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From the Speaker
Date: July 1, 1997
Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich sent the
following letter to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget on
July 1, 1997.
July 1, 1997
The Honorable Franklin D. Raines
Director, Office Of Management and Budget
Room 252, Old Executive Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20503
Dear Director Raines,
It is my understanding that the Office of Management and Budget is
currently in the process of making a decision on whether to include a
multiracial category on the form for the 2000 Census.
I would like to add my voice by saying that I strongly believe that
including a multiracial option on federal forms and in the 2000 Census
would significantly help to ensure a more accurate reflection of the
racial makeup of the United States. At present, multiracial Americans
are denied the ability to declare all of their heritage on census and
federal forms. Only four racial categories were adopted by OMB in May
1977. Twenty years later, the forms still reflect the same four rigid
categories that are outdated and unrealistic in light of the dramatic
increase in the number of interracial families in the last two decades.
Currently, OMB Directive 15 states, "The category which most closely
reflects the individual's recognition in his community should be used
for purposes of reporting on persons who are of mixed racial and/or
ethnic categories." Consequently, multiracial Americans are being told
by OMB to pick one race over another race essentially denying the
totality of their American heritage. The meaning of racial
categorization is a very personal matter and one that has been ignored
for too long for multiracial children and adults. The state of Georgia
and six other states have already added a multiracial classification for
this growing segment of our population. In a country full of multiple
ethnicities and races, simply being American should be enough. However,
trying to classify each and every one of us into four simple categories
does not make sense.
I believe that we can begin to address the country's racial divide by
adding a multiracial category to federal forms and the United States
Census while simultaneously phasing out the outdated, divisive and rigid
classification of Americans.
Sincerely,
Newt Gingrich
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