Mixed Race Studies

Part-Latinos and Racial Reporting in the Census: An Issue of Question Format?

Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
July 2016, Volume 2, Number 3
pages 289-306
DOI: 10.1177/2332649215613531

Michael Hajime Miyawaki, Assistant Professor of Sociology
Hendrix College, Conway, Arkansas

In this study, the author examines the racial reporting decisions of the offspring of Latino/non-Latino white, black, and Asian intermarriages, focusing on the meanings associated with their racial responses in the 2010 census and their thoughts on the separate race and Hispanic origin question format. Through interviews with 50 part-Latinos from New York, the findings demonstrated that their racial responses were shaped largely by question design, often due to the lack of Hispanic origins in the race question. Many added that their responses did not reflect their racial identity as “mixed” or as “both” Latino and white, black, or Asian. Most preferred “Latino” racial categories, and when given the option in a combined race and Hispanic origin question format, they overwhelmingly marked Latino in combination with white, black, or Asian. Part-Latinos’ preference for “Latino” racial options may stem from the racialization of Latinos as nonwhite and their desire to express all aspects of their mixed heritage identity. Moreover, the contrast in racial reporting in the 2010 census and the Census Bureau’s recently proposed “race or origin” question for the 2020 census could result in different population counts and interpretations of racial statistics.

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The racial identity of the offspring of Latino intermarriage: A case of racial identity and census categories

Fordham University, Bronx, New York
May 2013
241 pages

Michael Hajime Miyawaki

Since 1970, rates of Latino intermarriage and the number of “part-Latinos” have been on the rise in the United States. Among newlyweds, Latino/non-Latino couples account for over 40 percent of all mixed marriages. In places like California, part-Latinos already make up more than two thirds of mixed heritage births. Despite these demographic trends, part-Latinos remain an understudied population. In my dissertation, I examine the racial identity of the offspring of Latino/non-Latino white, black, and Asian intermarriages. To investigate part-Latino racial identity, I rely on multiple measures of race using quantitative and qualitative research methods. First, I look at how Latino/non-Latino couples racially classify their children using data from the 2008-2010 American Community Survey (ACS). Second, I use the same dataset to analyze how part-Latino adults racially report themselves. Third, for an in-depth analysis of racial identity, I interview 50 part-Latinos from the New York metropolitan area, focusing on the meanings that they attribute to their racial responses in the 2010 Census and their “lived racial identity” experience. Findings from the ACS indicate that the majority of Latino/non-Latino white and black children are classified by their parents as “white” and “black,” respectively, whereas most Latino/non-Latino Asian children are given a “multiracial” classification. Similar patterns in racial reporting in the ACS are found among part-Latino adults. While these findings suggest that part-Latinos racially identify as white, black, and even multiracial, interviews with part-Latinos reveal that their racial responses in the Census do not always correspond with their racial identity. Many feel constrained by question format because Hispanic origins are not included in the race question. If given a “Latino” option, the majority of my respondents would report being Latino and white, black, or Asian. Overall, most part-Latino respondents racially identify as “mixed,” particularly among Latino/non-Latino blacks and Asians. For some, their racial identity has changed over time and across situations. Lastly, their experience being classified by others are influenced by not only by their physical appearance and ethnic markers (e.g., name), but also vary by region (e.g., California vs. New York). These findings point to the complexity of part-Latino racial identity.

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