Put another way, race and ethnicity are social and political constructs. Still, they carry enormous consequences in the US, Jiménez and other scholars say. Here’s how to make sense of them.

The US Census Bureau on Race vs. Ethnicity. You might wonder why you’re asked about race and ethnicity when you complete the census, medical forms, and job applications.

And in fact, there’s a very simple explanation for why it’s so hard to fit people neatly into these vague buckets: Race, from a scientific, genetic, and biological perspective, does not exist.

Census categories for race and ethnicity have shaped how the nation sees itself. Here’s how they have changed over the last 230 years. By K.K. Rebecca Lai and Jennifer Medina Oct. 16, 2023 Since ...

Examples of how race and ethnicity overlap. Despite their importance in our society, the categories of race and ethnicity are far from fixed.

For example, the antiquated term “Negro” was used in nine decennial censuses until 2010. With 24 decennial censuses so far, race options have changed more than a dozen times, as new groups ...