Census may count multiracial people as distinct category

WASHINGTON The Census Bureau is considering counting people ofmixed race as a separate category for the first time.

Supporters say doing so would help foster a sense of pride andself-affirmation among the growing numbers of mixed-race Americans.

Some civil rights advocates worry that the new category wouldreduce the numbers of blacks and Hispanics recorded in the census,imperiling minority voting districts and financing for minority aidprograms.For Ramona E. Douglass, a California activist who is of mixedrace, the issue is simple."I don't want to be invisible anymore," said Douglass, presidentof the Association of MultiEthnic Americans, a San …