Editing Hispanic (section)

===Definitions in the United States===
{{See also|Ethnic groups in the United States|History of Hispanic and Latino Americans|Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|Hispanic and Latino (ethnic categories)}}
[[File:Spanish-American boy, Chamisal, New Mexico.jpg|thumb|Hispanic boy from [[New Mexico]], 1940 photograph.]]
Both ''Hispanic'' and ''[[Latino (demonym)|Latino]]'' are widely used in American English for Spanish-speaking people and their descendants in the United States. While ''Hispanic'' refers to Spanish speakers overall, ''[[Latino (demonym)|Latino]]'' refers specifically to people of [[Latin America]]n descent. ''Hispanic'' can also be used for the people and culture of Spain as well as Latin America.<ref name="English Usage">{{cite book |title=The American Heritage book of English usage |date=1996 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |isbn=978-0-395-76786-3 |pages=198–199 |url=https://archive.org/details/americanheritage00edi_4cp/page/198 |url-access=registration |ol=7467919M}}</ref> While originally the term ''Hispanic'' referred primarily to the [[Hispanos of New Mexico]] within the [[United States]],<ref name="Cobos-1">Cobos, Rubén (2003) "Introduction", ''A Dictionary of New Mexico & Southern Colorado Spanish'' (2nd ed.); Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press; p. ix; {{ISBN|0-89013-452-9}}</ref> today, organizations in the country use the term as a broad catchall to refer to persons with a historical and cultural relationship with Spain regardless of race and ethnicity.<ref name="Federal Highway Administration">{{cite web |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/hep/guidance/superseded/49cfr26.cfm |title=Archived: 49 CFR Part 26 |work=U.S. Department of Transportation |access-date=19 January 2016 |quote= 'Hispanic Americans,' which includes persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central or South American, or other Spanish or Portuguese culture or origin, regardless of race;"}}</ref><ref name="SBA 8005">{{cite web |url=https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/SOP_80_05_3A.pdf |title=SOP 80 05 3A: Overview of the 8(A) Business Development Program |work=U.S. Small Business Administration |date=11 April 2008 |access-date=19 January 2016 |quote="SBA has defined 'Hispanic American' as an individual whose ancestry and culture are rooted in South America, Central America, Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, or the Iberian Peninsula, including Spain and Portugal." |archive-date=6 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006175409/https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/SOP_80_05_3A.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The United States Census Bureau uses ''Hispanic or Latino'' to refer to ''a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race'' <ref name="census.gov">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-04.pdf |title=The Hispanic Population: 2010 |date=May 2011 |work=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref> and states that Hispanics or Latinos can be of any race and any ancestry.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewhispanic.org/2009/05/28/whos-hispanic/ |title=Who's Hispanic? |first1=Jeffrey S. |last1=Passel |first2=Paul |last2=Taylor |work=Pew Research Center |date=28 May 2009 |access-date=19 January 2016 |archive-date=4 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170304101031/http://www.pewhispanic.org/2009/05/28/whos-hispanic/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Because of the technical distinctions involved in defining "race" vs. "ethnicity", there is confusion among the general population about the designation of Hispanic identity. Currently, the United States Census Bureau defines six race categories:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-02.pdf |title=Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin |work=U.S. Census Bureau |date=March 2011 |first1=Karen R. |last1=Humes |first2=Nicholas A. |last2=Jones |first3=Roberto R. |last3=Ramirez |access-date=19 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429214029/http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-02.pdf |archive-date=29 April 2011 }}</ref>
* White or Caucasian
* Black or African American
* American Indian or Alaska Native
* Asian
* Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
* Some Other Race

A 1997 notice by the U.S. [[Office of Management and Budget]] defined ''Hispanic or Latino'' persons as being "persons who trace their origin or descent to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central and South America, and other Spanish cultures."<ref name=omb>{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/fedreg_1997standards |title=Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity |work=The White House Office of Management and Budget |date=30 October 1997 |access-date=29 January 2017}}</ref> The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|United States Census]] uses the [[ethnonym]]s ''Hispanic or Latino'' to refer to "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Hispanic culture or origin regardless of race."<ref name="census.gov"/>

