Dictionary definitions - The Center for Rural Pennsylvania

1 Behind the Numbers takes a look atspecific measures or indicators to providea better understanding of what the datafor the indicators mean, how data areused and where you can get definitionsWebster defines race as a division ofmankind possessing traits that are transmis-sible by descent and sufficient to charac-terize it as a distinct human type ;ethnicity as a quality or affiliationrelating to large groups of people classedaccording to common racial, national,tribal, religious, linguistic, or culturalorigin or background ; and ancestry as line of descent.

2 In other words, racedepends on the biological or physicaltraits of the people from whom you come,ethnicity depends on more non-physicalaspects of the people from whom youcome, and ancestry depends simply onfrom whom you BureauexplanationsThe definitions above correspond, forthe most part, with Census Bureau tabula-tions of three characteristics: ancestry,Hispanic origin, and race. However, theCensus Bureau uses the term ethnicity when discussing both ancestry andHispanic Ancestry refers to a person s ethnicorigin or descent, roots, heritage, or theplace of birth of the person, the person sparents, or their ancestors before their arrivalin the United States and includes things likeGerman, Egyptian, or even Cajun.

3 Ancestry should not be confused witha person s place of birth, although aperson s place of birth and ancestry may bethe same. Although some people considerreligious affiliation a component ofidentity, the ancestry question included inthe Census was not designed to collect anyWhat is the difference between race, ethnicity, and ancestry?Race encompasses inherited, characteristic traits. Ethnicity refers tocultural origin. Ancestry is simply a line of are data collected?Usually self-reported in a can I get data on race, ethnicity and ancestry?

4 The Census Bureau, various Pennsylvania Departments forparticular programs, and do I use the data:As one measure of community concerning religion. Thus, if aperson cited his religion as an answer tothe ancestry question, that answer wastabulated in the other groups originIn addition to race and ancestry, theCensus Bureau collects information onHispanic origin, which it considers aspecific ethnicity. Origin can be viewed asthe heritage, nationality group, lineage, orcountry of birth of the person or theperson s parents or ancestors before theirarrival in the United who identify their origin asSpanish, Hispanic, or Latino may be of The concept of race reflects self-identification by people according to therace or races with which they most closelyidentify.

5 These categories should not beinterpreted as being scientific or anthropo-logical in nature. The racial classifications used by theCensus Bureau adhere to those issued bythe federal Office of Management andBudget (OMB). These include: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other with the 2000 Census,respondents may select all races withwhich they identify. There has also beenan option for other that may be droppedin future federal data distinguishes Hispanicorigin separate from race, as someone withorigins in Spain is likely to be WhiteHispanic, whereas someone from Guate-mala is likely to be American aware in using multiple data sets thatsome entities classify Hispanic as a race,requiring a Black Hispanic, for example,to choose the one aspect with which shemost North Third St.

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