Middle Eastern and North African Americans may not be perceived, nor perceive themselves, to be White

Neda Maghbouleh, Ariela Schachter and René D. Flores
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Neda Maghbouleh: a Department of Sociology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 2J4, Canada;; b Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2, Canada;
Ariela Schachter: c Department of Sociology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130;
René D. Flores: d Department of Sociology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2022, vol. 119, issue 7, e2117940119

Abstract: The US government’s classification of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Americans as White means there is no direct way to numerically count members of this group in official statistics. Therefore, any potential disparities and inequalities faced by MENA Americans remain hidden. Nevertheless, we find that MENA Americans may not be perceived, nor perceive themselves, to be White. These findings underscore the minoritized status of MENA Americans and support the inclusion of a new MENA identity category in the US Census. This would allow researchers to examine the social, economic, and health status of this growing population and empower community advocates to ameliorate existing inequalities.

Keywords: race and ethnicity; racial categories; White; Middle Eastern; North African (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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