Because of their growing numbers, particularly since the midtwentieth century, people of Spanish origin or ancestry, variously referred to (and self-referred) as Hispanic or Latino, have received...

Because of their growing numbers, particularly since the midtwentieth century, people of Spanish origin or ancestry, variously referred to (and self-referred) as Hispanic or Latino, have received prominent attention (Fears 2003). Some members of this group, especially in the Southwest, are the descendants of Spaniards who settled in North America in the 1600s, but most are immigrants or descendants of recent immigrants from Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America rather than from Spain. However, “Hispanic” is clearly an ethnic, not racial, label because Hispanic people may be white, black, or Native American. Recent federal census questionnaires reflect the complexity of categories of race and ethnicity. For the first time, in the 2000 census respondents were asked to identify their “race” and were given the option of choosing “one or more” of these identifications: White; Black, African-American, or Negro; American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian Indian; Chinese; Filipino; Japanese; Korean; Vietnamese; Native Hawaiian; Guamanian or Chamorro; Samoan; Other Asian; Other Pacific Islander; Some Other Race. People were also asked to state whether they were “Spanish/Hispanic/Latino.” If they responded affirmatively, they were then asked to identify their “group” from among the following: (1) Mexican, Mexican-American, Chicano; (2) Puerto Rican; (3) Cuban; (4) Other.