3 ms·

From the Census FAQ ( http://2010.census.gov/partners/pdf/ConstituentFAQ.pdf http://2010.census.gov/partners/pdf/ConstituentFAQ.pdf ): "Information on race is

From the Census FAQ ( http://2010.census.gov/partners/pdf/ConstituentFAQ.pdf http://2010.census.gov/partners/pdf/ConstituentFAQ.pdf ): "Information on race is required for many federal programs and is critical in making policy decisions, particularly for civil rights. States use these data to meet legislative redistricting principles. Race data also are used to promote equal employment opportunities and to assess racial disparities in health and environmental risks."

yummyfajitas 16y ago
Legislative redistricting? The original purpose of the race box was to skew the distribution of congress critters in a certain way (unfair) way. From what the Census says, it sounds as if they are still doing that.
- MichaelSalib 16y ago
  I don't think this is true. As I understand the history, some states deliberately crafted legislative districts to reduce the voting power of particular racial groups. This lead to law suits and as part of court mandated settlements, the aforementioned states have to monitor racial composition of their districts to demonstrate that they are in compliance with the court rulings. In other words, some racists tried to screw over minority groups, the courts slapped them down, and race data is needed to verify ongoing compliance.
  - yummyfajitas 16y ago
    Here is how it is used in practice: Say you have a region predominantly party X, but party Y is in power at the time of gerrymandering. The redistricting process will split the region amongst several districts, so that instead of getting 4 Y districts and 1 X district, you get 5 districts which are 60% Y and 40% X. This process is completely legal, except when the region is also significantly represented by some politically favored racial groups. I.e., we give some races special legal protection from gerrymandering, but not others.

yummyfajitas 16y ago

Legislative redistricting? The original purpose of the race box was to skew the distribution of congress critters in a certain way (unfair) way. From what the Census says, it sounds as if they are still doing that.

MichaelSalib 16y ago
I don't think this is true. As I understand the history, some states deliberately crafted legislative districts to reduce the voting power of particular racial groups. This lead to law suits and as part of court mandated settlements, the aforementioned states have to monitor racial composition of their districts to demonstrate that they are in compliance with the court rulings. In other words, some racists tried to screw over minority groups, the courts slapped them down, and race data is needed to verify ongoing compliance.
- yummyfajitas 16y ago
  Here is how it is used in practice: Say you have a region predominantly party X, but party Y is in power at the time of gerrymandering. The redistricting process will split the region amongst several districts, so that instead of getting 4 Y districts and 1 X district, you get 5 districts which are 60% Y and 40% X. This process is completely legal, except when the region is also significantly represented by some politically favored racial groups. I.e., we give some races special legal protection from gerrymandering, but not others.