Counting Race: How the Census Measures Identity and What Americans Think About It
How the U.S. government measures race has changed substantially since censuses began in 1790. Today, Americans differ on whether the government should ask about race.
Race & Ethnicity
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Publications
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On MLK Day, a look at black and white America
Nearly 47 years after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, blacks and whites in the United States in many ways continue to live starkly different lives.
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114th Congress is most diverse ever
Almost one-in-five members of the House and Senate are a racial or ethnic minority, making the 114th Congress the most diverse in history. However, Congress remains disproportionately white when compared with the U.S. population, which has grown increasingly diverse in recent decades.
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As Cuban American demographics change, so do views of Cuba
President Obama’s change in policy towards Cuba comes as the Cuban American population itself is changing—in its demographics, views of U.S.-Cuba policy, and its politics.
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With fewer new arrivals, Census lowers Hispanic population projections
A new Census Bureau projection for growth in the Hispanic population projection by 2050 is lower—by nearly 30 million—than earlier population projections published by the bureau.
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Wealth inequality has widened along racial, ethnic lines since end of Great Recession
The median wealth of white households was 13 times the wealth of black households and 10 times that of Hispanic households in 2013, compared with eight and nine times, respectively, in 2010.
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Sharp Racial Divisions in Reactions to Brown, Garner Decisions
Survey Report The public has very different reactions to the recent grand jury decisions in two police-related deaths that have sparked protests in cities across the country. By 50% to 37%, Americans say a grand jury made the right decision not to charge former Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael […]
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About the Surveys
Most of the analysis in this report is based on telephone interviews conducted December 3-7, 2014 among a national sample of 1,507 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia (605 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 902 were interviewed on a cell […]
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Many U.S. congregations are still racially segregated, but things are changing
While the degree of racial segregation within religious congregations remains high, some houses of worship in the U.S. have become more diverse in recent years, according to a National Congregations study.
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Ferguson highlights deep divisions between blacks and whites in America
One of the most persistent gaps between blacks and whites involves their levels of confidence in police.
