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The Civil Rights Project Proyecto Derechos Civiles
Research report
Demographic Studies
Discrimination in the 21st Century: How Civil Rights Policies Can Best Embrace the Growing Mixed-Race Population
Gregory Leslie, Natalie Masuoka, Gary Orfield (Foreword)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report catalogues the growth of the modern mixed-race population in the United States and highlights the many complications this population presents for the future of civil rights law and policy. What is most distinctive of today’s mixed-race individuals is their assertion of a mixed-race identity which they claim embodies a different experience compared to those who report to be a single race such as “white” or “black.” This emphasis on personal identity presents a new dimension that must be considered in the development of new civil rights policy.
Key findings about mixed-race individuals include:
  • Mixed-race individuals assert a distinctive identity, but evidence shows that their experiences of racial discrimination often mirror those who are single-race minorities (i.e., those who are only “Black” or “Asian”).
  • Mixed-race individuals often change their asserted racial identity and may downplay their mixed-race identity in response to their social or political surroundings.
  • Mixed-race individuals do not share the same experiences of racial discrimination. There is significant variation depending on the person’s racial combination (e.g., those who identify as Black-White have different experiences from those who are Asian-White or Latino-White). 

Demographic Summary

  • Multiracials experienced a 276% growth in population between 2010 and 2020. (Census, 2020).
  • Multiracials total 33.8 million, or 10.2% of the total U.S. population in 2020 (up from 9 million [2.9% of population] in 2010).
  • Largest mixed-race subgroups are (Census, 2020):
    • White and Some Other Race (19.3 million)
    • White and American Indian/Alaska Native (4 million)
    • White and Black (3.1 million)
    • White and Asian (2.7 million)
  • Intermarriage trends (Pew, 2017):
    • Latino/White partnerships account for 42% of all new heterosexual intermarriages (22% involve White husbands, 20% involve Latino husbands).
    • Asian/White partnerships account for 15%… (11% involve White husbands, 4% involve Asian husbands).
    • Black/White partnerships account for 11%… (3% involve White husbands, 7% involve Black husbands).

Policy Recommendations

  • Abstain from developing one uniform policy towards remedying needs for mixed race populations—It may cause more harm rather than improve equity.
  • Increase compliance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidelines for race data collection among state and local governments.
  • Build better consensus on how to “count” Mixed-Race individuals when identifying target populations in public policy.
  • Allocate more resources toward measuring and monitoring Mixed-Race Individuals’ experiences with discrimination, feelings of racial identity and relevant civil rights markers.
This paper is part of a series of papers on the potential for social change and equity policies in the nation, commissioned and published by the UCLA Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles, exploring a civil rights agenda for the next quarter century.
In compliance with the UC Open Access Policy, this report has been made available on eScholarship: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/8s01k768
Discrimination in the 21st Century: How Civil Rights Policies Can Best Embrace the Growing Mixed-Race Population
Full report – Leslie and Masuoka
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Executive Summary – Leslie and Masuoka
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About the Series: A Civil Rights Agenda for the Next Quarter Century
In commemoration of its 25th Anniversary, the CRP has launched two large sets of commissioned work. The first is a series on the potential for social change and equity policies in the nation. The second set of studies focuses on California, a vast state whose astonishing diversity foretells the future of the U.S. and whose profound inequality warns that there is much work to be done.
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