2010 Census

If you haven’t mailed in your census form, you need to get it done. Amid all the chaos and flurry of contempt, racial profiling, gender and marital status disagreements, it is a valuable tool in more ways than one in “counting” people. Biblically, Mary and Joseph took part in the census (Luke 2:1-4) and the book of Numbers is a census record (of sorts) of the tribes.


I have to admit I’m a bit irritated by the 2010 census form. First of all, I received a LETTER from the US Government – never a cheery thing in my mind – to remind me that the Census form is coming and to fill it out; a few weeks later I received the actual census form in the mail. Another two weeks and I received a postcard to remind me (again) to fill it out. Boy, I’m glad our country isn’t in debt up to its eyeballs; and that the postal service will be cutting service to 5 days a week to save money. I’m sure the bulk postage rates for the government is slightly less than for civilians, but was it really necessary to send out TWO reminders? I don’t even get reminders to vote from the government during a presidential election year! (Of course, they probably figure I get enough mailings from candidates to fulfill that role, or maybe they just don't want my right-wing, religious vote.)

It’s also odd that I don’t remember getting a form for the 1990 or 2000 census. I’ve lived at this address for 23 years and don’t ever remember completing a census form or having a census worker come to our house. I feel left-out and unnecessary, somehow.

As a genealogist, the census is important for a number of reasons; including finding “lost” family members or confirming residence or nationality of that family. I have used it many, many times in my searches to prove or disprove that that family member was indeed my family member (or not). The old census forms were interesting documents, containing district/county/city/location of the family, number of people in the household (whether related or not), occupations, ages and place of birth for each member of the household. Census forms are made *public* after 72 years; the estimated time a person is expected to live. Keeping in mind that after 72 years, people have died, divorced, re-married or moved, it’s really not that much of an intrusion of privacy.

Our census now only asks for birth date (including year), sex/gender, name, relationship to the first person listed and *race*. The race question has been a hot topic this census season. “Race” is defined (dictionary.com) as a group of persons related by common descent or heredity. Synonymous with tribe, clan, family, stock, line, breed.

If one of the purposes of census is to count racial diversity, then the choices given are adequate, but not nearly enough. For instance, although I may be considered *white*, I am no more or less white than all Hispanics or Latinos are *brown*, African-Americans are *black* or Asians are *yellow*.

Race is not color; although it seems culturally in this day and age, to be adjoined with color. Race is where your people came from. Apparently (according to Dictionary.com) in biological and anthropological systems of classification RACE refers to a group of persons who share such genetically transmitted traits as skin color, hair texture, and eye shape or color. However this is as confusing now as it is insulting. To say all Asians are *yellow* denies the fact that they may be of a mixed ethnic background. To say all *black* people are African-American rejects the idea that they may be Jamaican or not of African descent. To call me *white* means you have completely forgotten about my Irish and Italian ancestors who came to America through Ellis Island and became citizens of their new country.

I was born in America, as were many of the people who are loudly complaining about their civil rights and violation of privacy through the census. I no more consider myself an “Italian-Irish-American” than others should consider themselves “African-American” or “Latino-American”. The question of race is not a matter of what country you claim as your nation of citizenry; it is a question of what group of people do you claim as your heritage? That being said, you are either African or Latin(o) or Irish or Cuban or…

America is a melting pot of nationalities. There have been people far more *native* than I am here for hundreds of years, and we classify them as “Native American” so as not to confuse or insult those from the actual country of India (but are those from India British or Indian?). I agree the form would be confusing to those who don’t know their heritage or sinister to those that suspect a government conspiracy in claiming they were Jewish or Muslim (both considered as race and a religion).

There is also the matter of the *purpose* of knowing that information. If it is to count the number of programs or special interest groups needed to put people on an equal footing; I admit I have suspicions as well as understanding. If the government needs to classify the information, someone has to read, sort, catalogue and guard the secrecy of such documents. Someone needs to read the data and use it to determine how many schools or safety officers or representatives each state or area needs.

The questions could be far better answered by returning to the classic questions of where were you born? Where were your parents born? And what country can claim you as a citizen? Sometimes a computer-read, human interpreted form is not the best way to answer the delicate and multi-faceted questions that the census needs to answer.

Since my choices were “white” (blah, blah, blah) and “other”, I answered all husband and sons’ questions with “white” and mine with “white” and “Irish-Italian”. Yes, I’m really a rebel.