Change to Census questionnaire could make 'white' Americans a minority faster

For decades, Americans of Hispanic, Arab, and North African descent have had little choice other than "white" on the racial and ethnic parts of the U.S. Census questionnaire. That would change under modifications being considered by the Census Bureau, director John Thompson tells The Associated Press. If the changes are adopted, the 2020 Census would allow Latinos to provide more information about their ethnic background and create new race/ethnicity categories for people of Middle Eastern and North African heritage. Those changes would speed up the year when "white" Americans fall below 50 percent of the U.S. population.

"I don't think these new questions would diminish anything," Thompson told AP, adding that no decision have been made yet. "It would just give us more information about our diverse populations." Demographers aren't sure when whites will become a minority in the U.S., but using the current questionnaire, the Census Bureau estimates it could happen in 2043 or 2044.

Samer Khalef, for one, welcomes the change as a way to empower the Arab-American community and better reflect the truth. "If you are going to classify me as white, then treat (me) as white," said Khalef, president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. "Especially when I go to the airport. So yeah, it's inaccurate." But echoing demographers, Khalef said a lot depends on how people choose to identify themselves on the proposed new forms — and Arab-Americans may not rush to embrace the changes. "They think it will put them under surveillance," he told AP. "They won't fill (the census) out because they don't want to be on any list."

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