The Growth of the Multi-Racial Crowd

As cultural diversity grows in America, society is greatly impacted in the workplace. Studies have shown that with a more diverse workplace, it is more likely to outperform other companies, and makes people feel more welcome to join.

However, there can be some challenges such as professional communication being misunderstood or difficulty understanding languages and cultures. According to Wikipedia, Multiracial means, “Multiracial Americans or mixed-race Americans are Americans who have mixed ancestry of two or more races. The term may also include Americans of mixed-race ancestry who self-identify with just one group culturally and socially.” Biracial Americans hold a unique position in the U.S., whether it's their experiences of both the benefits or the challenges that may put a new color on how all Americans understand race.

Let's look at a few pros of diversity.

● Diverse cultural outlooks can motivate creativity and drive innovation

● Local market knowledge can make a business more competitive and successful

● Cultural sensitivity, mindfulness, and local knowledge increase marketing strategy

● Employees are more likely to remain loyal because they feel respected and appreciated for their contribution.

● Working together with a diverse team leads to more productive work and better performance

● Some studies show that biracial people tend to be perceived as more attractive than their mono-racial peers

● An interesting topic to note is that during a recent survey, 47% of white teens, 60 % of black teens, and 90% of Hispanic teens said they had dated someone of another race.

● The population of biracial and multi-racial children is fast-growing in the U.S. This specific demographic segment is steadily increasing, due to a rise in interracial marriages and relationships, as well as an increase in international adoptions.

● They tend to be high-achievers with a stronger sense of self-involvement toward diversity. The young generation of mixed-raced children may develop a public identity with the minority while upholding a private interracial identity with family and friends. A recent research/study presented that multi-racial children typically grow up to be happier in a multicultural environment than their multi-racial peers who grow up in a single-race environment.

Now a couple of modest challenges.

● Paperwork Challenges. Managing paperwork for different cultures may create hardship in the hiring process, and might take more time. Especially because the U.S. has strict requirements for hiring someone from a different country.

● Different styles of collaboration. People from different cultures see the world in different ways. Some are raised to do things differently, which can cause complications and miscommunication.

● Another challenge of being biracial or multi-racial is the need to sail through racial identities once in a while. For this particular point, might make multi-racial people more adaptable and constructive compared to those with a single racial makeup (at least according to psychologists and sociologists).

● Some challenges are more impactful than others. Discrimination, of course, is still pertinent. Despite some social awareness and education, and changes in laws evolving around social attitudes, multiracial children still face significant challenges.

● Another thing is that a few biracial people describe their occasional conflict of recognizing within themselves a definite sense of identity. More than their “mono-racial" counterparts, biracial or multi-racial people have to answer the not-so-simple question, “Who are you?” This type of question could perhaps lead to not only the feeling of identity crisis but possible social isolation, most especially if in regards to specifying a choice between their parents' racial heritage. On the other hand, if they are raised to identify equally with both parents and are exposed to embrace their unique racial heritage, multi-racial people can possess higher self-esteem than mono-racial people. They are well-adjusted and comfortable to function very well in both the majority and minority environments.

It is worth mentioning a few mixed-raced individuals who have spoken about their views on such relevant topics. Some publicity prominent Americans coming from mixed cultural heritage (below), have highlighted interesting topics on their multicultural backgrounds, alongside a few challenges as part of their race.

● According to Tiger Woods he is not simply African-American but rather a "Cablinasian," referring to himself as Caucasian, African-American, Native American, and Asian descent. He was born to an African American father with partial European and Native American ancestry and a Thai mother with partial Chinese and Dutch ancestry.

● Naomi Osaka's heritage is Haitian and Japanese.

● Vice President Kamala Harris, even though she was born in Oakland, California, her native descent is from a Tamil Indian mother and an Afro-Jamaican father.

● Olivia Rodrigo is of Filipino, German, and Irish heritage. In a 2018 interview with CAAM, she opened up about her Filipino heritage, stating that her great-grandfather immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines when he was only a teenager. She mentioned her dad growing up in a house where they were always making Filipino food, and that his grandpa always spoke Tagalog (the native or at least the majority of the composition of the Filipino language).

● Ariana Miyamoto is of Black and Japanese heritage. She entered Miss Universe Japan as a way to fight against racial prejudice after a mixed-race friend committed suicide. However, she faced abuse and backlash over her skin color.

● Lisa Bonet is of Black and Jewish heritage. In a 2018 interview with Net-A-Porter, Bonet discussed growing up mixed-race in the '70s, "The world wasn’t ready for what I represented, the merging of these two races. I didn’t always feel welcome – in my mom’s family, in my school. So I sheltered myself by always withholding a bit, because I didn’t always feel safe." If she could speak to her younger self, Bonet said she'd say, "Try not to internalize the disdain and hate that was projected onto me."

● Mariah Carey is of Black and Irish heritage.

● Zendaya is Black, German, and Irish.

● Jason Momoa is a native of Hawaiian, German, Irish, and Native American heritage. He is also married to and has two kids with Lisa Bonet, who also spoke about herself being multi-racial. In a 2018 interview with The New Paper, Momoa talked about Aquaman's significance to mixed-race people, saying, "And honestly, to be the first mixed-race superhero in 2018... that is a huge honor."

● Avan Jogia is a mix of Indian, English, and Irish heritage. In 2019, he published Mixed Feelings, which is a blend of poetry and interviews with other multi-racial people that focus on self-identity.

● Former President Barack Obama is of Luo, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, German and Swiss.

Sources of this article include Wikipedia, BuzzFeed, PsychologyToday, Quora, TheCut and others.

About the Writer:

Hi, I'm Gemma. I’m an incoming 11th-grade junior in high school and I started to become more aware of racial diversity. While I was born in the U.S., I look almost fully White and was raised predominantly under a white family and relatives, my mother is fully of Southeast Asian descent. Growing up I went through some unfamiliarity with regards to my race as to whether I should lean more towards being white or Asian. I've met a few similar people of my kind. They were always respectful of their Asian peers and culture. When I was curious about one of those people and what they identify as-- they said mostly Asian yet being white-passing. I appreciate this since they did not just associate themselves as Asian when it's convenient. There are times I would identify as Asian due to a huge part of my social circle. And there are times when I struggle to feel like I belong anywhere. The very reason I began to write such an article, is to express myself, and how people like me will fit into our society. This is my very first article and I look forward to sharing more thoughts in the future regarding similar relevant topics.