This article raises more questions for me than it imparts information. That may be it’s purpose. I want to know why there is a decrease in the rate of increase of interracial marriages. Ever since my “a-ha” moment surrounding my biracialness, I’ve been super-interested in the greater number of white women/black men couplings as opposed to black women/white men. I realized on that day that having a black mom/white dad made me a “minority” within a “minority” within a “minority” (and a majority?). What!? I don’t even like the word minority. Let’s use anomaly. I perceive myself to be an anomaly within an anomaly. That’s better. Anyway, I would love to conduct a study on why exactly the trend in gender and race of black/white couples is as it is. Lastly, what really stands out to me in the information below is that U.S. born Hispanics and U.S. born Asians are marrying (I assume) U.S. born whites. What does this mean? Americans are marrying Americans. That should be the paradigm that we as a nation collectively shift toward. Race doesn’t exist. Nationality does.
Interracial Marriage: Who is More Likely to Wed Outside Their Race?
Interracial marriages are on the rise in the U.S., although they’ve slowed somewhat over the past decade. The latest census figures show that interracial marriages in America now account for 8 percent of all marriages, up from 7 percent in 2000. During the decade from 1990 until 2000, there was a sharp increase in mixed-race marriages, with such couplings growing by 65 percent. Since the year 2000, however, mixed-raced marriages have grown by just 20 percent to about 4.5 million couples.
Looking at the data over the past three decades, which groups are more likely to marry outside their race? According to federal statistics, African Americans are three times more likely to marry whites than they were back in 1980. Some attribute this to an increase in African American educational attainment and more professional interaction among blacks and whites.
Other findings from the census data include:
*14.5 percent of black men and 6.5 percent of black women now marry whites
*38 percent of U.S.-born Hispanics marry whites, compared with 30 percent in 1980
*40 percent of U.S.-born Asians marry whites, a number unchanged since 1980
It would have been interesting to see other data that looked at interracial couples of all kinds, not just a look at which “minority” groups marry whites. In this sense, this data is skewed and rather limited when talking about the full scope of interracial marriages.
We all know that the world is fast becoming multicultural, global in nature and interdependent in numerous ways. From the adventurous traveler who meets and marries someone of a different race and culture in another country to the investor who buys stocks and bonds from companies all around the globe, the world is at once becoming smaller, yet bigger and with more possibilities.
The challenge going forward will be how do we deal with the social, economic and political realities of living in an increasingly multiethnic, interracial society? And will we ever get to a point where race will simply cease to matter — all matters personal, professional and otherwise?
mulatto diaries 