The Role Of US Census Bureau In American Culture
Americans; Hyphen or no Hyphen
ENG 122
September 2, 2013
We as people want to fit in wherever we are located. We as a diverse culture have different views of what it is to be an American. Some cultures like having their nationality hyphened, because it keeps them from forgetting where they came from and where they are now. I will discuss how some Americans feel about being an American and having it attached with a hyphen, and how it makes them feel that we are not united. There are others who have never known anything but being an American and they are still hyphenated because of the color of their skin. I will explain how the U.S. Census Bureau has a role in hyphenating Americans, what it was used for, and how it has a hand in keeping this issue, separating people by …show more content…
their nationality, going on. If we really look at the situation, is there anyone here that has only ancestry that originated from America? Some of us Americans feel, that if we are truly considered Americans, why should we have to obtain a hyphen to identify who we are? How the Census Bureau reflected the deep conceptual and the political divides in American society at one time; where color and culture was used to justify slavery, exploration, and official methods of discrimination. Consequently, changing the way we divide up society will not magically resolve our differences or abolish racial prejudices.
I was reading a poem that is named “ The Hyphenated Man” and it was talking about how someone from another culture might feel guilty buying Cuban bread from Publix, or how someone can find themselves doing two-steps to a salsa beat and dancing guaracha to every other jazz beat (Hospital, 2004), if so you are considered a hyphenated man. The one thing that really stood out in this poem was the ending, it stated “Hyphens Anonymous can help you forget who you are or better who you wish you could be (Hospital, 2004)”.
Right now I am considered in society as an African-American, I have never been to Africa, nor did my people originate from there. I was born in the United States of America and so was my mom, her mom, and her mom. My ancestors from what I know were Indians, Native-Americans, mixed with some Europeans. My maiden name is Wyckoff. So what makes me an Africans-American, my dark skin? Putting a label on someone just because they look like something else is wrong, in my opinion. I feel that if I was from African descent it really wouldn’t make much of a differents in calling me an African-American, but I am not. I feel this action is considered as “judging a book by its cover”. If we are legal residents of the United States of America, doesn’t that make us Americans?
In these day and ages to be called “American” would be considered politically incorrect to some people. If you are someone of a different culture you might be considered a trader if you didn’t put a hyphen in front of American. But if we all considered ourselves as hyphenated Americans where is the unity? We are supposed to be a nation that stand together as one, united, not separated. President Woodrow Wilson said “You cannot become a thorough American if you think of yourselves in groups” (Hahner, 2010). He also quoted “There should be no more Hyphenated Americans: neither native-Americans nor foreign Americans. Each American of foreign birth or origin who sincerely desires to become a good citizen should show his good citizenship by wholly and without reserve, and without divided allegiance, and with emphatic repudiation of the entire principle of “dual nationality,” an American citizen and nothing else” (Hahner, 2010). This is a powerful comment, and coming from a President back in 1915, when racism was very much in effect, makes it even more powerful.
I read an article called “Is it Time to Go Beyond Hyphenation?” I never really thought about this statement until I was read it. “I have never met a hyphenated British, Jamaican, Algerian, German, Mexican, Brazilian person only hyphenated American” (An American Editor, 2010). “The American Editor feels that when we classify ourselves by hyphenation, then we separate ourselves from other hyphens” (An American Editor, 2010)”. Then in another article, you have Zaina Arafat to write “Being a ‘hyphenated American’ opens two worlds. Zaina Arafat is an Arab-American and when she moved to America it took her time to become accustom to the different life here, but she did. As she became older she really started to appreciate the hyphen. In America she celebrated holidays like the Americans did and when she would go to her native home she felt like a celebrity because she was coming from America (Zaina, 2010). So we have different people with two different views. Which one is correct? There is no correct answer; everyone has a right to feel how they feel on the subject. Some people feel that being hyphenated is diminishing to certain races, because it was how they kept minorities from voting and all the things that make us free now.
The first census was established in 1790, this played a key role in collecting and disseminating the racial statistics (Lee &Tafoya, 2006). The U.S. Census tracks the U.S. population; they do this by having three separate but overlapping concepts by considering the race, ethnicity, and ancestry (Lee &Tafoya, 2006). In those days racial statistics was there to maintain social order and policies that barred non-white groups from civil and political rights. The Census data was used to express severe immigration laws in the 1920s of undesirable race groups. It denied them the access of voting, education, and employment (Lee &Tafoya, 2006). They have since made changes to the Census data because of the dramatic changes in the diverse cultures and mixed races that have grown so much since the 2000 census. But the U.S. still intend to focus on race with the Census data.
