The language of race

The 1991 Census form for households in Great Britain included, for the firs t time, a question about ethnic group. The question had nine boxes, eight f or named ethnic groups and one for 'any other'. One box had to be ticked fo r each member of the household. Brian Klug discusses his own reaction to th e (so-called) ethnic question, and explains why, as a Jew of European extra ction, he did not tick the box marked White. He examines several issues rai sed by the ethnic question, including the following: why this question is d ifferent from other questions on the form; the definition and use of the wo rds 'racial' and 'ethnic'; the vocabulary of colour ('black', 'white' etc.) in the language of race; the idea that 'white' is an ethnic category; the claim that the ethnic question is an instrument for combatting racism; one proposal for improving the question by removing the 'racial' components in the categories.