The Minority-Majority Shift. Two Decades That Will Change America. The Surge Of Multiracial Families

By Isaac Mizrahi – Co-President of ALMA

2020 is the year when the majority of all Americans under seventeen years old will be from a minority background, a process that will culminate with a so-called “minority-majority” population by the mid-2040s. These demographic changes will bring about a significant transformation to Corporate America, and during the next few months, I will discuss some of these consequences, in each article targeting one specific area of our business environment.

It is well known that over the past few decades America’s population growth has been fueled by minority segments. Still, one less discussed consequence of this demographic change is the growth of multiracial households. While there’s not enough quantitative research on this, a Census report from 2018 has shed some light on this trend, and the numbers are impressive.

According to this report, the number of interracial couples in the U.S. grew from approximately 7% in 2000 to at least 10% in 2016, the most recent year for this data.

A variation of the 3-percentage points in 16 years may not seem like much, but when we see analyze the data from an absolute standpoint, one can assess its magnitude. In 2000, these multiracial/multiethnic couples were estimated at approximately 4 million, and in 2016, this number was almost 6 million, a 50% increase, and we believe this trend will only accelerate in years to come.

According to the report, the vast majority of the biracial couples were between non-Hispanic whites (NHW) and Hispanics, followed by 14% of NHW and Asian Americans, 8% between NHW and African Americans, and 8% and other NHW individuals besides Hispanics. But looking beyond numbers, one of the crucial aspects of this trend is understanding how these biracial families retain both cultural backgrounds while still navigating the mainstream Anglo culture.

To get some guidance, I reached out to David Morse, author, speaker, and CEO of the New American Dimension, a research company that studies topics like this one. Moreover, David also lives in a biracial household and has firsthand experience on the subject.

Isaac Mizrahi: What can we all learn as a society from a biracial household?

David Morse: It’s impossible to be “colorblind” when you live in a biracial household, as the realities of race in America are such that when one is non-white, there is never the privilege of not thinking about race. For family members who look non-white, race is part of their everyday reality, and many suffer the same macro and microaggressions as their non-mixed, non-white counterparts. Other family members who might look “racially ambiguous” are continually being asked by others what race they are, which so many find to be a constant annoyance. Finally, for whites like me, living in a mixed-race family, we get an opportunity to see up close what it is like to be a non-white person in America, though we still benefit from our white privilege when we are out and about.

Mizrahi: From a business/marketing perspective, is a biracial household the same as one that is not?

Morse: We’ve done much research with biracial Americans, particularly younger ones. We’ve found that so many embrace multiple identities, often identifying with both parents’ ethnicities. On the other hand, parents, though tending to be more culturally and racially empathetic than those in single race relationships, also grew up as being one race or another, and often possess much of the mindset that they grew up with.

In other words, each family member will be different, and for children, how they respond to an ad may reflect their physical appearance and how that child is treated by society. For instance, my children are half Asian Indian. One daughter is light and looks a lot like me. My other daughter is relatively dark, with Indian features. They get treated differently. Their young friends often ask how they can be “two different races.” Not only are biracial households different – but also each member of a biracial family usually has unique challenges.

Mizrahi: How hard is it for parents of a biracial household to raise their kids to learn about their multicultural heritage background?

Morse: It can be challenging in a society that espouses “color blindness” and where race is often a taboo subject. But having discussions about race is very important, mainly when the children are male and might look Black or Hispanic. They need to be taught about racism, and particularly, to always be overtly cooperative with police officers, keeping their hands visible. They need to learn that they matter, though certain people might look down on them or hold lower expectations. And it’s important to instill in all biracial children a sense of being proud of who they are and proud of their ancestors. It can be tough, particularly in a Black/white household where the children might look Black. However, one parent may be white and directly unfamiliar with how to navigate American racism safely.

Mizrahi: Is multiculturalism good for the country? Why?

Morse: I sure think so. Whereas race mixing has been common in some societies, for instance, in many Latin American countries, anti-miscegenation (race mixing) laws and hypodescent rules (one drop of blood makes you Black, and a slave) were the norms in the United States. Multiracialism helps us get over a racist past and our aversion to even talking about race.

Multiculturalism will strengthen us as a country. The division is what makes us weak, and in the United States, race has been THE top divider. On the contrary, diversity and bringing different perspectives and experiences to the table will make us truly great. As the United States becomes increasingly multicultural, we need to become equally as multifaceted in our worldview in terms of its demographics.

In terms of multiracial families, interracial marriage is often used by sociologists as a measure of social distance. In other words, the more interracial marriage is, the more it can be said that racial barriers are diminishing. However, we have a long way to go. Interracial marriage, though high between Hispanics and NHW and Asians with NHW, is relatively low between whites and Blacks, due to white racism and pressure within the Black community to marry other Blacks. If we are to be truly multicultural, the lines between Black and white need to diminish.

As the country moves toward a minority-majority society, we expect further growth in multiracial families, which will increase the need for advertisers to understand that a one-size-fits-all message strategy won’t be as effective as it used to be in the ‘60s, ’70s, and ’80s. Developing in-depth knowledge when approaching the several racial and ethnic nuances in America will be an essential skillset for marketers, now and in the years to come, since truly connecting with multiracial families may hold the key to unlock future business growth.

I am a marketing executive who spent my 29-plus career years working with brands such as Coca-Cola, Bellsouth, Nextel and Sprint, in several different functions covering multiple geographies. I’ve been focused on multicultural marketing for the past 15 years and am excited by how 60 million Latinos can drive meaningful growth to corporate America. Over the past decade, I transitioned from the client side of the business to the agency side, which gave me amazing perspective and allowed me to partner with several leading brands. Besides my day job, I also serve at the board of directors of the Culture Marketing Council – The Voice of Hispanic Marketing, the organization that represents our industry. I was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and have lived in the U.S. since 1999 in beautiful Miami with my wife and two boys. Soccer rules!