INTERRACIAL FAMILIES
The purpose of this book is to offer a resource that allows students to gain a solid understanding of the research that has been generated on several important issues surrounding multiracial families, including intimate relations, family dynamics, transracial adoptions, and other topics of personal and scholarly interest. This book will be unique because each substantive chapter will contain a discussion on the practical implications of these findings. Thus, this book will offer both a scholarly overview and practical advice for its readers.
George Yancey (Ph.D., University of Texas) is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of North Texas and has earned a major grant from the Lilly Endowment to study multiracial church congregations and their people. He has published articles in the Journal of Intergroup Relations, The American Sociologist, the Journal of Black Studies, and the Journal of Family Issues.
Richard Lewis, Jr. (Ph.D., Texas A&M University) is Special Assistant to the President of the University of Texas, San Antonio, and is Associate Professor of Sociology at the school.
INTERRACIAL FAMILIES
Current Concepts and Controversies
GEORGE YANCEY
RICHARD LEWIS, JR.
First published 2009
by Routledge
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Yancey, George A., 1962
Interracial families : current concepts and controversies / George Yancey, Richard Lewis Jr.1st published 2008.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Interracial marriageUnited States. 2. Racially mixed peopleUnited States. 3. FamilyUnited States. 4. MulticulturalismUnited States. I. Lewis, Richard, Jr. II. Title.
HQ1031. Y37 2009
306.8460973dc22
2008026406
ISBN 0-203-88572-4 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 10: 0-415-99033-5 (hbk)
ISBN 10: 0-415-99034-3 (pbk)
ISBN 10: 0-203-88572-4 (ebk)
ISBN 13: 978-0-415-99033-2 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978-0-415-99034-9 (pbk)
ISBN 13: 978-0-203-88572-7 (ebk)
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES
FIGURES
Percentages of interracial marriages in the United States, 19602000.
Imagine being the White mother of a child society considers Black. Now how do you change your child s diaper with such separate bathrooms? You can see how the Jim Crow laws that led to such signs served to discourage the formation of interracial coupling.
Racial and ethnic group separation in the United States.
Some individuals have sought religious justifications in order to discourage interracial romances. This is a letter from Bob Jones University that was sent to James Landrith in response to his inquiry about their policy against interracial dating. The University has since lifted this ban yet it is likely that religious barriers to interracial dating still exist.
Willingness to date individuals of all races.
Percentage of individuals willing to date all races by race and income categories.
Percentage of individuals willing to date all races by race and educational attainment.
Percentage of attitudes toward laws against interracial marriage, 1975, 1985, 1996, and 2002.
U.S. population distribution.
Percentage of distribution of Black/White and White/Other interracial marriages in the United States, 19602002.
Percentage of regional distribution of interracial marriages, 2000.
As interracial families grow in our society we will see more products designed to represent them. Parents of multiracial children should seek out such images for their children.
Sundee Frazier, a biracial woman, is the author of several books that address racial ambiguity. One of her works is Brendan Buckleys Universe and Everything in It, which is a book about a biracial child.
Loving Day is an event sponsored by several multiracial organizations. It celebrates the Loving v. the Commonwealth of Virginia decision. The above document is a resolution by the city council in the District of Columbia in support of this day.
As transracial adoption families have gained in acceptance, images like these have become more commonplace.
TABLES
Weighted Percentages of Willingness of Daters to Date Members of Certain Races
Percentage of Individuals Who Will Date Only Own Race (by Race)
Comparison of Interracial Marriages to all Marriages in the United States for 1980, 1990, and 2000 (marriage numbers in thousands)
Marriage Composition by Race and Ethnicity, 1980, 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2002 (marriage numbers in thousands)
Interracial Marriage Composition by Race and Gender, 1970 and 2000
Perceptions of Discrimination Encountered Due to Being in an Interracial Marriage 2006
Partial Listing of Organizations which Support Multiracial Individuals
A Partial Listing of Student Organizations that Support Those from Multiracial Families
INTRODUCTION
By the time this book comes out Senator Barack Obama will either be the first Black president of the United States or he will be the first Black person who came the closest to becoming president. This realization occurs even though it is well known that Senator (or President at this time?) Obama has a White mother and an African father. He is the product of a multiracial marriage, a fact that is not insignificant in shaping his chances of winning the election. This important phenomenon demonstrates how race relations has changed through the years and shapes who we are in this country. Even today, many perceive multiracial families as the hope for our future despite our racist past. Historically individuals who have partial Black heritage have been seen as Black (note that Senator Obama is not seen as White even though he has as much European genetic lineage as he does African). Since it can be argued that Senator Obamas multiracial background has helped, not hurt, his opportunities to become President, it can be argued that this political race is indicative of the changing racial climate in America.
Usually the image most individuals have when they consider the ideal family is one with parents of the same race. In the United States, we tend to expect people of the same race to create families. This assumption ignores the creation of families by individuals of different races, whether by interracial romance or by adoption of children of races different from those of the parents. The fact is we have a growing number of families in our society who do not fit into this view. In 1960, the percentage of all marriages that were interracial was 0.39%. Between 1970 and 1990 the number of children in those marriages grew from about half a million to 2 million children (McKenny & Bennett, 1994). The U.S. Census Bureau's 2000 census indicated that interracial couples made up 4.9% of the total (U.S. Census, 2000). One-fifth of all Americans have a close family member who is of a different race (Goldstein, 1999). Interracial families are becoming a more significant part of our society and this population will continue to increase throughout the 21st century.
