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Biracial

The term biracial refers to individuals who are born to parents who are each of a different racial background. For example, the child of an African American mother and an Asian American father would be considered biracial. Similarly, a person with one White parent and one Native American parent would also be considered biracial. The term multiracial, which is used to describe individuals of two or more races, is inclusive of the term biracial. An example of a multiracial individual would be someone with White, Native American, and African American parentage.

It is important to note that distinctions between race and ethnicity are complex and, at times, controversial within U.S. society. Currently the U.S. Census considers Hispanic an ethnicity rather than a racial category. Therefore, an individual with one Latino/a parent and one White parent, for example, would not be considered biracial, though he or she may feel as though he or she is of a mixed cultural background. This is complicated by the fact that many social scientists believe that race is a social construct, with racial groupings being based on historical classifications rather than true genetic differences among people. The term multiethnic, which refers to individuals of multiple ethnic backgrounds, is sometimes preferred to describe individuals of mixed heritage because ethnicity is a broader term that denotes a shared identity and ancestry among members of a particular cultural group. However, the term multiethnic would also describe someone of Japanese and Chinese descent, and this experience would be seen as different from a more traditional multiracial (e.g., Japanese and White) experience.

It is also important to recognize that many individuals who fit the definition of biracial may not choose to use this term to describe themselves. They might elect to identify with only one side of their racial background (opting for a monoracial identity) or use other terminology such as mixed. Indeed, individuals of mixed racial background have various options of self-identification that are based on demographic background, familial influences, skin color, and other cultural experiences.

Historical Perspectives

The number of biracial individuals has increased over the years, particularly with increasing rates of interracial relationships and the repeal of antimiscegenation (racial mixing) laws in the late 1960s. Dating back to the early 18th century, antimiscegenation laws sought to maintain the purity of White European bloodlines in U.S. society by limiting the birth of biracial children. Such norms held to the rule of hypodescence, or “one-drop rule,” a rule that even the slightest degree of racial mixing eliminated the possibility for an individual to legally identify as White. Although the offspring of interracial relationships have been noted in American history for centuries, it was not until the civil rights movement and the repeal of antimiscegenation laws that the U.S. government was pushed to formally acknowledge and give equal liberties to the many adults involved in interracial relationships as well as those who were of mixed racial background.

In addition to the legal and cultural norms that implied that biracial offspring and mixed race relationships were taboo, the government also traditionally classified individuals in a way that limited how people of mixed racial heritage could identify themselves. For the 210-year span between the first national census in 1790 and the recent decennial census in 2000, individuals had to identify themselves as belonging to only one racial group. At times, however, efforts were made to track individuals of mixed African/White heritage. On the 1890 national census a mulatto was defined as someone three- to five-eighths Black; a quadroon was one-quarter Black, and an octoroon was one-eighth Black. These definitions applied only to Black/White biracial combinations and were eliminated by the next census in 1900, as they had very little rational justification or public support. Between 1900 and 2000, no effort was made to distinguish people of mixed racial heritage, and the classification trend fell back to using the “one-drop rule” to determine who could and could not identify as White. Any individual with “one drop” of non-White blood had to identify legally with the non-White portion of her or his racial background, thus emphasizing the importance of purity in White ancestry.

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