Race and ethnicity as broad analytic categories, are often used to group and
label persons for research, including national censuses, and in everyday
interactions. This paper examines the use of the categories and category
labels of race, ethnicity and colour in self descriptions of identity in Jamaica.
Questions are raised about the use of these as broad categories and category
labels by and for whom. It is argued for example, that “Black” as a census
category does not adequately capture the social-psychological complexity of
identity available through self-descriptions, or the varied interpretations of
“being Black”. Qualitative data from 104 Jamaican undergraduate students
yielded 15 self-descriptions of racial/ethnic identity. Findings from content
and discourse analysis supported the argument for variability in
identification, even beyond the salience of race, as well as allude to the
social-psychological complexities involved. It is proposed that prospective
researchers continue to examine these issues as well as their methodologies
when studying race and ethnicity.