North African and Middle Eastern populations, long rendered “invisible” in government recordkeeping, will soon be recognized on official New York state applications and forms.
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation Friday ending New York’s decades-old practice of simply classifying people of Middle Eastern and North African descent as “white.”
Any state agency that collects demographic data will be required to include categories for various major MENA populations, as they’re known, on government forms. That means someone who is Egyptian, for example, will be able to check a box identifying as North African, while someone of Israeli or Lebanese descent will be able to identify as Middle Eastern.
In a statement, Hochul said maintaining accurate data is key to crafting public policy.”
“By ensuring that Middle Eastern and North African communities are accurately represented in state data collection, we’ll be able to identify ways to support this community going forward,” Hochul said.
Proponents of the change have argued that lumping MENA populations into the “white” or “other” categories on government forms cloaks their distinct experiences with bias, poverty, housing, health care and areas.
Backers have also said they hope the change could clear the way for North African and Middle Eastern business owners to participate in the state’s Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise program, which helps them compete for certain state contracts. That would require further legislative action, according to the state’s economic development office.
The bill was sponsored by state Sen. Michael Gianaris and Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, both Queens Democrats. In a statement, González-Rojas said MENA communities had long been “made invisible by our lack of data collection.”
“It is past time that these communities are accounted for and better understood and represented,” González-Rojas said.
The law is set to take effect in late April, though four state agencies — including the Department of Labor and the agencies that run the state’s prison, welfare and mental health programs — will get a full two years to implement the change.
In March, the U.S. Census Bureau announced it would provide a new response option for “Middle Eastern or North African,” along with “Hispanic or Latino.” The two new options, in response to the question, “What is your race and/or ethnicity?”, expand a list of options that includes “American Indian or Alaska Native,” “Asian,” “Black or African American,” “Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander,” and “white.”
The changes, as noted in the Federal Register, were “intended to result in more accurate and useful race and ethnicity data across the federal government.” .
Includes reporting by Arun Venugopal.
