AAI Foundation

Census Information Center

The Census Bureau has designated AAI as its only Census Information Center (CIC) dedicated to analyzing data on the Arab American community.

The CIC is a cooperative program between the U.S. Census Bureau and 59 national, regional, and local non-profit organizations. This program represents the interest of underserved communities. The centers serve as repositories of census data and reports, making census information and data available to the public and the communities they serve.

The CICs uses census data in areas such as program planning, advocacy needs assessment, defining service areas, public policy development, developing new business enterprises, and conducting race- and ethnic-related research.

Arab Americans and the Census

We believe at least 3.5 million people in America have roots in the Arabic speaking world. Yet, the Census Bureau identified fewer than 1.5 million persons of Arab ancestry in the 2000 Census.

Like other ethnic, minority, and immigrant populations, Arab Americans are undercounted in the U.S. census. Some simply do not understand the relevance of the census, its confidentiality, or did not respond to the question on the sample “long form” that measures ethnic ancestry.

In both 1990 and 2000, AAI took the lead in educating the Arab American community about the importance of census participation. Numbers count. Showing the growth of the community translates into increased leverage with elected officials and fuller recognition from the larger community.

In addition, the allocation of hundreds of billions of dollars in funding for the federal, state and municipal programs serving the communities where we live is determined by the results of the Census. Census data determines how the lines of congressional districts are drawn to ensure proper representation in Congress.

During 2000, the Arab American Institute and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) joined the U.S. Census Bureau to ensure a full and accurate count of persons of Arab descent. AAI and ADC worked as national partners in this initiative with religious, business, community and media organizations that serve our ethnic constituency.

In recognition of this outreach work, AAI was selected by the U.S. Census Bureau in the fall of 2000 as an official Census Information Center (CIC). The AAI Foundation administers this program which includes publishing demographic data, analysis and maps about Arab Americans. Online resources based on the 2000 census are available here including the report published by the Census Bureau on the Arab ancestry population. Additional census data can be accessed through the Census website.

The Working Group on Ancestry

The Working Group on Ancestry in the U.S. Census is a national coalition of ethnic organizations and researchers who came together in May of 1996 to support the continuation of the long form in the 2000 Census, including the question of ancestry. The AWG was reorganized in 2006 to promote the inclusion of the ancestry question on the short form in the 2010 census.

We believe the inclusion of a question on ethnic origin for all Americans will not only encourage ethnic advocates to dedicate time and resources to promote a full count in 2010, but will motivate millions of respondents to feel a part of the census process, thereby increasing response rates in the census and promoting accuracy and cost-effectiveness.

Collecting data on ancestry of the full U.S. population is essential to understanding the demographics of our nation—both its history and its future—and the diversity of the American people. Our group is committed to raising public awareness about the importance of ancestry data.

How “Ancestry” Is Defined by the U.S. Census Bureau

The question on ancestry was based on self-identification by the respondent; that is, the data on ancestry represent self-classification by people according to the ancestry group(s) with which they most closely identify. Ancestry refers to a person’s ethnic origin or descent, “roots,” or heritage or the place of birth of the person or the person’s parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States. Some ethnic identities, such as “Egyptian” or “Polish” can be traced to geographic areas outside the United States, while other ethnicities such as “Pennsylvania Dutch” or “Cajun” evolved in the United States.

Uses of Ancestry and other Long Form Data:

Civic/Political Uses
Politicians target ethnic constituencies on numerous occasions to solicit their feedback on policy issues and government initiatives of concern; ethnic organizations depend wholly on ancestry data to identify, locate and mobilize their constituencies.

Economic Uses
Businesses and corporations from manufacturers and retailers to the telecommunications and telemarketing industry depend on accurate and reliable ethnic data for market research and economic expansion.

Research Uses
Social scientists, journalists, and other researchers rely on census long form data to study individual population groups, demographic trends, specifically patterns of acculturation, economic and educational mobility and citizenship.

Public Sector Uses
Social service, health and other local/state agencies depend on ancestry data for outreach and needs assessments of population groups in their community; civil rights agencies have also required ancestry data to monitor discrimination based on national origin.

If you would like more information about the Working Group on Ancestry, or would like to join and be put on the email list, please send an email to Helen Samhan at hsamhan@aaiusa.org.

Custom Research on Arab Americans

The Census Information Center also provides custom research. For details please go to Custom Research on Arab Americans.