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Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. [1] The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of various kinds, including those characterized by close kinship relations. [2]
The United States has a racially and ethnically diverse population. [1] At the federal level, race and ethnicity have been categorized separately. The most recent United States census recognized five racial categories (White, Black, Native American/Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander), as well as people who belong to two or more of the racial categories.
Identifying human races in terms of skin colour, at least as one among several physiological characteristics, has been common since antiquity.Such divisions appeared in early modern scholarship, usually dividing humankind into four or five categories, with colour-based labels: red, yellow, black, white, and sometimes brown.
The identification of the term African American first occurred in the 2000 census, reflecting a long-standing history of offensive terminology since the censuses' inception. The 1790 census included other "free persons" by color and "slaves". From 1850 to 1880, the codes for enumerators were generally Black (B) and Mulatto (M). [43]
The word "race", interpreted to mean an identifiable group of people who share a common descent, was introduced into English in the 16th century from the Old French rasse (1512), from Italian razza: the Oxford English Dictionary cites the earliest example around the mid-16th century and defines its early meaning as a "group of people belonging to the same family and descended from a common ...
While people nowadays are enumerated by race based on self-identification, until 1950 their race on the census was mainly determined by their census enumerator. [177] During this time multiracial people who were White and of another race were usually marked down as belonging to the other race due to the One drop rule. [177]
Identification with both racial groups: an individual may be able to identify with both (or all) heritage groups. This is largely affected by societal support and one's ability to remain resistance to other's influences. [20] Identification with a single racial group: an individual chooses one racial group independently of external forces.
The concept of race as used by the Census Bureau reflects self-identification by people according to the race or races with which they most closely identify. These categories are sociopolitical constructs and should not be interpreted as being scientific or anthropological in nature.