White House releases Census revision to include Middle Eastern or North African category
CHICAGO (CBS) –In a victory for representation decades in the making, the next U.S. Census will finally count Arab Americans with the creation of a new category.
Previously, Arab Americans were often forced to choose between "White" or "other." The CBS 2 Investigators have been following the community's fight for years.
The Chicago area has one of the largest Arab American populations in the country. They've been fighting for the right to be counted for nearly 50 years, which is why they're so thrilled to hear this week's news from the White House.
"We're really excited and proud that our government is finally going to recognize the Arab American community," said Itedal Shalabi, executive director and co-founder of the Arab American Family Services. "For so long, we have been unrecognized and marginalized and dismissed."
CBS 2 first interviewed the founders of Arab American Family Services back in 2021 in a story that exposed how Arabs in Chicago were dying from COVID-19 at disproportionate rates, although no one knew how many because the federal government did not have a separate category counting them. Local governments didn't count Arab Americans either.
Community leaders are hoping that will change with the addition of the new "Middle Eastern or North African" or MENA category in the 2030 census.
"It's the beginning of bringing the resources that will give them better health outcomes, better housing outcomes, better educational outcomes," Shalabi said. "It's the beginning of a new chapter for the Arab American community in the United States."
Here is what a new race and ethnicity question would look like on the Census form with the MENA option.
So, what does this mean for the Arab community?
"The beginning to tell that we are no longer invisible," said Nareman Taha, co-founder of Arab American Family Services. "The beginning of documenting that we exist."
Community leaders said they will start working to educate Arab American families to check the MENA box. Arab American Family Services are hoping for funding to conduct that education. CBS 2 is still waiting to hear from the federal government about what funding could be available for the effort.
Shalabi said the educational component could include campaigns, billboards and other forms of outreach like door knocking to ensure Arab American residents know to check the box on the 2030 census form.
CBS 2 also reached out to city, state and Cook County health officials to ask if and how they would make changes to their local tracking systems to match the federal system, but has yet to hear back.