The United States Government has made it difficult to move past the racial boxes and for American society as a whole to move beyond race (Etzioni, 2006). One year the federal government received more than 6.75 million people who tried to skip the racial section of the census form and what they did was select a racial category for them. Is it still necessary for the government to keep accountably of the racial statistics in these day and if so why? Treating people differently according to their race is as un-American as slavery (Etzioni, 2006). We think just because someone is black that they are African descent, but that’s not true. Some college students from a sociology class at Penn State decided to follow the guidance of their professor and take a DNA test. One of the students that considered himself to be “a proud black man” found out that only 52% of his ancestry was traced back to Africa, and the other 48% was traced back to be European, while another black girl traced her ancestry was 58% European and 42% African. There is an estimated 1/3 of African-American population has European ancestry (Etzioni, 2006).
There are some people really don’t mind being a hyphenated American, they actually prefer it. By being hyphenated it seems they have the best of both worlds. The culture in which they originated from and then the one where they plan to make their dreams come true. There is nothing wrong in showing pride of where you come from. I have only read about a few people that actually fit into this category. The majority of the articles that I have read feel that we as Americans shouldn’t be hyphenated. Surprisingly, I read that more than a couple of Presidents felt this way, for instance there was Theodore Roosevelt who said “There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else (Longstreet, 2012)”. There was also President Woodrow Wilson who said "Any man who carries a hyphen about with him carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic whenever he gets ready (Longstreet, 2012)”. Right now Americans are more divided more than ever because of the diversity of people we have in America, have you ever, when you was in school, walked into the lunch room on the first day of High School and the first thing you see is, you have the Black people at one table, you have the Hispanics together at another table, the White people together at another table and so on. Well that’s how Americans are becoming, it’s as though the categories or the labels are picking our table for us. We should be all together as one, United together, let’s pull all the tables together and enjoy everyone from every background.
Reading article after article makes you think about things more closely. Should we stay hyphenated and come together as one if that is possible, or should we just be American and stand as one all together? Can we embrace our heritage without being labelled, or do we need the label so that others can identify with our background? What I mean by that last question, say you are talking on the phone with someone and they tell you that they are a Native-American right away you picture a Indian, or they are Latino-American right away you picture a Hispanic person. But if they just say I am an American you don’t know what to picture except an American. I’m not saying that to persuade anyone in either way, because a person has a right to feel whatever that feels about this topic. If you like being hyphenated and it you feel pride in doing so that is great. If you don’t like it and you are still being classified into a category, there’s not much you can really do about it, but voice your opinion on the matter and go on. You know what you are and where you came from, and that should be all that matters.
In conclusion everyone is different; we in America have all shapes, sizes and colors here, and not all of us will agree on everything. You have the ones that prefer to be a hyphenated American and you have those who don’t. Some of the people, who don’t prefer it, may feel that it’s tearing America apart. Others who agree with being hyphenated feel that they have the best of both worlds and it keeps their heritage alive. I have discussed a lot of different views on the topic that indicates that some people are not really happy about why it has to be like this. I have also discussed how some people embrace being both their native descent and American. There are many feelings about this subject and there are going to be some that we don’t really care to hear about. Then you have some of us Americans which feel that if we are truly considered as Americans, why should we have to obtain a hyphen to identify who we are? The Census Bureau reflected the deep conceptual and the political divides in American society at one time; where color and culture was used to justify slavery, exploration, and official methods of discrimination. Consequently, changing the way we divide up society will not magically resolve our differences or abolish racial prejudices.
References
Etzioni, Amitai (2006).
Leaving race behind. Retrieved from http://theamericanscholar.org/leaving-race-behind/#.Ug-7F6Xn_IV, Archive of Hispanic Culture.
Hahner, Leslie A. (2010). Americanization Nationalism/American Forensic Association (Alta Conference on Argumentation) ( p145-150, 6p.) Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database. Hospital, Carolina (2004). HYPHENATED Man, The (Poem ) (p23-24, 2p.) Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.
Lee S.M. & Tafoya S.M. (2006)/ Rethinking US Census racial and ethnic categories for the 21st century, Journal of Economic and Social Measurement. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.
