Multiracial Individuals In The United States

According to data from the 2010 Census, there were nine million individuals in the United States that identified themselves a multiracial (Jones & Bulluck 2012). This was an increase of
2.2 million from the 200 Census. The increase in the number of self-reported multiracial individuals in the U.S. was due partly to the fact that the Census for the first time in 2000 gave the option to choose more than one box when indicating racial identity and in part to the US society’s increased tolerance for mixed relationships and mixed marriages. The acceptance of mixed relationships and mixed marriages has steadily increased since 1967, when the Supreme
Court ruled the Anti-Miscegenation Laws were illegal in the United States in the famous
During adolescence nonwhite individuals become more aware of race and begin to be conscious on how they are perceived by the majority population. In order for people of color to develop a positive identity, they must also develop a racial identity. Early models of racial identity development including Stonquist’s marginal identity focused on the negative impact of being biracial without regard to society’s assumptions about race
(Stonquist 1935 in Shih & Sanchez, 2005) and the role that society played in making biracial individuals feel marginalized. He believed that biracial individuals were not able to form a positive identity because of this marginality. Stonequist coined the phrase marginal identities to describe biracial individuals inability to form a firm identity. Stonquist (1935) posits that biracial individuals are marginal because they are made up of two worlds but do not belong to either, which in turn causes uncertainty in identifying with any racial group hence the inability to form a solid identity.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of parents on biracial adolescents’ identity development. In 2009, Stone utilized in depth semi-structured interviews to examine biracial identity development in families. The study interviewed 11 mono-racial parents who self identified as white and 11 of their biracial adult children focusing on families the fit the Black-White category. The main focus of the study was to identify how biracial individuals and their parents expressed the children’s biracial identity within and outside of the family. The interviews indicated that parents were open and honest about race including racial discrimination and racial pride and ensured that their biracial children were exposed to racial heritages of both sides of the family. They also reported strong relationships with their children and a supportive family environment. Their biracial adult children reported that they valued being a part of two different heritages and learned to negotiate their racial identities in different social