Thuppal: Checking up on census race categories

About a month ago, I began getting notices in the mail about the U.S. Census and how it was… About a month ago, I began getting notices in the mail about the U.S. Census and how it was very important that I fill out and return the attached form. Naturally, I looked it over, left it in my living room, and eventually threw it out.

But after several of these envelopes ended up in the trash, I guess the government decided that my roommates and I were important enough to warrant an in-person census at my front door. The whole thing lasted less than 10 minutes — and frankly it probably wouldn’t have taken long to fill out and mail back. But even though the whole thing was a painless process, there’s one section of the Census that still irks me — checking in ethnic background.

Recently there’s been a bit of controversy over the choice that President Barack Obama made regarding his race. In that section, he selected “black, African-American or Negro” and nothing else. For those of you still playing by the one-drop rule, this wouldn’t have raised any eyebrows.

But for others, Obama’s rejection of his option to also select “white” or “some other race” seems out of character for someone who has made no secret of his mixed racial background. Obama’s mother and grandparents raised him in Hawaii, and he barely saw his Kenyan father during that time.

A Washington Post article quoted the president as saying, “I self-identify as an African-American. That’s how I am treated and that’s how I am viewed and I’m proud of it.” (And I take it he identifies with all black Americans, not just those from Africa or those who have ethnic ties to Africa). But in his acclaimed 2008 speech, Obama said that he could no more disown the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who had made controversial remarks about race, than he could his white grandmother. He seems to have done just that.

Additionally, Obama’s identification with African-Americans hasn’t always been so strong. In his memoir, “Dreams from My Father,” he even speaks of his uncomfortable encounters with other black students during his time at Occidental College. As someone who didn’t share their experiences in inner city Los Angeles, he felt isolated during events run by black student groups.

Perhaps this was Obama’s attempt to disprove critics like “The Boondocks” creator, Aaron McGruder, who questioned how black the President really was during his run for office. But that seems unlikely since Obama’s appeal seemed to be based on his inclusiveness and ability to relate to people of all backgrounds.

But I don’t think Obama was trying to make a statement regarding how black he was. He’s as much a victim of the desire to neatly categorize our population as any other American.

Even as someone who isn’t of mixed ethnic background, to me, the U.S. Census still has issues with its presentation of race. When I was asked to select the category that best represented me, I chose “Asian Indian.”

Yet, there are many different subcategories of “Asian Indian” that are present within this larger umbrella term. People who come from India, like me, India often categorize themselves as being from distinctive ethnic groups — Bengalis, Tamils, Gujaratis — with their own special languages and customs.

Believing that such a category is an appropriate one is akin to saying that people from Egypt and South Africa can effectively be viewed as simply African, as if such a term linked them through anything more than geography.

At the end of the day, everyone taking the census — immigrants, citizens, naturalized individuals — is American, in some way or another. Still, they haven’t decided to give up their cultural identity, and identity shouldn’t be undervalued. A checkmark on a form isn’t asking Americans to abandon whatever influence ethnicity has on their lifestyles, but it’s tacitly asking for conformity in a country that prides itself on individuality.

Maybe I’m looking too far into the implications of the question. After all, it’s only a simple attempt to survey the American population, right? But such a simple attempt should be expanded so that individuals aren’t pressured to squeeze into the neat little boxes next to each race.

The ethnic backgrounds of modern Americans is far from simple. Let’s not try to fool ourselves into thinking otherwise.

E-mail Hay at hat23@pitt.edu.