Introduction: Multiracial identity in the United States is not new.[1] What is n

Introduction: Multiracial identity in the United States is not new.[1] What is new is that more American citizens are self-identifying as a multiracial category than ever before. In 1997, the Office of Management and Budget altered the way by which the U.S. Census Bureau identifies race and ethnicity.[2] The 2000 Census reported that 2.4% (6.8 million) of the population identified as two or more races.[3] Most recently the 2020 Census indicates that the multiracial category increased the most of any racial category in the previous two decades to 33.8 million in 2020, which is nearly a 400% increase over the 2000 Census figures.[4] This finding is particularly pronounced among youths. According to the analysis of William Frey, over half of those under the age of 18 in the current 2020 Census are people of color and the majority of those identify as being of two or more races.[5]
Assignment: In this Participation Assignment you are to address your opinion of the growth of multiracial identity. Do you think this is a positive or negative development for our diverse nation? If you think it is positive, support your position. For example, how might it shape our nation in the long run? If negative, explain why. For example, what might such a characterization render more difficult for our nation or an ethnic/racial community? There has been some complaints among Native peoples of false representation of Indigenous ancestry and the harm that some may cause by such a misrepresentation as so-called “pretendians”.[6]
SUPPORTING INFOMATION:
[1] U.S. Decennial Census Measurement of Race and Ethnicity across the Decades: 1790 – 2020, U.S. Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/decennial-census-measurement-of-race-and-ethnicity-across-the-decades-1790-2020.html, retrieved January 11, 2022.
[2] About the Topic of Race, U.S. Census Bureau, Last revised December 3, 2021, https://www.census.gov/topics/population/race/about.html, retrieved January 13, 2022.
[3] Nicholas A. Jones and Amy Symens Smith, “The Two or More Races Population: 2000,” Census 2000 Brief, U.S. Census Bureau, November 2001, https://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-6.pdf, retrieved January 11, 2022.
[4] Nicholas Jones, Rachel Marks, Roberto Ramirez, Merarys Rios-Vargas, 2020 Census Illuminates Racial and Ethnic Composition of the Country, U.S. Census Bureau, August 21, 2021, https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/08/improved-race-ethnicity-measures-reveal-united-states-population-much-more-multiracial.html, retrieved January 11, 2022.
[5] William H. Frey, “New 2020 census results show increased diversity countering decade-long declines in America’s white and youth populations,” Brookings, August 13, 2021, https://www.brookings.edu/research/new-2020-census-results-show-increased-diversity-countering-decade-long-declines-in-americas-white-and-youth-populations/, retrieved January 11, 2022.
[6] Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, “The Race-shifting of ‘Pretendians’,” All Things Considered, National Public Radio, February 23, 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/02/23/1082622851/native-american-communities-concerned-about-self-identification-wannabes, retrieved May 23, 2023.