Interracial Marriage In a Polarized America

Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service

Interracial/intercultural marriages have been on the rise for years in the United States. According to PEW, about 17% of new marriages are interracial couples. Many of these unions produce children that are multiracial and multicultural.

Experts and researchers discussed data and ideas on the subject, and a multiracial family shared about what it takes to make it and thrive in our increasingly polarized society at the August 5 briefing. The number of intermarriages in the United States has tripled from 2010 to 2020, the number of mixed-race children brought about by intermarriage has increased significantly, and it has become easier for people to talk about their interracial identities.

Justin Gest, Associate Professor of Policy and Government at George MasonUniversity’s Schar School of Policy and Government believes that according to the current demographic trends, by 2045, the U.S. demographic structure will undergo milestone changes, the traditionally predominantly white U.S. will undergo major changes, and the population of other ethnic groups will surpass that of whites. Gest’s research shows that California has the most interracial marriages in the United States. California has five of the ten counties with the most interracial marriages in the United States, followed by Hawaii. Gest said his survey also found that many Americans are reluctant to and agree to love, socialize and live with people who are ideologically different from their own.

Allison Skinner Dorkenoo, Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Social Psychology at the University of Georgia concluded that public attitudes toward white-black intermarriage have increased significantly. Respondents indicated that intermarriage among friends might help them change their stereotypes about intermarriage.

Sonia and Richard Kang, the inter-ethnic intermarriage owners of children’s clothing company Mixed-Up Clothing, were invited to introduce their marriage life at the seminar. When the two were about to get married, the man’s family opposed it.  Sonia said interracial children may face some social challenges, such as being overwhelmed when filling out forms, and the categorization of federal forms often leaves them unable to find options for their ethnicity.