though some people may have similar features or hair texture, they can be classified as being of different races. For the most part, race in 2023 is considered White, Black or African American, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. The classification of race has changed over time. In the 1900s census only, White, Black, Chinese, Japanese, and American Indian were listed as options. In the 1910 census, Mulatto - a term for mixed race - was added as well as "other." In the 1977 census, Hispanic was added as an ethnic category. Recently, there has been a shift from "check one box" to "check all that apply" on paperwork given out for job applications, school admission forms, and other forms of self-identifying documents. 

Federal policy defines “Hispanic” not as a race, but as an ethnicity. And it prescribes that Hispanics can in fact be of any race. A new Pew Research Center survey of multiracial Americans finds that, for two-thirds of Hispanics, their Hispanic background is a part of their racial background – not something separate. This suggests that Hispanics have a unique view of race that doesn’t necessarily fit within the official U.S. definitions.

This distinctive view of race is consistent across demographic subgroups of Latino adults. For example, 69% of young Latino adults ages 18 to 29 say their Latino background is part of their racial background, as does a similar share of those in other age groups, including those 65 and older. Similar views are held among Hispanics who use Spanish as their main language (67%) and those who use English as their main language (66%).

This finding sheds light on some of the challenges the Census Bureau has faced in asking Hispanics about their ethnic and racial background in surveys. Since 1980, the Census Bureau has asked everyone in the U.S. about their Hispanic origin separately from their race, and since 2000 it has allowed people to select more than one race in addition to their Hispanic background. (Pew Research Center)

An article titled, "The U.S. Census Bureau Keeps Confusing Race and Ethnicity," highlights research that a person who identifies as “Hispanic but is perceived as light-skinned” does not experience the same level of discrimination as a “Hispanic person who is seen as having darker skin.” This is where the U.S. Census lacks in capturing the different experiences between racial lines. Nancy Lopez, a Sociologist, Director of the Institute for the Study of "Race" & Social Justice, and author of the article claims that the way the U.S. Census captures race and ethnicity undermines the country's ability to serve vulnerable communities. She states, "Without reliable data, it's difficult to track whether Americans of different colors and backgrounds receive equitable opportunities in housing, voting, employment or education." 

For Latinos, identifying as Latino in both race and ethnicity is fluidly possible for many reasons. Lopez emphasizes that because of colonization, national origin for natives and Hispanics does not predict race. "By not including a single Hispanic origin group under the "White" or "Black" race box the 2020 census inadvertently contributes to the false idea that people of Hispanic origin are all of the same race or color."  In the Caribbean and Latin America, because of colonization, race can be identified as white, black, and native. This leaves Hispanics confused and often checking the “other” race box.

When the U.S. Census first offered the “other” box in 1910, it was not done in a way that anticipated an overwhelming use. In an effort to create a census that is more inclusive of other identities, the Biden administration is proposing major changes to forms for the 2030 census and federal government surveys that would transform how Latinos and people of Middle Eastern or North African descent are counted in statistics across the United States.

A new checkbox for "Middle Eastern or North African" and a "Hispanic or Latino" box that appears under a reformatted question asking for a person's race or ethnicity are among the early recommendations announced in a Federal Register notice, which was made available on Jan. 26 for public inspection ahead of its official publication.

If approved, the changes would address longstanding difficulties many Latinos have had in answering a question about race that does not include a response option for Hispanic or Latino, which the federal government recognizes only as an ethnicity that can be of any race. (NPR)

Humans share over 99 percent of their genetic material with one another, and variation occurs more between individuals than ethnic groups. Nevertheless, the legacies of racial and ethnic constructs can be spotted in everything from housing to health. Racial and ethnic prejudices affect the distribution of wealth, power, and opportunity, and create enduring social stratifications. (National Geographic)