Feature

The Rise of the Multiracials

Wednesday Jun 3, 2009 – By Sky Obercam

72452595 The fastest growing demographic group in the U.S. is a group of individuals now classified as Multiracial. According to Associated Press, the number of multiracial people rose 3.4 percent in 2008, to about 5.2 million. Since the option was introduced in 2000, Americans who check multiple boxes on census surveys have jumped by 33%, making up 5 percent of the non-white population. As of July 2008, California, Texas, New York and Florida possessed the highest number of multiracial citizens highly attributed to the number of immigrants who marry outside of their cultural group.

This escalating new demographic has many implications which have evoked varying opinions from the public at large. For multiracial people themselves, it’s viewed as advantage, as they are able to fully embrace their complex heritage. 17-year-old Kayci Baldwin from Middletown, N.J. appreciates the government’s sorely belated acknowledgement. “While we are a group that was previously ignored in many ways, we now have an opportunity to fully identify and express ourselves.”

However, there are those who fear that the changing face of America will complicate issues as they pertain to politics and civil rights. According to AP:

“Under new federal rules, many K-12 schools next year will allow students for the first time to indicate if they are ‘two or more races.’ The move is expected to cause shifts in how test scores are categorized, potentially altering race disparities and funding for education programs.”

Change is an inevitable part of life, and with progress always comes struggle. America was founded on the notion of racism as a tool to control. Nevertheless, multiracial individuals are taking control of their identity and challenging the old system. Only time will tell how this new trend will reshape our society as we flow collectively into the future.

Whitney says:

June 15, 2009 at 6:10 pm

I think it’s great that biracial and multiracial people are getting their due! I wonder if they will continue to be lumped into one category? There would seem to be a huge difference between being white and asian, or black and latino, or native american and African, for example.

↑ Reply

Imani says:

June 16, 2009 at 12:03 am

I’m promoting deepening the love within our own black diaspora.
Keeping it and guarding our blackness, black beauty, our vast black cultures
black unity and all things black…not that that means hating different races of people
but, loving within our own black race of people is best for us black
people.

Visual Culture » “Mixed to Perfection” says:

June 18, 2009 at 2:08 pm

[...] Perfection” and “Hybrid Vigor.” The concept behind the ?RU brand acknowledges the fastest growing group in the United States—people of mixed race, or the “multi-racials.” For more info on this [...]

Jst1BlckMn says:

June 18, 2009 at 6:55 pm

Is America multi-powered ?

Are we Americans, African-Americans or Afrikans ?

What do you want the future to be for Afrikans on the continent and in the Diaspora ? What do you want but cannot see ?

Kweenie says:

June 20, 2009 at 7:37 pm

@ Imani

You’ll be happy to know that you share the exact same view as the White Supremacists! They’ve updated their message for our generation: “It’s not about hatred of other races, it’s about love of your own…” Puh-lease.

Alicia says:

June 21, 2009 at 2:27 pm

I’m glad they’re creating a niche. All of us are multi-racial on some level, and frankly, these labels need to go. The sooner they do, the sooner things like test scores and how money is divided up among certain groups of individuals can even out.

June 21, 2009 at 6:18 pm

@Kweenie, I think Imani’s comments illustrate togetherness as the basic underlying principal of most groups. Racial or ethnic groups have very very fine and intricate histories and culture particular to their indentity which has been developed over years whether langauges, cuisine, music, dress, forms of science, spirituality, architecture, art etc etc etc, even their own physical form. You can see this all over the world. These human feats could not have developed without these particular groups doing their thing as a group. Therefore each of these groups has every right to be proud of what they are. However, the problem comes when one group detrimentaly interfers with another especially when trying to appropriate wealth and/or power which I think white supremacists are guilty of.

June 22, 2009 at 1:34 am

It’s so sad that if you desire/prefer to promote love for and within your own
race and culture and even when you state clearly no hatred toward any other
race or culture of people…there will be those sh*t-for-brains kind of people like kweenie who will get things twisted and make it about hate anyway.
Go ahead, knock yourself out getting it twisted, kweenie. You show complete
lack of understanding despite what is stated. People like you are the problem.

Thanks, Jus1BlckMn…you get it. It was simple and to the point what I stated
but sadly there are those who complicate the simplest things.
It’s sad that to desire, prefer and promote love for your own people means
to some people that you have to hate other races of people which is completely
stupid. I don’t hate anyone. I think that preservation of one’s own race of
people is vital to the richness of that race of people. That should always be
cherished for all races of people. There is beauty in all races of people.

Jessica says:

June 22, 2009 at 3:50 am

So if we seperate ourselves by afrikan, biracial, and black does that mean we no loner have a black president? All this division between black people is crazy.