From 89.3 Southern California Radio:
An interesting article published by the he Migration Policy Institute examines the racialization of those who make up the "Hispanic, Latino or Spanish Origin" category on census forms. Written by UC Irvine sociologist Rubén Rumbaut, a veteran chronicler of the immigrant experience, the piece delves into the history of racial and ethnic classifications, and on the impact that what began as an administrative move to classify people of Latin American ancestry has had on how they now define themselves in terms of race. Rumbaut writes: Are Hispanics a "race" or, more precisely, a racialized category? In fact, are they even a "they?" Is there a Latino or Hispanic ethnic group, cohesive and self-conscious, sharing a sense of peoplehood in the same way that there is an African American people in the United States? Or is it mainly administrative shorthand devised for statistical purposes; a one-size-fits-all label that subsumes diverse peoples and identities?

For the full story, please visit http://multiamerican.scpr.org/2011/05/creating-race-how-the-hispanic-or-....