Doing Sociology 10.1 Hispanic, Latino/a, and Latinx: Which Should the U.S. Census Use?
In this exercise, you will determine the pros and cons of categorizing ethnic groups and explain the different meanings of Hispanic, Latino/a, and Latinx. Imagine the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has asked you to explain the difference among the Hispanic, Latino/a, and Latinx categories and why they should use one instead of the other two. Write down answers to the following questions and be prepared to share them with the class. Then, with a classmate, share your answers, and answer the questions again, together.
Note to Instructors:
This exercise has students explain the differences among the Hispanic, Latino/a, and Latinx labels. It also helps them understand why the Census collects racial and pan ethnic information. This works well in online classes as a paper or discussion as well as in face-to-face classes of all sizes. If you have a large in-person or online class, randomly choose pairs to present and defend their answers.