Multiracial Americans

Multiracial Americans, also known as mixed-race Americans, are Americans who have mixed ancestry of two or more races. The term may also include individuals of mixed-race ancestry who identify with a single group culturally and socially (cf. the one-drop rule). In the 2020 United States census, 33.8 million individuals, or 10.2% of the population, self-identified as multiracial. Estimates based on genetic ancestry suggest the number may be higher. The multiracial population is among the fastest growing demographic group in the United States, increasing by 276% between 2010 and 2020. This growth was driven largely by Hispanic or Latino Americans identifying as multiracial, with this group increasing from 3 million in 2010 to over 20 million in 2020, making up almost two thirds of the multiracial population. Most multiracial Hispanics identified as white and "some other race" in combination, with this group increasing from 1.6 million to 24 million between 2010 and 2021. While the multiracial population has been growing naturally for the last few decades, increasing by around 32% between 2000 and 2010, the sharp rise of 276% seen in the 2020 census has been attributed mostly to changes in the Census Bureau's methodology on counting write-in ancestry responses, rather than cultural or demographic shifts. The impact of historical racial systems, such as that created by admixture between white European colonists and Native Americans, has often led people to identify or be classified by only one ethnicity, generally that of the culture in which they were raised. Prior to the mid-20th century, many people hid their multiracial heritage because of racial discrimination against minorities. While many Americans may be considered multiracial, they often do not know it or do not identify so culturally, any more than they maintain all the differing traditions of a variety of national ancestries. After a...