Asian Vs. Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander

Response to Asian American and Pacific Islanders Census 2010 

The census gives statistics of income, poverty, education, voting, business, languages, military involvement, jobs and internet use of Asians and Hawaiian or other pacific islanders.  The reading opens with a blurb about how a 1997 Office of Management and Budget directive split Asians and Pacific Islander into separate racial categories.  I did not understand why this creation of new categories was necessary, so I decided to further research said directive. The official notice states that the creation of racial categories is necessary because “data [is] needed to monitor equal access in housing, education, employment, and other areas, for populations that historically [have] experienced discrimination and differential treatment because of their race or ethnicity.”  The census information shows that Asians earned more money and had a higher percentage of professional school graduates than Pacific Islanders did.  Considering the purpose of the directive, what are the implications of this disparity?  Furthermore, what are the effects of new racial labels on the identities of the people they categorize? 

Additional Resources:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg_1997standards

Breana Inoshita
Section A02