The [[2010 United States census|2010 census]] asked if the person was "Spanish/Hispanic/Latino". The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census|United States census]] uses the ''Hispanic or Latino'' to refer to "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race."<ref name="census.gov"/> The Census Bureau also explains that "[o]rigin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person's ancestors before their arrival in the United States. People who identify their origin as Hispanic, Latino or Spanish may be of any race."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/hispanic/ |title=Hispanic Origin |work=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=19 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119231531/http://www.census.gov/population/hispanic/ |archive-date=19 January 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The [[United States Department of Transportation|U.S. Department of Transportation]] defines ''Hispanic'' as, "persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race."<ref name="Federal Highway Administration"/> This definition has been adopted by the [[Small Business Administration]] as well as by many federal, state, and municipal agencies for the purposes of awarding government contracts to minority owned businesses.<ref name="SBA 8005"/>
The [[Congressional Hispanic Caucus]] and the [[Congressional Hispanic Conference]] include representatives of Spanish and Portuguese, Puerto Rican and Mexican descent. The [[Hispanic Society of America]] is dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of the Hispanic and [[Lusitanics|Lusitanic world]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hispanicsociety.org/hispanic/museum.htm |title=The Museum at the Hispanic Society of America |work=hispanicsociety.org |access-date=19 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151221201551/http://hispanicsociety.org/hispanic/museum.htm |archive-date=21 December 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> The [[Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities]], proclaimed champions of Hispanic success in higher education, is committed to Hispanic educational success in the United States, and the Hispanic and Lusitanic world.

The U.S. [[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]] encourages any individual who believes that he or she is Hispanic to self-identify as Hispanic.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2005-11-28/pdf/05-23359.pdf |title=Race and Ethnic Categories |journal=[[Federal Register]] |volume=70 |number=227 |date=28 November 2005 |page=71295 |access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref> The [[United States Department of Labor]] – [[Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs]] encourages the same self-identification. As a result, individuals with origins to part of the [[Spanish Empire]] may self-identify as Hispanic, because an employer may not override an individual's self-identification.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kb.dol.gov/DOLArticlePage?agency=OFCCP&parentCatValue=Employer&article=ka1i0000000WEpsAAG |title=May an employer override an individual's self-identification of race, gender or ethnicity based on the employer's visual observation? |work=United States Department of Labor |access-date=19 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221091531/http://kb.dol.gov/DOLArticlePage?agency=OFCCP&parentCatValue=Employer&article=ka1i0000000WEpsAAG |archive-date=21 December 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The [[1970 United States census|1970 census]] was the first time that a "Hispanic" identifier was used and data collected with the question. The definition of "Hispanic" has been modified in each successive census.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0075/twps0075.html#f1 |first1=Arthur R. |last1=Crese |first2=Audrey Dianne |last2=Schmidley |first3=Roberto R. |last3=Ramirez |title=Identification of Hispanic Ethnicity in Census 2000: Analysis of Data Quality for the Question on Hispanic Origin, Population Division Working Paper No. 75 |work=U.S. Census Bureau |date=9 July 2008}}</ref>

In a recent study, most Spanish speakers of Spanish or Hispanic American descent do not prefer the term ''Hispanic'' or ''Latino'' when it comes to describing their identity. Instead, they prefer to be identified by their country of origin. When asked if they have a preference for either being identified as ''Hispanic'' or ''Latino'', the Pew study finds that "half (51%) say they have no preference for either term."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://washington.cbslocal.com/2012/04/04/study-most-hispanics-prefer-describing-identity-from-familys-country-of-origin/ |title=Study: Most Hispanics Prefer Describing Identity From Family's Country Of Origin |work=CBS DC |access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref> Among those who do express a preference, "'Hispanic' is preferred over 'Latino' by more than a two-to-one margin—33% versus 14%." 21% prefer to be referred to simply as "Americans". A majority (51%) say they most often identify themselves by their family's country of origin, while 24% say they prefer a pan-ethnic label such as Hispanic or Latino.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/04/04/when-labels-dont-fit-hispanics-and-their-views-of-identity/ |title=When Labels Don't Fit: Hispanics and Their Views of Identity |date=4 April 2012 |work=Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project |access-date=19 January 2016}}</ref>