Feds taking first steps toward revising race, ethnic terms
By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press
The federal government is taking preliminary steps toward revising racial and ethnic classifications that haven’t been changed in a quarter century following calls for better categories for how people identify themselves in federal data gathering. The revisions could open the door to changes long desired by advocates on census and survey forms. Among them are a new category for people of Middle Eastern and North African descent and efforts to make categories less confusing for Hispanic participants. The U.S. chief statistician said in a blog post on Wednesday that her office was initiating a formal review of the classifications maintained by the Office of Management and Budget.
