Many Latinos¹ struggle to identify their race due to the misunderstanding of race and ethnicity conceptually. While race and ethnicity are both socio-political constructs to categorize populations, race refers to the division of groups based on physical characteristics (such as skin color, hair texture, and facial features), while ethnicity refers to the division of groups based on culture or heritage.² For example, those who identify as Latino in their ethnicity may belong to any race group(s) – there are Black Latinos, Asian Latinos, White Latinos, etc.

Many data collection questionnaires ask respondents to denote their race and ethnicity in two separate questions to distinguish the concepts. Some young Latinos have taken their frustration and confusion with these questions to TikTok. Below are comments that TikTok users have shared about the differentiation of questions.

Because many data collection questionnaires do not define race and ethnicity,⁴ some survey respondents are left unsettled and unable to distinguish their meanings on their own. This issue becomes larger at a federal level. As federal demographic data is used to allocate resources to marginalized communities,^5,6,7 there is a dire need for data collection agencies to explicitly define race and ethnicity to acquire more reliable data. The addition of simple definitions could lead to less frustration by respondents and more accurate data to better serve our populations through resource allocation.

Further, as the Latino population continues to grow in numbers and in diversity,⁸ and as lines between race and ethnicity become blurrier,⁹ expanding the ways that we frame our demographic questions becomes more important. Beyond just including definitions of race and ethnicity, asking about “street race,” or the race that strangers would likely assign you based on your physical appearance,¹⁰ should be considered.¹¹

It is vital for those who collect demographic data to understand how survey takers respond to and understand such questions. It is our responsibility to listen and make appropriate changes if groups express misunderstanding and frustration.

1. I use the term “Latino” to refer to the population that identifies as Hispanic and/or Latina/o/x/e/@.
2. American Psychological Association, “APA’s Race and Ethnicity Guidelines,” August 2019, available online.
3. The comments in this image are derived from: Wismeiry31, “Like bro, i already gave you an answer to the same question,” TikTok, November 22, 2023, available online. I received permission from the user who posted the TikTok to write about it.
4. Many data collection instruments follow the example set by the United States Census. Their demographic questionnaire format can be found here: United States Census Bureau, “2020 Census Informational Questionnaire,” 2020, available online.
5. United States Census Bureau, “Why We Ask Questions About Race,” accessed December 19, 2023, available online.
6. Sean Moulton, “Dollars and Demographics: How Census Data Shapes Federal Funding,” Project on Government Oversight, September 13, 2023, available online.
7. The White House, “Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” January 21, 2021, available online.
8. Jie Zong. “A Mosaic, Not a Monolith: A Profile of the U.S. Latino Population, 2000-2020,” Latino Policy & Politics Institute, October 26, 2022, available online.
9. Federal Register, “Initial Proposals for Updating OMB’s Race and Ethnicity Statistical Standards,” January 27, 2023, available online.
10. Nancy López and Howard Hogan, “What’s Your Street Race? The Urgency of Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality as Lenses for Revising the U.S. Office of Management and Budget Guidelines, Census and Administrative Data in Latinx Communities and Beyond,” Genealogy 5, no. 3 (September 2021): 75. 
11. Denoting one’s race(s) has proven to be more difficult for those who have mixed ancestry. For example, many Latinos have Indigenous and White ancestry, resulting in a lack of sense of belonging with one or more race groups as they are currently defined (American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White). This frustration could be addressed with the integration of “Brown” as a response to a street race question within demographic questionnaires, as illustrated by López and Hogan, 2021 (above citation).