(5-26-10): "Interracial Marriage Rate Slowing" (AP/Daily Beast)

[Suzan]

Even though the number of interracial marriages in the United States has grown by 20 percent since 2000, the rate seems to be slowing. In the previous decade, that number had increased by 65 percent. In particular, fewer American-born Hispanics and Asians are entering into interracial unions. Today, roughly 8 percent of U.S. marriages are mixed-race, a one-point rise since 2000. Meanwhile, blacks now appear three times more likely to marry whites than they did in 1980. Experts attribute that to higher educational attainment and a growing black middle class. The rise in interracial marriages is also leading to a rise in multiracial children. The Census Bureau currently estimates that multiracial Americans represent 5 percent of the minority population, but that by midcentury they will represent a majority of the overall population.

Read it at Associated Press

The Daily Beast (http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-sheet/?cid=hp:cheatsheet2#cheatrow_16630)

Full article here (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100526/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_interracial_marriage)

[Suzan]

Some explanations of what may be going on from the full article:

White wariness toward a rapidly growing U.S. minority population also may be contributing to racial divisions, experts said.

"Racial boundaries are not going to disappear anytime soon," said Daniel Lichter, a professor of sociology and public policy at Cornell University. He noted the increase in anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S. after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks as well as current tensions in Arizona over its new immigration law.

"With a white backlash toward immigrant groups, some immigrants are more likely to turn inward to each other for support," Lichter said.

Broken down by race, about 40 percent of U.S.-born Asians now marry whites — a figure unchanged since 1980. Their likelihood of marrying foreign-born Asians, meanwhile, multiplied 3 times for men and 5 times for women, to roughly 20 percent.

Among U.S.-born Hispanics, marriages with whites increased modestly from roughly 30 percent to 38 percent over the past three decades. But when it came to marriages with foreign-born Hispanics, the share doubled — to 12.5 percent for men, and 17.1 percent for women.

In contrast, blacks are now three times as likely to marry whites than in 1980. About 14.4 percent of black men and 6.5 percent of black women are currently in such mixed marriages, due to higher educational attainment, a more racially integrated military and a rising black middle class that provides more interaction with other races.

The numbers reflect in part an internal struggle that Asians and Hispanics say they feel navigating two cultural worlds — the U.S. and their parents' homeland.

Hai Nguyen, 37, of Houston recalls the instant connection she felt after meeting her first Vietnamese boyfriend, Greg, in college. Nguyen says while she had to explain herself to white boyfriends, with Greg it was a feeling that "he so gets me, because we eat the same food, we like the same things, our families know each other and there is so little that needs to be said."

With the enthusiastic support of her parents, she and Greg married. But their connection soon began to fade, due partly to Nguyen's budding career as a business analyst, which clashed with more traditional expectations for her to "always have fresh food on the table." The two divorced and Nguyen is now remarried to Jon, who is white.

"My parents have prejudices, but they've accepted it," said Nguyen. She described occasionally feeling different with her parents and other single-race couples. "They know it's inevitable. My native tongue will eventually fade, and history will take its course."

The demographic shifts can complicate conventional notions of racial identity.

[sojourner]

I am not surprised, with our politicians and organizations supporting various racial groups constantly pitting races against one another.

[Laura Cereta]

Hm. No doubt racial tension plays a part in this. I completely understand that feeling of connection to your parents heritage. My Mom and her side of the family were so careful to make sure that Swedish culture was a part of our upbringing that I will meet Swedes and find we share weird similarities. It's kind of cool.


While still growing, that number is a marked drop-off from the 65 percent increase between 1990 and 2000.


I wonder if these numbers don't reflect that as interracial marriage became more accepted throughout society that many people jumped on the bandwagon. Now that it is a much more accepted practice (most places, parts of the South are still somewhat hostile to it), and people aren't feeling so much pressure to not do it, they can make decisions on the matter more independent of social directives.

[samurai007]

Are they taking into account the diminishing returns of further increases? In other words, lets say there was 100 interracial marriages in a given city. Next year, there are 150, an increase of 50% from the previous year. But if there are once again 50 more the following year, for a total of 200, that's only a 33% increase from the year before. And if it once again increases by 50, for 250 the following year, that's only a 25% increase from the previous year.

So saying that it started with a massive 65% increase and the percentage has now dropped to 20% doesn't necessarily mean much except that in the decade with 65%, it was increasing from a small number, and a decade later, when it is much more common and accepted, it was increasing from a much larger number.

[sojourner]

I wonder if these numbers don't reflect that as interracial marriage became more accepted throughout society that many people jumped on the bandwagon. Now that it is a much more accepted practice (most places, parts of the South are still somewhat hostile to it), and people aren't feeling so much pressure to not do it, they can make decisions on the matter more independent of social directives.
My guess this that the minority population is growing given a wider choice within each population and lowering the incentive/need to go outside one's race.

[foxyladi]

lots of folks are just skipping that whole marriage thing.
sometimes :D