What are the counter arguments against adding "M.E.N.A." (Middle Eastern and North African) or "Non-MENA", as an ethnic option to all race classifications: white, black/A.A., and AAPI ? Leading up to the 2020 census, there was a movement to include a racial category for Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) individuals. Did it fail from over-simplification as an issue of race instead of consideration of ethnic identity? The MENA segment of the world population spans over three continents and the diversity of it's people overlaps with as many races. Long since absorbed into white-America on paper, they are arguably the least researched segment of the American population. The reclassification of MENA individuals living in the United States would lead to tangible advances in medical research and the treatment of illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes through consistent and accurate data disaggregation. Until that time, the risk of skewed data related to white-Americans remains a research concern.

What the law says: The decision in Dow v. United States (1915), determined that Middle Eastern and North African individuals are included in the racial classification for white-Americans. The plaintiff, George Dow, a Christian Arab, born in what is now considered Lebanon on the continent of Asia, won the right to be classified as a "free white man" to prove his eligibility for US citizenship. His initial application was denied based on his Asian lineage. At the time of this decision, Asians were banned from obtaining US citizenship, and the Ottoman Empire ruled over the region of his origin. His attorney's winning argument was based on the theories of Blumenbach's classification of the races; essentially fighting racism with more racist ideology.