Arab Americans say the census and other forms don't consider their roots

Arab identity seems to be divided along generational lines. Younger Arabs see themselves as people of color while older people see themselves as white.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Some 3.7 million Americans trace their roots back to an Arab country. That's according to the nonprofit Arab American Institute. Still, when it comes to being properly reflected on government forms like the U.S. Census¹, many say their roots may as well be invisible. And some want change. From member station GBH in Boston, Saraya Wintersmith reports.

SARAYA WINTERSMITH, BYLINE²: When 38-year-old Mohammed Missouri (ph) filled out his most recent census, he felt conflicted about what to mark for race.

MOHAMMED MISSOURI: Like, I was staring at the form, contemplating³ putting in other. But then, it's a government form. It clearly specifies⁴ what falls within Caucasian. And so eventually, I had to do it.

WINTERSMITH: Missouri is originally from Iraq. And when he's not filling out documents, he identifies as Arab American. He acknowledges people can't readily gauge⁵ his ethnicity just by looking at him. Still, Missouri says, the census categorizes him and people with similar backgrounds incorrectly by forcing them to be counted as white.

MISSOURI: It's false for me. I'm not white. Period.

WINTERSMITH: Missouri is not alone in his belief. A new study from a trio of researchers supports adding a new category to the U.S. Census for those who identify as Middle Eastern or North African - or MENA. Back when the Trump⁶ administration revealed it was rejecting researchers' recommendation to add that MENA category to the census, Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib grilled⁷ the bureau director, Steven Dillingham, over the decision.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RASHIDA TLAIB: So Director, are you aware that people like me who are Arab, Middle Eastern, North African have to indicate that they are white on the U.S. Census?

WINTERSMITH: Tlaib's district includes the Dearborn Heights area. It falls within Wayne County, which, the LA Times reports, has the third-largest MENA population in the U.S. behind LA County and the New York City area. Tlaib argued, adding the MENA category would help to more accurately⁸ reflect people's lived experience in data.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TLAIB: Because the MENA community, like others, relies on accurate census representation for health research, Director...

STEVEN DILLINGHAM: Certainly.

TLAIB: ...Language assistance, civil rights laws and reporting educational outcomes, and drawing congressional and state legislative⁹ boundaries.

WINTERSMITH: Since then, the Biden administration has indicated it's reviewing the previously¹⁰ rejected MENA category.

EMILY SHAMIEH: Hi, Saraya.

WINTERSMITH: Hi, Emily.

SHAMIEH: Come on in.

WINTERSMITH: It's good to meet you in person.

For Emily Shamieh (ph), it's less urgent. Her family has roots in Lebanon and Syria. She says, she looks white and gets the benefits of being white. So checking that box isn't the worst thing.

SHAMIEH: Race is something that was created so that white people who slaughtered¹² Indians, who enslaved African Americans - Africans, could justify¹³ their slaughter¹¹ and their enslavement. And I haven't been the victim of any of that. So if you're going to have what was called protected classes when I was much younger, then I don't need that.

WINTERSMITH: The difference of opinion between Shamieh and Rep Tlaib in Missouri likely springs from a generational divide experts say exists among the MENA community.

NADINE NABER: You know, I'm 52. And the people in my parents' generation, a lot of them have a different racial identification than people in my generation and those who are younger.

WINTERSMITH: That's Professor Nadine Naber. She teaches at the University of Illinois Chicago in Cook County, another place with one of the nation's largest MENA communities. She says, if you're an Arab person who came of age around the time of 9/11, you likely experienced anti-Arab racism¹⁴.

NABER: Everywhere you look, you know, society is saying, Arabs are bad. Muslims are bad. So it's almost impossible, you know, to have formed a consciousness of Arabs as white for the younger folks.

WINTERSMITH: Naber wants to see the Biden administration add the MENA category to the census and other documents. Attorney Michael Van Cleve (ph) isn't waiting. He's suing the Biden administration, saying the census data is degraded without the new category.

MICHAEL VAN CLEVE: That is kind of the core of this case is whether or not the race data and the race categories are accurate for today's America.

WINTERSMITH: Recent NPR reporting shows the Trump administration tried to tamper¹⁵ with the census count on the back end. That's in addition to the widely reported issues with an accelerated timeline and citizenship¹⁶ data. Van Cleve's case, which is about data integrity, is now on appeal in the 11th Circuit.

VAN CLEVE: Would it probably be in the best interest of America for this issue to be resolved without litigation? Yes, I think so.

WINTERSMITH: The Federal Office of Management and Budget, which sets the categories for race and ethnicity data, declined to comment for this story. If Van Cleve prevails, his case will move forward with a three-judge panel. Mohammed Missouri is eager to see the designation, whether it comes through the courts or through executive action.

MISSOURI: When the president talks about being inclusive and saying nice things about the Arab American community or something, that doesn't mean anything to me if the policies remain the same.

WINTERSMITH: The next U.S. Census that might count North African and Middle Eastern people differently is eight years away.

For NPR News, I'm Saraya Wintersmith.

[POST-BROADCAST CLARIFICATION: In this story, we stated that the Trump administration "rejected" a recommendation to add a category for MENA on the 2020 Census. In fact, the Trump administration failed to take action on the proposal via the Office of Budget Management, forcing the Census Bureau to proceed without the new category.]

1 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

4 specifies   

v.指定( specify的第三人称单数 )；详述；提出…的条件；使具有特性

参考例句：

• The third clause of the contract specifies steel sashes for the windows. 合同的第三款指定使用钢窗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The contract specifies red tiles, not slates, for the roof. 合同规定屋顶用红瓦，并非石板瓦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

6 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

7 grilled   

adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后，警察才放他走。
• He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问，直到他承认为止。

8 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

9 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

10 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

11 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

12 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

14 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

15 tamper   

v.干预，玩弄，贿赂，窜改，削弱，损害

参考例句：

• Do not tamper with other's business.不要干预别人的事。
• They had strict orders not to tamper with the customs of the minorities.他们得到命令严禁干涉少数民族的风俗习惯。

16 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。