Shades of Belonging: Latinos and Racial Identity

Abstract

1. Introduction In a now familiar decennial ritual, Americans completed their census questionnaires in the spring of 2000. Most identified their by selecting one or more of the five standard categories--White, Black, American Indian, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. But for millions of Americans the standard categories did not fit (Figure 1). By the millions, these Americans ticked the last available box, identifying themselves as other race (SOR). Numbered at 15 million, these other race Americans constituted a group larger than Asians and American Indians combined. And size was not the only distinguishing characteristic of the SOR population. The vast majority is also of Hispanic origin. (1) Their Hispanic ethnic origin was clear because the census makes a distinction between the concepts of and ethnicity and therefore tabulates Hispanic origin separate from (Figure 1). (2) Among the 246 million non-Hispanic Americans, the SOR category was far less attractive. Fewer than half a million non-Hispanics ticked off other race (Table 1). And these half-million respondents amounted to less than 1 percent of all non-Hispanics. In contrast, the SOR category drew in 42 percent of the Hispanic population. In fact, among Hispanics only White Hispanics comprised a larger share of the Hispanic population (48 percent). Even with 31 different standard single and multiple combinations to choose from, the vast majority of Hispanics in the United States fell into just these two categories. Nearly half identified themselves as White, a racial identity that they shared with the majority (69 percent) of non-Hispanics. And most of the remaining Hispanics selected SOR, a category only sparsely populated by non-Hispanics. This pattern of Hispanic responses was not the result of an organized political campaign. In fact, estimates of the size and potential political clout of the Hispanic population are tied to the Hispanic origin question, not to the question. So why do some Hispanics choose White while others choose SOR? Are these two groups of Hispanics one and the same in other respects? Evidence from several sources suggests that SOR Hispanics are different than White Hispanics, and the differences fall into a consistent pattern. This report details those differences using data from the 2000 Census, showing that SOR Hispanics are less educated, less likely to be citizens, poorer, less likely to speak English exclusively and less often intermarried with non-Hispanic Whites. Focus group responses and attitudinal survey data support these findings. The socioeconomic profiles, the attitudes, the language usage and even the reported political behavior of SOR Hispanics consistently place them at a distance from non-Hispanic Whites. In comparison, White Hispanics consistently occupy the intermediate ground between SOR Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites. Even after removing immigrants from the analyses, compared to White U.S.-born Hispanics, SOR Hispanics occupy a more marginalized socioeconomic position, more often report having experienced discrimination and less often report behaviors consistent with strong civic bonds. These results are significant because they show that for Hispanics racial identity is not immutable. Rather, it is at least partially a function of education, citizenship, civic participation and economic status. However, these results do not necessarily mean that the color lines in American society are fading. With the growth of the Hispanic population, the boundaries are shifting, at least for Latinos, to encompass factors other than skin color. The Latino experience suggests that Whiteness remains an important measure of belonging, stature and acceptance. And a large segment of the Hispanic population, SOR Hispanics, may be feeling left out. Much of the following data is derived from the 2000 Census, 5 percent sample. …

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