Civil Rights

C.E.S.P. 2-5: Racial Categories

Date Revised: 7-27-2014
Supersedes: 3-16-2012

Summary: Defines racial-ethnic categories for civil rights compliance reporting.

The following racial-ethnic categories have been established by the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Justice:

ETHNIC GROUPS - a self-identified group connected to specific groups of people who share a common linguistic, religious and/or cultural heritage.

Hispanic/Latino (of any race) - A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. Origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States. People who identify their origin as Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino may be of any race.

RACE CATEGORIES - a group identity historically related to a local geographic or global human population traditionally distinguished as a group by genetically transmitted physical characteristics, i.e., skin, color, facial characteristics, color, texture of hair, etc.

• White - A person having origins in any of the original people of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East.  It includes people who indicate their race as "White" or report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish
• Black, African American - A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "Black, African Am., or Negro," or provide written entries such as African American, Afro American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian.
• American Indian or Alaskan Native - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North  and South America (including Central America) and who maintain cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition.
• Asian  - A person having origin in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. It includes "Asian Indian," "Chinese," "Filipino," "Korean," "Japanese," "Vietnamese," and "Other Asian."
• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. It includes people who indicate their race as "Native Hawaiian," "Guamanian or Chamorro," "Samoan," and "Other Pacific Islander."

Two or more races. People may have chosen to provide two or more races either by checking two or more race response check boxes, by providing multiple write-in responses, or by some combination of check boxes and write-in responses.