Civil rights and minority activists concerned about census count

February 28, 2000
Web posted at: 5:54 p.m. EST (2254 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A change to a question on the forms for the 2000 Census could cause problems obtaining an accurate tally of minority populations, according to groups concerned about measuring efforts against discrimination.

In a change from the 1990 Census, respondents this year are offered the option of listing more than one racial affiliation. Critics say the change could dilute the benefits of civil rights laws.

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Census data is used to help determine the allocation of funds for federal programs, by state and local governments to draw political boundaries and by law enforcement agencies to probe patterns of bias.

"Most African-Americans are a mixture of many things, and could always check many things," said William Spriggs of the National Urban League.

Spriggs said that for civil rights enforcement, the survey helps form a basis to compare levels of bias "against their African-American ancestry, and therefore, they should check that."

Karen Narasaki, executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, said Census Bureau officials will be "trying to compare apples to oranges" if people this year check more than one box in the ethnic affiliation category.

Narasaki said the additional options respondents will have will make it difficult to determine "... whether housing trends are improving, (or) what's happening with segregation in schools."

The groups used a Monday news conference to underscore a public education campaign they hope will make the best of how the 2000 Census forms are conveyed.

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US Census Bureau
The National Urban League

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