Throughout the history of America, racism, and its impact, has been a persistently volatile subject matter for many people. Some Americans deny the existence of racism, believing it to have little to no impact on the well-being of different communities. To others, racism is a constant obstacle that must be overcome.
Community Solutions regularly produces research and analysis addressing the connection between race, economic wellbeing, and health. As America becomes increasingly diverse, nuance must always be central to the process of change, with understanding of how the history of racism in this country connects to these current changes.
As America becomes increasingly diverse, nuance must always be central to the process of change.
Without properly addressing current and historic factors affecting this change, individuals and communities will face further marginalization, challenges, and doubts about their self-worth and identity. Now more than ever, people should focus on the growing population of multiracial individuals and interracial partnerships in America. In this process, there should be substantial effort to analyze these relationships beyond the “Black-white binary.” Doing so can help strengthen the way that we understand demographics reliant on public benefits, social services, and assistance programs to provide needed health services.
Racial identity in America is changing
Overall, the diversity of America is increasing tremendously. Notably, the 2020 U.S. Census reflects the rapid increase in ethnic and racial diversity within America when contrasted with the earlier 2010 census. In 2010, the multiracial population of the United States was recorded to be 9 million, and in 2020 the population was recorded to be 33.8 million, which is a 276% increase of people identifying as multiracial.
The Pew Research Center also provides insights on the changing racial identity in America as well. In 2019, 40 percent of the country’s population consisted of individuals who identify with a race or ethnicity other than non-Hispanic white. Research from the Brookings Institution highlights 2020 census trends as well, with respect to patterns in racial diversity of the youth population, the substantial rise of Americans identifying as being two or more racial groups, individuals in interracial marriages, and the overall diversity expansion of America.
Above all else, the increase of multiracial identity and interracial marriage will have implications on how we talk about race. Individuals belonging to these demographic groups deserve to be represented and understood as people with their own unique identities and experiences. Further historic context is needed, however, to understand how these relationships are understood and portrayed today.
Interracial relationships, policy, and perception
Typically, in America, when someone uses terms like “biracial,” “interracial marriage/relationship,” or “mixed,” chances are people assume a relationship consisting of individuals who are white and Black. These mental models are supported by media portrayals of interracial relationships in television and advertising, which often use black-white partnerships to represent interracial partnerships.
In many ways, this has long ties with the history of how interracial relationships in America were addressed through policy, which is connected to slavery in America. In 1664, Maryland passed America’s first anti-miscegenation[TB1] law. Anti-miscegenation laws were policies designed to prevent interracial unions between people belonging to different races in American society. Following the abolishment of slavery, many states adopted anti-miscegenation policies.
By the turn of the century, these policies were heavily implemented across America. By the 1920s, 38 out of 48 states in America prohibited marriage between Black people and white people. The prominence of eugenics in the 1920s also formalized public perception regarding the idea of “race science, “which gave authority to lawmakers and decision-makers to craft legislation bolstering anti-miscegenation policies, and other restrictive legislation that negatively impacted Black people.
These prohibitions largely remained in place until 1967 when the Supreme Court passed the landmark ruling in the case Loving v. Virginia, whereby the Supreme Court overturned laws that outlawed marriage between different races. This historic context is importance because it paints a picture of how the history of racism in America contributes to the narratives surrounding how we think about multiracial identity today, along with the types of interracial partnerships that exist.
Seeing beyond the Black-white binary
The association of interracial relationships with Black and white partnerships persists because of the history of how race in America formed through the practice of slavery, and subsequent policies passed by states to prohibit interracial relationships. Current data paints a more complex picture of interracial marriages and multiracial identity.
Black-white partnerships do not make up most interracial unions. By and large, white and Hispanic couples are the largest statistical representation of interracial married/couple combinations, representing 40 percent of married-couple combinations from 2012-2016. Approximately 16 percent of interracial married/couple combinations consist of one spouse reporting multiple races (Both Hispanic or both non-Hispanic). The next most prominent interracial partnerships were non-Hispanic White and Asian, representing approximately 14 percent of interracial/married couple combinations.
Why then, does the media persist in portraying Black-white partnerships as being more commonplace than they are?
When accounting for multiracial identity, the largest reported category consisted of non-Hispanic White and “Some other Race” (19.3 million), and non-Hispanic White and American Indian and Alaska Native (4 million). This was followed by non-Hispanic White and Black/African American (3.1 million), non-Hispanic White and Asian (2.7 million), and Black/African American and Some Other Race (one million).
Why then, does the media persist in portraying Black-white partnerships as being more commonplace than they are? How can other demographics outside the white/black binary continue to receive (or receive more) attention and visibility? Some recommendations are provided below to address these questions.
Next steps, recommendations and considerations
There are several recommendations that can be implemented from a policy and research lens. For starters, individuals who identify as multiracial should be given the opportunity to self-describe their identity on surveys or other demographic research data. There should also be analyses on challenges facing multiracial individuals when they are forced to “pick a side” to self-describe themselves. Research and analysis should also be dedicated to understanding challenges facing BIPOC multiracial individuals and interracial couples. What challenges persist in these relationships when both partners are not representative of the ethnic and racial majority? Instituting these research practices will provide these communities with an opportunity to define themselves, and not confine them to rigid categories.
Finally, when analyzing public assistance programs and their demographics, attention should be allocated to multinational relationships where one or both partners are non-English speakers. Couples or partners that receive behavioral health treatment should have cultural and linguistic consideration to their union and their individual identities. Many agencies across Ohio already work to provide translated information to limited English individuals, but efforts should also be taken to provide health information to multinational households that have distinct ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Work should also be done to address communication barriers between providers and recipients of care. Doing so can strengthen the safety net of programs that provide much needed services to Ohioans in need.
Overall, measures to increase visibility of multiracial individuals and interracial unions should be focused on uplifting the lived experience of these communities and giving them access to resources and materials to define themselves, as every American has the right to. In doing so, we can better provide services for the diverse America of today and tomorrow.
