In this scrollable interactive, you can explore the history of race in the US using the census. It shows how race was defined, who was included in which racial categories, and which groups of people were included and excluded in the US census at different points in history.
Davis, F. J. (1991). Who is Black? One nation's definition. Frontline, Public Broadcasting Service. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/mixed/onedrop.html Marks, R., & Rios-Vargas, M. (2021, August 3). Improvements to the 2020 Census race and Hispanic origin question designs, data processing, and coding procedures. United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2021/08/improvements-to-2020-census-race-hispanic-origin-question-designs.html Pratt, B. M., Hixson, L., & Jones, N. A. (2015). Measuring race and ethnicity across the decades: 1790—2010 [infographic]. United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/race/MREAD_1790_2010.html