I, for one, found Teri's response--and Jay's
questions--very heartwarming.  You see, in the 1998
Wall Street Almanac, I was quoted after an interview
with a reporter concerning the Census.  I have a very
diverse family that crosses many classifications that
would have been known as race and/or ethnicity, and I
was glad to see the classifications open up in the
Census, and I hope in people's minds.  I think, if I
recall correctly, my quote is on page 700 or 702.



--- Jay Heuman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
>
> I think Terri's post is interesting.  It would seem
> the more
> "races" are identified/recognized, the less
> meaningful the
> term "race" becomes.  Is "race" determined by purely
> subjective means?  After all, "a class or kind of
> people
> unified by community of interests, habits, or
> characteristics" seems an extraordinarily broad
> definition
> of "race" offered by Merriam-Websters Dictionary.
> And how,
> if at all, does this differ from the definition of
> ethnic:
> "large groups of people classed according to common
> racial,
> national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural
> origin
> or background"?  (Fiona Adams wrote we are all of
> the human
> race, but of differing ethnicities.  Thomas Kavanagh
> shot
> that down, citing ethnicity as cultural and race as
> biological.)
>
> What if someone defines themselves as a member of a
> certain
> "race" based on criteria that are considered
> fraudulent or
> unacceptable to others?  Does this make Star Trek
> fans a
> racial group as they share an "interest" (the
> original show
> and its spin off shows, movies, products,
> conventions, etc.)
> and "habits" (watching or taping television at
> certain times
> of the week or day)?  And, as most Trekies are
> American,
> they might qualify as an ethnic group as their
> cultural
> background (American Pop culture of the 20th
> century) is the
> same?  (BTW, I'm not a Trekie.)
>
> As well, by identifying "race," are we contributing
> to
> potential discrimination (or reverse
> discrimination)?
> Despots, of decades and centuries past, used "race"
> as a
> factor in determining who should be persecuted or
> spared.
> Where do those who are 1/4th, 1/8th, 1/16th, etc. of
> a
> racial group fit in?
>
> Interesting psycho-social questions . . . heady
> stuff.  Hope
> this doesn't go too far off track.  Also hope I
> didn't make
> any spelling or grammatical mistakes.  <smirk>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Jay Heuman
> Visitor & Volunteer Services Coordinator
> Joslyn Art Museum
> 2200 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE, 68102
> 342-3300 (telephone)   342-2376 (fax)
> www.joslyn.org
>
> "You can’t lock up art in a vault and keep it frozen
> for
> posterity. Then the artist is betrayed, history is
> betrayed."
> (Walter Persegati)
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Museum discussion list
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> > On Behalf Of Terri McNichol, Ren Associates
> > Sent: Wednesday, June 19, 2002 10:20 am
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: subject terms for race
> >
> > However, the Census 2000 Summary File 2 data (to
> be
> > released soon) contains an iteration of 250
> population
> > groups: the total, 132 race groups, 78 American
> Indian
> > and Alaska Native tribe categories, and 39
> Hispanic
> > (or Latino) groups.
> > Perhaps it furthers the meaning of the richness of
> diversty
> > rather than seeing it as based on race alone.
>
>
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