The MENA Checkbox is here and it will be on the 2030 Census!

We deserve to be fairly and accurately

Counted.

In 2022, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced they would begin a formal review to revise OMB’s standards for federal data on race and ethnicity. Shortly after, an Interagency Technical Working Group (Working Group) was formed to aid in the process. The Working Group, made up of government career staff representing more than 20 federal agencies across the government, began their work, including engaging the American pubic directly as they deliberated their recommendations. On January 27, 2023, OMB published a Federal Register Notice seeking the public’s comments on the Working Group’s initial proposal for updating OMB’s Race and Ethnicity Standards, which included a call for adding a Middle East or North Africa (MENA) category. On March 28, 2024, OMB revised the Race and Ethnicity Standards to include a new MENA checkbox! See our statement below about the new standards and keep checking this website for ways you can support the empowerment, well-being and representation of the Arab American community by supporting accurate data collection.

 

resources

Learn More About the MENA Ethnic Category and the Decades-Long Effort to Collect Data on Arab Americans

Use these resources to learn more about the MENA ethnic category and to educate others on why a MENA category is so important for Arab American representation.

 

MENA in the Media