Longstreet, J.D. (2012). The Hyphen that destroyed a Nation. Retrieved from http://www.rightsidenews.info/2012011716594/editorial/us-opinion-and-editorial/the-hyphen-that-destroyed-a-nation.html http://www.census.gov/rdo/data/ http://americaneditor.wordpress.com/2010/06/09/is-it-time-to-go-beyond-hyphenation/ Zaina Arafat (2009)/Being a ‘hyphenated American’ opens both worlds. Retrieved from
http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/The-Home-Forum/2009/0206/p19s05-hfes.html
ENG 122
September 2, 2013
We as people want to fit in wherever we are located. We as a diverse culture have different views of what it is to be an American. Some cultures like having their nationality hyphened, because it keeps them from forgetting where they came from and where they are now. I will discuss how some Americans feel about being an American and having it attached with a hyphen, and how it makes them feel that we are not united. There are others who have never known anything but being an American and they are still hyphenated because of the color of their skin. I will explain how the U.S. Census Bureau has a role in hyphenating Americans, what it was used for, and how it has a hand in keeping this issue, separating people by …show more content…
their nationality, going on. If we really look at the situation, is there anyone here that has only ancestry that originated from America? Some of us Americans feel, that if we are truly considered Americans, why should we have to obtain a hyphen to identify who we are? How the Census Bureau reflected the deep conceptual and the political divides in American society at one time; where color and culture was used to justify slavery, exploration, and official methods of discrimination. Consequently, changing the way we divide up society will not magically resolve our differences or abolish racial prejudices.
I was reading a poem that is named “ The Hyphenated Man” and it was talking about how someone from another culture might feel guilty buying Cuban bread from Publix, or how someone can find themselves doing two-steps to a salsa beat and dancing guaracha to every other jazz beat (Hospital, 2004), if so you are considered a hyphenated man. The one thing that really stood out in this poem was the ending, it stated “Hyphens Anonymous can help you forget who you are or better who you wish you could be (Hospital, 2004)”.
Right now I am considered in society as an African-American, I have never been to Africa, nor did my people originate from there. I was born in the United States of America and so was my mom, her mom, and her mom. My ancestors from what I know were Indians, Native-Americans, mixed with some Europeans. My maiden name is Wyckoff. So what makes me an Africans-American, my dark skin? Putting a label on someone just because they look like something else is wrong, in my opinion. I feel that if I was from African descent it really wouldn’t make much of a differents in calling me an African-American, but I am not. I feel this action is considered as “judging a book by its cover”. If we are legal residents of the United States of America, doesn’t that make us Americans?
In these day and ages to be called “American” would be considered politically incorrect to some people. If you are someone of a different culture you might be considered a trader if you didn’t put a hyphen in front of American. But if we all considered ourselves as hyphenated Americans where is the unity? We are supposed to be a nation that stand together as one, united, not separated. President Woodrow Wilson said “You cannot become a thorough American if you think of yourselves in groups” (Hahner, 2010). He also quoted “There should be no more Hyphenated Americans: neither native-Americans nor foreign Americans. Each American of foreign birth or origin who sincerely desires to become a good citizen should show his good citizenship by wholly and without reserve, and without divided allegiance, and with emphatic repudiation of the entire principle of “dual nationality,” an American citizen and nothing else” (Hahner, 2010). This is a powerful comment, and coming from a President back in 1915, when racism was very much in effect, makes it even more powerful.
I read an article called “Is it Time to Go Beyond Hyphenation?” I never really thought about this statement until I was read it. “I have never met a hyphenated British, Jamaican, Algerian, German, Mexican, Brazilian person only hyphenated American” (An American Editor, 2010). “The American Editor feels that when we classify ourselves by hyphenation, then we separate ourselves from other hyphens” (An American Editor, 2010)”. Then in another article, you have Zaina Arafat to write “Being a ‘hyphenated American’ opens two worlds. Zaina Arafat is an Arab-American and when she moved to America it took her time to become accustom to the different life here, but she did. As she became older she really started to appreciate the hyphen. In America she celebrated holidays like the Americans did and when she would go to her native home she felt like a celebrity because she was coming from America (Zaina, 2010). So we have different people with two different views. Which one is correct? There is no correct answer; everyone has a right to feel how they feel on the subject. Some people feel that being hyphenated is diminishing to certain races, because it was how they kept minorities from voting and all the things that make us free now.
The first census was established in 1790, this played a key role in collecting and disseminating the racial statistics (Lee &Tafoya, 2006). The U.S. Census tracks the U.S. population; they do this by having three separate but overlapping concepts by considering the race, ethnicity, and ancestry (Lee &Tafoya, 2006). In those days racial statistics was there to maintain social order and policies that barred non-white groups from civil and political rights. The Census data was used to express severe immigration laws in the 1920s of undesirable race groups. It denied them the access of voting, education, and employment (Lee &Tafoya, 2006). They have since made changes to the Census data because of the dramatic changes in the diverse cultures and mixed races that have grown so much since the 2000 census. But the U.S. still intend to focus on race with the Census data.
