This experience is the reality of many people of Middle Eastern and North African origin when filling out racial questionnaires — even those for the United States census. Specifically with regard to the white racial category, the U.S Census Bureau defines white as “having origins in … Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa,” and by doing so, categorizes Europeans, along with MENA people, as white. USC also doesn’t provide a MENA racial category. Continuing to categorize MENA people as white on questionnaires abandons this community and makes it vulnerable to further inequality and discrimination. To combat this, organizations that administer racial questionnaires — including USC — should validate this group’s rightful and unique identity by establishing Middle Eastern and North African as its own racial category, separate from white.
