Census report shows multiracial and minority population growing fastest

Scholarly perspectives on the mixed race experience.

The multiracial population is young and rapidly growing, and may soon account for one-fifth of the U.S. population by the year 2050, and one-third of the country’s population by 2100. Because the multiracial population is overwhelmingly young, the parents choose their children’s racial identification on official documents like the Census form, and also help to shape the way that multiracial youth see and identify themselves. Based on the in-depth interviews, we find that while Asian-White and Latino-White couples recognize and identify their children as multiracial or multiethnic, they feel that their children will soon adopt a White or American identity, regardless of how hard they may try to instill a multiracial or multiethnic culture and identity. Black intermarried couples, however, feel differently. While interracial Black couples also recognize the multiracial backgrounds of their children, they are more likely to identify their children as Black—in part, they claim, because others identify them as such.

The divergent patterns of racial identification among these couples indicate that the assimilative power of intermarriage operates differently for Blacks than it does for Asians or Latinos. The assimilative power of intermarriage operates so strongly for the children of Asian-White and Latino-White couples that most identify and are identified by others as White and/or American. By contrast, the children of Black interracial couples are much more likely to adopt a Black racial identity, suggesting that these couples appear to be traversing a different pathway, and more specifically, incorporating into a racialized, minority status. The interviews illustrate that when marrying across the color line, interracial Black couples are the least likely, least able, and0or least willing to transfer a non-Black identity and status to their children.

Jennifer Lee and Frank D. Bean, “A Postracial Society or A Diversity Paradox? Race, Immigration, and Multiraciality in the Twenty-First Century,” Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, Volume 9, Issue 2, (Fall 2012). 432. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1742058X12000161.

Census report shows multiracial and minority population growing fastest

Census report shows multiracial and minority population growing fastest

PoliticsNation with Rev. Al Sharpton
NBC News
2013-06-13

Morgan Whitaker, Producer

As white birth rates declined, Asian-American and Hispanic populations grew significantly, but the latest Census Report shows that multiracial populations grew fastest.

America’s young children are more racially diverse than ever before, according to a Census report released Thursday morning, which finds that approximately half of all children under five are racial minorities.

Additionally, the fastest percentage of population growth is among self-identified multiracial Americans—especially fascinating in a time when ads featuring interracial families still spark controversy…

Read the entire article here.

Tags: Morgan Whitaker, NBC News, PoliticsNation with Rev. Al Sharpton

This entry was posted on Monday, July 8th, 2013 at 03:24Z and is filed under Articles, Census/Demographics, Media Archive, United States. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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Mixed Race Studies

Census report shows multiracial and minority population growing fastest

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