The United States Government has made it difficult to move past the racial boxes and for American society as a whole to move beyond race (Etzioni, 2006). One year the federal government received more than 6.75 million people who tried to skip the racial section of the census form and what they did was select a racial category for them. Is it still necessary for the government to keep accountably of the racial statistics in these day and if so why? Treating people differently according to their race is as un-American as slavery (Etzioni, 2006). We think just because someone is black that they are African descent, but that’s not true. Some college students from a sociology class at Penn State decided to follow the guidance of their professor and take a DNA test. One of the students that considered himself to be “a proud black man” found out that only 52% of his ancestry was traced back to Africa, and the other 48% was traced back to be European, while another black girl traced her ancestry was 58% European and 42% African. There is an estimated 1/3 of African-American population has European ancestry (Etzioni, 2006).
There are some people really don’t mind being a hyphenated American, they actually prefer it. By being hyphenated it seems they have the best of both worlds. The culture in which they originated from and then the one where they plan to make their dreams come true. There is nothing wrong in showing pride of where you come from. I have only read about a few people that actually fit into this category. The majority of the articles that I have read feel that we as Americans shouldn’t be hyphenated. Surprisingly, I read that more than a couple of Presidents felt this way, for instance there was Theodore Roosevelt who said “There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else (Longstreet, 2012)”. There was also President Woodrow Wilson who said "Any man who carries a hyphen about with him carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic whenever he gets ready (Longstreet, 2012)”. Right now Americans are more divided more than ever because of the diversity of people we have in America, have you ever, when you was in school, walked into the lunch room on the first day of High School and the first thing you see is, you have the Black people at one table, you have the Hispanics together at another table, the White people together at another table and so on. Well that’s how Americans are becoming, it’s as though the categories or the labels are picking our table for us. We should be all together as one, United together, let’s pull all the tables together and enjoy everyone from every background.
Reading article after article makes you think about things more closely. Should we stay hyphenated and come together as one if that is possible, or should we just be American and stand as one all together? Can we embrace our heritage without being labelled, or do we need the label so that others can identify with our background? What I mean by that last question, say you are talking on the phone with someone and they tell you that they are a Native-American right away you picture a Indian, or they are Latino-American right away you picture a Hispanic person. But if they just say I am an American you don’t know what to picture except an American. I’m not saying that to persuade anyone in either way, because a person has a right to feel whatever that feels about this topic. If you like being hyphenated and it you feel pride in doing so that is great. If you don’t like it and you are still being classified into a category, there’s not much you can really do about it, but voice your opinion on the matter and go on. You know what you are and where you came from, and that should be all that matters.
In conclusion everyone is different; we in America have all shapes, sizes and colors here, and not all of us will agree on everything. You have the ones that prefer to be a hyphenated American and you have those who don’t. Some of the people, who don’t prefer it, may feel that it’s tearing America apart. Others who agree with being hyphenated feel that they have the best of both worlds and it keeps their heritage alive. I have discussed a lot of different views on the topic that indicates that some people are not really happy about why it has to be like this. I have also discussed how some people embrace being both their native descent and American. There are many feelings about this subject and there are going to be some that we don’t really care to hear about. Then you have some of us Americans which feel that if we are truly considered as Americans, why should we have to obtain a hyphen to identify who we are? The Census Bureau reflected the deep conceptual and the political divides in American society at one time; where color and culture was used to justify slavery, exploration, and official methods of discrimination. Consequently, changing the way we divide up society will not magically resolve our differences or abolish racial prejudices.
References
Etzioni, Amitai (2006).
Leaving race behind. Retrieved from http://theamericanscholar.org/leaving-race-behind/#.Ug-7F6Xn_IV, Archive of Hispanic Culture.
Hahner, Leslie A. (2010). Americanization Nationalism/American Forensic Association (Alta Conference on Argumentation) ( p145-150, 6p.) Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database. Hospital, Carolina (2004). HYPHENATED Man, The (Poem ) (p23-24, 2p.) Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.
Lee S.M. & Tafoya S.M. (2006)/ Rethinking US Census racial and ethnic categories for the 21st century, Journal of Economic and Social Measurement. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.
Longstreet, J.D. (2012). The Hyphen that destroyed a Nation. Retrieved from http://www.rightsidenews.info/2012011716594/editorial/us-opinion-and-editorial/the-hyphen-that-destroyed-a-nation.html http://www.census.gov/rdo/data/ http://americaneditor.wordpress.com/2010/06/09/is-it-time-to-go-beyond-hyphenation/ Zaina Arafat (2009)/Being a ‘hyphenated American’ opens both worlds. Retrieved from
http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/The-Home-Forum/2009/0206/p19s05-hfes.html