Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series: Hosea Harvey, Law and Political Science, Temple University

How and why does the U.S. Census determine what race is - and should mean - in the United States? The first Census Bureau identified three races: "Free white males/females, all other free persons, and slaves." Over time, dozens of newly discovered "races" have entered - and exited - the Census. In 2016, the Bureau proposed adding a new Census 2020 race category - "MENA". Recently, it abruptly reversed course. This talk situates these evolving race definitions against political, cultural, and legal developments over time, and highlights social-science methodologies that shaped the 2020 Census "race" categories - for perhaps the most important Census of our lifetime.