Become a Patron


 

 

The American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS) published 20 articles on Diversity and the Census in What Census Data Miss about American Diversity, Richard Alba and Kenneth Prewit.

 

VRR2018Based on the title of the articles, none of the articles directly dealt with African Americans or DAEUS.  The articles address Latino, Asian, Native American, immigration and multi-racial. The articles dealt with descendants of immigrants and descendants of Native Americans. The articles dealt with census and civil rights issues of Asian Americans. While reference to Black Americans occurs in most of the articles, the fact that the journal doesn't overtly address the issues of DAEUS (Descendants of Africans Enslaved in the United States) is problematic.


Given that one of the editors, Kenneth Perwitt, is the former director of the census bureau. this is extremely troubling because others will look to this edition to sett the framework for discussing the census and race. As Professor Perwitt said in the editor's note:

". . . [A] failed census. . .has consequences. “Demography is destiny” is not a cliché at this juncture in our history. It aptly captures a moment when many millions of Americans are struggling to comprehend and adjust to the fast-moving diversity of their country. Flawed data lead to flawed conclusions and, it follows, ill-informed actions." 

The way AAPSS has structured the discussion around African Americans is, at best, flawed and will fail  Descendants of Africans Enslaved in the United States (DAEUS) because the discussion fails to recognize that being DAEUS is much more about history, culture and community than it is about ancestry and color.