the most recent united states census officially recognized five racial categories (white american, black or african american, native american and alaska native, asian american, and native hawaiian and other pacific islander) as well as people of two or more races. the census bureau also classified respondents as "hispanic or latino" or "not hispanic or latino", identifying hispanic and latino as an "ethnicity" (not a "race"), which comprises the largest minority group in the nation. the united states supreme court unanimously held that "race" is not limited to census designations on the "race question" but extends to all ethnicities, and thus can include jewish, arab, hungarian, laotian, zulu, etc. the census also asked an "ancestry question," which covers the broader notion of ethnicity, in the 2000 census long form and the american community survey; the question will return in the 2020 census.