US takes step toward MENA category in census

The US government has taken a new step this week toward including Americans with Middle East and North Africa backgrounds in the US census, a long-advocated goal by Arab Americans and others with roots in the region.

"Today, the Office of the Chief Statistician is taking a key step forward in its formal process to revise OMB’s (Office of Management and Budget) statistical standards for collecting and reporting race and ethnicity data across Federal agencies," Karin Orvis, Chief Statistician of the United States, wrote in a public statement on Thursday.

What's important for American citizens with MENA backgrounds will potentially be the US Census collecting race and ethnicity together with a single question; adding a response category for Middle Eastern and North African, - separate and distinct from the “White” category; and updating terminology, definitions, and question wording.

The announcement refers to federal race and ethnicity standards but the main effect will be on the census, which can determine important aspects of people's daily lives, including everything from federal funding for disadvantaged communities to the drawing of voting districts.

Until now, those with MENA backgrounds have had to choose between the categories of "white" and "other". For the 2030 census, they might have the option of ticking their own box or boxes.

"One of the things that was a little troubling about the 2020 census was that the second highest reported category was 'other race,'" Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, told The New Arab.

"There have been ways to update how the census collects data. We've been actively working on the MENA checkbox, so that people can check if they're from the MENA region." 

This new development is a long time in the making. The Arab American Institute first partnered with the census in 1990 with community surveys, and in 2015 they tested the MENA category, combining race and ethnicity.

"With the combined question about race and ethnicity, when you see all of those categories, you can check all that apply. It's all about self-identification. If I'm an Arab and a Latino, I would check both. You can check all that apply," said Berry. "The most important thing is to understand that this is an important development for an underrepresented community that has been working for decades for representation."