Armenians, Hmong and other groups feel US race and ethnicity categories don’t represent them

The federal government recently reclassified race and ethnicity groups in an effort to better capture the diversity of the United States, but some groups feel the changes miss the mark.

Hmong, Armenian, Black Arab and Brazilian communities in the U.S. say they are not represented accurately in the official numbers. While the revisions were widely applauded, these communities say the changes have created a tension between how the federal government classifies them versus how they identify themselves.

The groups say money, political power and even health could be at stake. Being lumped into the wrong column can mean a gain or loss of government funds that are distributed based on data. For some, it’s about their identity and feeling seen by their own country.

The Office of Management and Budget said the working group that oversaw the revisions held 94 “listening sessions” with many advocacy groups, academics and the general public, and it will continue to reach out to communities.

HMONG AND THE SECRET WAR

During the Vietnam War and unbeknownst to the American public, the CIA recruited Lao and Hmong people to fight the spread of communism throughout Southeast Asia. Tens of thousands of Hmong soldiers died while others fled to the U.S. as a result of what became known as the “secret war.”

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