West LA Times

The Biden administration's recent announcement regarding changes in how the government collects information about people's race and ethnicity has been met with both praise and concern from various groups.

Ninez Ponce, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, expressed enthusiasm for the revisions, stating, “As our society evolves to become ever more multicultural and multiethnic, these new rules are a crucial step toward recognizing that and toward achieving health equity.” Ponce and other leaders at the center provided detailed recommendations to the White House's Office of Management and Budget, aiming to improve the collection of health-related demographic data.

The updated data collection methods aim to be more inclusive and accurate, with a single question allowing respondents to choose multiple categories related to their identity. This includes new categories for individuals of Middle Eastern or North African descent. Additionally, further information on identity will be collected to ensure disaggregation in the collection, tabulation, and presentation of data.

The importance of disaggregation in data collection is highlighted by the experiences of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data that subsumed these communities under the broad "Asian" category masked the high mortality rates within this group. Detailed data on racial and ethnic subgroups can help identify health disparities and ensure targeted programs and resources reach communities in need.

However, while the new changes have been welcomed by many, concerns have been raised by organizations such as the Afro-Latino Coalition. They argue that the new standards combining race and ethnicity questions could potentially dilute the visibility of groups like the Afro-Latino community.

The Afro-Latino Coalition emphasized the importance of recognizing racial differences within the Latino population, particularly highlighting the experiences of Black Latinos. The Coalition referenced a report by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute, which shed light on the unique challenges faced by the growing Black Latino population in the U.S.

Nancy López, a co-author of the UCLA report and professor of sociology at the University of New Mexico, has been actively discussing the findings in media appearances regarding the new government standards. The report's insights have been crucial in informing the debate over the impact of the revised data collection methods on different racial and ethnic groups.