After more than 200 years, the census had stopped dictating who people had to be and asked me to define myself. |
For the first time, the 2000 Census offered an option for mixed race that gave the respondent the chance to self-declare the components of his or her own identity. Dozens of racial and ethnic categories were listed for those who wished to check all the boxes of their multicultural, multi-racial, selves, including a box for white, allowing people like me to acknowledge, legally and honorably, both sides of their heritage. After more than 200 years, the census had stopped dictating who people had to be and asked me to define myself.
E. Dolores Johnson, “The Census Always Boxed Us Out,” Narratively, October 30, 2017. http://narrative.ly/census-always-boxed-us/.
Tags: E. Dolores Johnson, Narratively