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Trump wants to remove questions about race in the Census. We look back at the history

The Trump administration wants to stop asking about race and ethnicity on the next U.S. Census. Since 1790, such questions have been used to exclude people of color, and, more recently, for inclusion.

Copyright 2026 NPR

Hansi Lo Wang (he/him) is a NPR correspondent who reports on voting, the Census Bureau and the U.S. Postal Service.
Ayesha Rascoe is the host of Weekend Edition Sunday and the Saturday episodes of Up First.
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