Race question in report.

The options for the person's race in one of the MF reports is African-American, Caucasian, Asian, Hispanic, and Other.

What about Jamaican-Americans? Jamaica is nowhere near Africa, rather it's in North America. In the past I've encountered Jamaican employees so I put down as other. I have a Jamaican friend so I am used to hearing their accent.

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Race is subjective. By your explanation, it sounds like 'Other' could be a reasonable fit then.

I consider 'Black' to be a race, but since 'African-American' is used (I'd consider this an ethnicity), my gut would've chosen 'Other' if I were in your shoes.

Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/15/2016 12:20AM by Tarantado.

Some people don't fit into these categories. You probably made the right choice in selecting "Other."

Those Ancestry.com commercials really make you think about this question, huh? There's one where a gal says she never knew "what" she was. The graph that pops up doesn't, to me, match her appearance. The point of the question is to serve as an identifier of the employee, though. It's as subjective as age! (My age is almost always guessed 10-15 years younger than my actual age.) I just give it my best guess, or select other.

Someone thought I was italian while I was wearing a baseball cap. I''ve heard some say I don't look full on asian, perhaps of my facial features and that I am 6'2".

I am full on asian.

@DavePi wrote:

Someone thought I was italian while I was wearing a baseball cap. I''ve heard some say I don't look full on asian, perhaps of my facial features and that I am 6'2".

I am full on asian.

Lol Italian isn't even a race though.

Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!

The cashier looked Caucasian and that was on my report. However, the couple times I was back, I learned she was actually of the same ancestry as myself but she had dyed her hair blonde. So, the same cashier became 'Other' in my next report. I really believe that basing a description on the race is not foolproof.

Is Muslim Mexican a race?

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

@risinghorizon wrote:

The cashier looked Caucasian and that was on my report. However, the couple times I was back, I learned she was actually of the same ancestry as myself but she had dyed her hair blonde. So, the same cashier became 'Other' in my next report. I really believe that basing a description on the race is not foolproof.

Don't worry about it. It's not meant to be foolproof. It's meant to identify to the client which of the employees working at that time it might have been. If there are three dark-brown-haired employees, and you think the one who helped you was Caucasian, they will likely know, for example, that it wasn't the Hispanic employee, or the African-American employee, who also have dark brown hair. No, it's not a perfect identifier, and I think they know it can't be.

I find the less I worry about what they want, and just report the facts, the easier my shops go. If a description is fuzzy, a best guess is almost always sufficient. I have never been questioned on the race description. If I was, I would say that "my best assessment was that the employee was (whatever race)." Because that is the fact. And we aren't doing DNA evaluation. Always, always, if there is any doubt, and if there is anywhere on the survey to comment to editor or MSC only, put a comment in there about it.

And don't worry about it!

According to Census.gov, the five "official" race categories are "White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander."

Regarding Hispanic: "Origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person’s ancestors before their arrival in the United States. People who identify their origin as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish may be of any race." Since there is no qualifier on how far back you can trace your ancestors or how wide a net you can cast to find someone who spoke Spanish, I'd hazard a guess that Hispanic includes a plurality of Americans (whether or not they choose to identify as such.)

ETA: When I am filling out forms and cannot choose to decline the race question, I check Other and write "Human."

Now scheduling travel shops for the day after Christmas through mid-January.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2016 06:37PM by PasswordNotFound.

@LGRM wrote:

Those Ancestry.com commercials really make you think about this question, huh? There's one where a gal says she never knew "what" she was. The graph that pops up doesn't, to me, match her appearance. The point of the question is to serve as an identifier of the employee, though. It's as subjective as age! (My age is almost always guessed 10-15 years younger than my actual age.) I just give it my best guess, or select other.

I agree, I'm always guessed 15 years younger, even when doing my cosmetic shops. I can never tell anyone's age today. Race shouldn't be a question, name is enough. Halle Berry is 50....

other is the only option.

Live consciously....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2016 08:13PM by Irene_L.A..

What race is your friend? Jamaican-American is not a clear indicator to me as there are several different races of people who live on the island nation of Jamaica, though the majority are of African descent. If your friend is obviously of African descent, in this case I would choose African-American, which I disagree with. It would have been better if there was a box that said "Black or African American" like PasswordNotFound said.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2016 03:20AM by ayiticherie.

[www.irishcentral.com]

Now scheduling travel shops for the day after Christmas through mid-January.

Race and Ethnicity are not synonymous terms. African-American is not a race! If he is Jamaican and his skin color looks like a black/African person then obviously go with African-American....Although that is completely wrong!

I would say other also.

Shopping & Auditing Western Colorado, North Denver, the Central Rockies ~~~ and all stops leading to Aspen & Vail.

@rosaestanli wrote:

Race and Ethnicity are not synonymous terms. African-American is not a race! If he is Jamaican and his skin color looks like a black/African person then obviously go with African-American....Although that is completely wrong!

Are Italians part of the white race? Some of my italian friends sometimes gets mistaken for muslim because of his dark complexon.

I agree with the nationality profiling. One of my nieces is half chinese and half black. There is no option for half whatever. My eldest sister who lives in Kansas gets mistaken for native american or alaskan all the time since there aren't many chinese in that area.

They need to have just one selection, to me there is exactly ONE race. The HUMAN race.

Her Serene Majesty, Cettie - Goat Queen of Zoltar, Sublime Empress of Her Caprine Domain

[x] Other

Muslim is not a race, it is a religion. A member of any race or any ethnicity could be Muslim. Or Roman Catholic. Or Hindu. Or Zoroastrian. Or any other religion. "Italian" describes a citizen of Italy in the same way that "American" is generally used to describe a citizen of the United States. When an "American" says that they are Italian (for instance), they should be saying that have ancestors who emigrated from Italy, or that they have an Italian heritage.

@DavePi wrote:

@rosaestanli wrote:

Race and Ethnicity are not synonymous terms. African-American is not a race! If he is Jamaican and his skin color looks like a black/African person then obviously go with African-American....Although that is completely wrong!

Are Italians part of the white race? Some of my italian friends sometimes gets mistaken for muslim because of his dark complexon.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

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Race question in report.

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