Census Director Apologizes for the word “Negro” on the Census form
From the New York Times:
When Robert Groves, the director of the Census Bureau, appeared on C-Span’s “Washington Journal” program Friday morning, he found himself having to defend the racial designations on the census form.
A female caller posed this question: “I am black. I did not appreciate the black, the African-American, and Negro. … I do not like that…. It really hurt my feelings … that to me is racist.”
Mr. Groves, who has dealt with the ‘Negro’ designation before, apologized once again, explaining that before the 2000 Census began, there were many older African-Americans who called themselves “Negro.”
He also said he doubted that the category would still be around for the next census:
The intent of every word on the race and ethnicity questions is to be as inclusive as possible so that all of us could see a word here that rings a bell for us. […] It was not to be offensive, and again I apologize on that. My speculation is that, in 2020, that word will disappear, and there are going to be other words that are going to change.
Tags: apologizes, apology, C-Span, negro, Robert M. Groves
