Confused about ethnicity..

[MMDG 106]

Ethnicity 

Not Hispanic or Latino

Hispanic or Latino

 

Race  Select all that apply 

White

Asian

Black or African American

American Indian or Alaska Native

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander         I’m Arab. (Half North African/half middle eastern (Levant)    what am I supposed to choose? Am I supposed to check “black” because my country is in North Africa? Am I supposed to check “Asian” because my other country is in southwestern Asia?    can I leave this blank?

Edited January 16, 2023 by MMDG

[SalishSea 17,826]

18 minutes ago, MMDG said:

Ethnicity 

Not Hispanic or Latino

Hispanic or Latino

 

Race  Select all that apply 

White

Asian

Black or African American

American Indian or Alaska Native

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander         I’m Arab. (Half North African/half middle eastern (Levant)    what am I supposed to choose? Am I supposed to check “black” because my country is in North Africa? Am I supposed to check “Asian” because my other country is in southwestern Asia?    can I leave this blank?

You can absolutely leave it blank, or you can check the one that feels the most like you.  Unfortunately, modern American forms do not reflect the ethnicity (or races) of those who live here accurately.

[Skon 9]

The US government considers Northern Africans to be white so do white or two/three races

[SalishSea 17,826]

56 minutes ago, Skon said:

The US government considers Northern Africans to be white so do white or two/three races

Not exactly.  An individual filling out any form has the right to self-determine race/ethnicity.  The government collects the data, and that's it.

[Pinkrlion 2,716]

There should be a selection of two races or more. I understand as I am half Irish.   By US laws any African decent you are considered African American. 

[MMDG 106]

Found this on the internet 

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2117940119

 

 I never had to choose my race on any form! In my whole life I just knew I was arab and definitely treated as such around airports in Europe,Asia and even in the Caribbean 😅

 

I hope they would add MENA (Middle eastern northern African) as the link above states because it would describe me and how I identify perfectly.

 

i did DNA testing and those were my results

 

 

[top_secret 2,417]

They have USCIS's definitions in the instructions.  Such as they are. 

 

Quote

A. Ethnicity and Race. Select the boxes that best describe your ethnicity and race.

Categories and Definitions for Ethnicity and Race

 

1. Hispanic or Latino. A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. (NOTE: This category is only included under Ethnicity in Part 7., Item Number 1.)
2. White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
3. Asian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
4. Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
5. American Indian or Alaska Native. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.
6. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

 

[MMDG 106]

1 hour ago, top_secret said:

They have USCIS's definitions in the instructions.  Such as they are. 

 

 

Absurd.

to me its misrepresentation if I check white based on this list. But till they add more groups I’ll choose other if available.

[Skon 9]

On 1/16/2023 at 7:04 PM, MMDG said:

Found this on the internet 

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2117940119

 

 I never had to choose my race on any form! In my whole life I just knew I was arab and definitely treated as such around airports in Europe,Asia and even in the Caribbean 😅

 

I hope they would add MENA (Middle eastern northern African) as the link above states because it would describe me and how I identify perfectly.

 

i did DNA testing and those were my results

 

 

I did the test too and I barely have DNA from arab countries. I don’t think Northern Africans should be considered arabs but you’re free to identify yourself the way you please. 

[iwannaplay54 985]

On 1/15/2023 at 9:40 PM, MMDG said:

Ethnicity 

Not Hispanic or Latino

Hispanic or Latino

 

Race  Select all that apply 

White

Asian

Black or African American

American Indian or Alaska Native

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander         I’m Arab. (Half North African/half middle eastern (Levant)    what am I supposed to choose? Am I supposed to check “black” because my country is in North Africa? Am I supposed to check “Asian” because my other country is in southwestern Asia?    can I leave this blank?

Check all.  African and Asian, not hispanic.  “African” is not just “black”.  Let them figure it out from there LOL.  I know few Arabs who are comfortable with “white”.

Edited January 20, 2023 by iwannaplay54

[ujongjoe 6]

This works similarly in Singapore where you are either Chinese, Malay, Indian or Others (CMIO) because CMI are the 3 dominate races… they don’t really care about other small minorities (at least for the purposes of data collection). It only has meaning to individuals, and this results in everyone who is not CMI feeling like a square peg that doesn’t fit.

[MMDG 106]

Good news this morning 😃

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/new-us-race-ethnicity-standards-proposed-97-96695682