Census respondents could choose from six racial categories, including an interesting option listed as “some other race,” and could choose more than one category. That meant that there were 63 possible combinations of the six basic racial categories.

The Census Bureau recognized that in a diverse country, Americans should be given the liberty to identify themselves on their own terms, not the government’s.

Tafoya found that of those choosing to identify themselves as Hispanic, 48 percent identified as white and 42 percent saw themselves as “some other race.” In fact, the vast majority of Americans choosing “some other race” were Hispanics.

In Texas, where Latinos experienced both Southern-style racial segregation and the civil rights movement, 63 percent of U.S.-born Latinos identified themselves as white. In the rest of the country, particularly California, 45 percent of native-born Latinos identified as white.

Tafoya explored the differences between Hispanics who described themselves as white and those who did not. Through a 2002 National Survey of Latinos, she found that those who are more educated, affluent and involved in their communities and who consider themselves Americans are more likely to identify themselves as white.

Millions of Latinos who were younger, less educated, poorer and less likely to speak English tended to find themselves socially and economically marginalized and chose “some other race.”

Tafoya’s report highlights the danger of viewing Latinos as a homogeneous population.

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