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Can I put my ethnicity as African-American on the census, when I'm white?
My family immigrated to America from South Africa. My parents and grandparents were born there, and I was, too. I have European roots, but I see myself as African, cause well, that is my personal origin and culture. I now have American citizenship, so I see myself as African-American, which makes me confused because apparently I'm supposed to be Caucasian? What is that supposed to mean?
What exactly is the census trying to say? How am I not African-American when I'm literally an African-American? A lot of black Americans have been American for generations, and don't even currently have any African culture, so I don't see how they're more African than me, just because they have more pigment in their skin. Is that insulting for me to say? I don't get how. That's like saying it's insulting for anyone other than a Native American to call themselves a true American. It also goes along with the racist, ignorant mindset some people have that black people can't be British (even when they've lived there all their life and everything) or someone with asian descent can't be Nigerian
I feel like I can't really claim to be European when I don't feel that culture is me. Yeah, I had family there for generations, but that doesn't even mean anything, cause originally, all people came from Africa, anyways. But everyone doesn't call themselves African, people regard themselves by where they grew up, and their culture. I know that a lot (not all, though) of black Americans were forcefully brought to America centuries ago, but I don't see how that enables them to still call themselves African-American even when their African ancestry is from so long ago. I can appreciate Japanese culture but that doesn't mean I literally have Japanese culture, because I don't live as they do. The world is very diverse, and nowadays its even easier to live wherever you want. Your skin color doesn't have to determine the way you live your life
I don't even get why the census exists, to begin with. Why is it so important to categorize people in such way? It doesn't matter what people look like, they're just Americans. I know that America has a history of racial prejudice (that still exists) and systemized racism, and white privilege still exists, but I don't get why this has to continue.
Why do people get so caught up in people looking different? I've traveled to a lot of places and the more I travel the more I realize that people are really the same at their core, regardless of what lifestyle they live or culture they live in. Everyone just wants to be loved, basically. But no, stupid stuff has to get in the way for reasons I don't understand
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The whole point of a census is to collate statistics to help the government and other agencies.
You need to differentiate between nationality, and ethnicity.
I am ethnically "British - Asian". But my nationality is British.
Your ethnicity is different. It's about biology. Nationality is geographical.
So African-American is an ethnic remark. If you were born in Africa, but you are a citizen of the USA, then your nationality is American. There may be an option for American - African i.e. those who were born in Africa, but have moved to USA.
You won't (I don't think) get in trouble for putting what you want. Just use your instinct. If you want to make a political point though, then a census is not the place to do so.
You should read the form, to see if there are penalties for anything.
If you are really struggling, then there should be a number for you to contact. Good luck!
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