Whiteness in Latin America: measurement and meaning in national censuses (1850-1950)

Whiteness in Latin America: measurement and meaning in national censuses (1850-1950). Drawing on an analysis of all national censuses conducted in Latin America from 1850 to 1950, this article examines how tacit assumptions about the nature of « whiteness » informed the production of statistical knowledge about Latin American populations. For insight into implicit racial beliefs that shaped census-taking in this period, the article considers how census agents accomplished three basic tasks: 1) identifying the « race » of individuals in the population; 2) preparing statistical tables to publicize census results; and, 3) projecting the racial composition of national populations in the future. The analysis identifies variation in notions of « whiteness » across the region, but also points to a set of broadly shared premises about the nature, value, and boundaries of whiteness that transcended nation-state boundaries in this period. Fundamental similarities in ideas about whiteness found in Latin American censuses appear even more starkly when the scope of analysis expands to include the censuses of the United States.Les Blancs en Amérique latine : mesure et signification dans les recensements nationaux (1850-1950). Fondé sur l’analyse de tous les recensements nationaux effectués en Amérique latine entre 1850 et 1950, le présent article examine la façon dont certains paradigmes tacites sur la « blancheur » ont modelé la production de connaissances statistiques sur les populations latino-américaines. Afin de clarifier les croyances raciales implicites qui se sont exprimées dans ces recensements, l’article distingue trois opérations de base effectuées par les agents du recensement : 1) identifier la « race » de chaque individu; 2) préparer des tableaux statistiques pour la publication des résultats; 3) projeter la future composition raciale de la population nationale. L’analyse identifie des variations dans la notion de « Blanc » à travers la région, mais révèle aussi une série de paradigmes largement partagés sur la nature, la valeur et les limites de ce qu’est un Blanc, qui traversait les frontières nationales de l’époque. La recherche conclut que les similitudes régionales en Amérique latine sur la signification de la « blancheur » sont encore plus remarquables quand on les compare avec les paradigmes implicites et explicites sur la « blancheur » dans les recensements des États-Unis pendant la même période.La blancura en América Latina: medición y sentido en los censos nacionales (1850-1950). A partir del análisis de todos los censos nacionales realizados en América Latina entre 1850 y 1950, este artículo examina cómo las premisas tácitas sobre la « blancura » formaron parte de la producción del saber estadístico sobre las poblaciones latinoamericanas. Con el fin de esclarecer las creencias raciales implícitas que se plasmaron en los censos de este período, el artículo distingue tres funciones básicas realizadas por los agentes del censo: 1) identificar la « raza » de cada individuo; 2) preparar cuadros estadísticos para publicar los resultados; 3) proyectar la composición racial futura de la población nacional. El análisis identifica variaciones en las nociones de la « blancura » a través de la región, pero también establece un conjunto de premisas ampliamente compartidas sobre la naturaleza, el valor, y los deslindes de la « blancura », que sobrepasaban las fronteras nacionales de esa época. Estas premisas compartidas son aún más notables cuando se comparan con las premisas implícitas y explícitas sobre la « blancura » que informaban los censos de los Estados Unidos de América durante el mismo período

Towards a Critical Race Methodology in Algorithmic Fairness

We examine the way race and racial categories are adopted in algorithmic fairness frameworks. Current methodologies fail to adequately account for the socially constructed nature of race, instead adopting a conceptualization of race as a fixed attribute. Treating race as an attribute, rather than a structural, institutional, and relational phenomenon, can serve to minimize the structural aspects of algorithmic unfairness. In this work, we focus on the history of racial categories and turn to critical race theory and sociological work on race and ethnicity to ground conceptualizations of race for fairness research, drawing on lessons from public health, biomedical research, and social survey research. We argue that algorithmic fairness researchers need to take into account the multidimensionality of race, take seriously the processes of conceptualizing and operationalizing race, focus on social processes which produce racial inequality, and consider perspectives of those most affected by sociotechnical systems.Comment: Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAT* '20), January 27-30, 2020, Barcelona, Spai

A política de um cenário de dados transformado: estatísticas etnorraciais no Brasil em uma perspectiva comparativa regional / The politics of a datascape transformed: ethnoracial statistics in Brazil in regional comparative perspective

As primeiras décadas do século XXI presenciaram uma dramática transformação do cenário de dados para a produção de estatísticas etnorraciais na América Latina. Essa transformação é mais evidente nos censos nacionais da região. Há algumas décadas, quase nenhum país latino-americano incluía questões sobre raça ou etnia em seu censo nacional. Já no censo de 2010, quase todos os países da região coletaram informações sobre identificação étnica ou racial. Este artigo argumenta que a produção de dados populacionais etnorraciais na América Latina é tanto um produto da política quanto produz a política. Tais dados contribuem para moldar o terreno que parecem meramente descrever, mas nem sempre da maneira prevista ou pretendida. Colocar a experiência brasileira em uma perspectiva comparativa regional revela como essas estatísticas oficiais podem produzir resultados que são simultaneamente producentes e contraproducentes para os objetivos daqueles que lutam, primeiramente, por sua produção.***AbstractThe first decades of the 21st century witnessed a dramatic transformation of the datascape for the production of ethnoracial statistics in Latin America. This transformation is most strikingly evident in national censuses in the region. A few decades ago almost no Latin American countries included questions about race or ethnicity in their national census. By the 2010 census round, almost every country in the region collected information about ethnic or racial identification. This article argues that the production of ethnoracial population data in Latin America is both product of politics and productive of politics. Ethnoracial statistics contribute to shaping the terrain they seem to merely describe, but not always in ways that are predicted or intended. Placing the Brazilian experience in regional comparative perspective illuminates how official ethnoracial statistics can produce outcomes that are simultaneously productive and counterproductive to the aims of those who struggle for their production in the first place