Bacon's Rebellion

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2020 Census: 8.2% of Virginians Classify Themselves as Multiracial

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by

James A. Bacon
in

Percent change in Virginia multiracial population. Source: Virginia Public Access Project

The share of Virginians who identify as more than one race nearly tripled during the 2010s to 8.2% of the population, reports the Virginia Public Access Project. Some of the surge was driven by demographic trends, but some might be attributed to modifications of the Census reform, which was designed to capture more nuance in ethnic identity. Whatever the case, the numbers demonstrate that racial barriers are dissolving for the most fundamental of all human relationships — sexual union, childbearing and family formation.

So, what do we conclude from the fact that about one out of twelve Virginians considers themselves multiracial? That fact that Americans care so little about racial identity that they form unions with people of other races lasting enough to have children does not square with the dogma that the Unites States and Virginia are racist. Indeed, the data suggests quite the opposite: that the U.S. is the most pluralistic, least racist country on the planet.

The national average for individuals identifying by two or more races is 10.2%, according to the U.S. Census. Virginia at 8.2% was somewhat lower than the national average. But the Old Dominion is marginally higher than Washington D.C. at 8.1% and Maryland at 7.8%.

The states with the most multiracial individuals in the country is Hawaii at 25.3%, followed by New Mexico at 19.9%. The states with the fewest are Mississippi at 3.7%, West Virginia at 4.7%, and North Carolina at 6.8%.

Percent two or more races by state, 2020. Source: U.S. Census

— JAB

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21 responses to “2020 Census: 8.2% of Virginians Classify Themselves as Multiracial”

  1. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Interesting chart: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/06/ST_2015-06-11_multiracial-americans_06-01.png

  2. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    Steve is right, “identified as” is the key. If you did the DNA test almost every American who identifies as Black would be found to have some DNA from places other than Africa. My guess is a high percentage of Americans identifying as White would have some Black, Asian or Native DNA. I mean, not a huge amount like Pow Wow Chow Warren but some. According to my DNA test I have a bit of Middle Eastern blood. Should I identify as multi-racial?

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      Well, yeah, if you get right down do it – very few are pure slave heritage or pure white royalty heritage.

      After all, we SAY we ARE a country of immigrants and a melting pot.

      But in terms of politics. Which political parties are about representing your interests regardless of your heritage or color?

      Honest question.

      1. DJRippert Avatar
        DJRippert

        The Libertarian Party. All 3 of us.

  3. Stephen Haner Avatar
    Stephen Haner

    An undercount, surely. But “identified as” is the operative phrase.

    1. WayneS Avatar
      WayneS

      I am white, but I have decided I identify as “Some Other Race in Combination” whatever that means…

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        Anglo and Saxon

        1. tmtfairfax Avatar
          tmtfairfax

          Many of us have very little Anglo-Saxon or even the broader, “mixed” English heritage. My DNA is estimated to be 86% Celtic: consisting of Irish, Scot and Welsh. We had our own languages, systems of law and cultures that were suppressed over time. Why is no one proposing reparations for the Celts of America? Why a a double standard?

  4. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    “…does not square with the dogma that the Unites States and Virginia are racist”

    A misstatement of the claim (intentional?)… The claim is not that the people of the US or Virginia are racists. It is that SYTEMIC racism exists and has historically existed n the US and Virginia that needs to be rectified. Two distinctly different things that the Right likes to conflate.

    1. James A. Bacon Avatar
      James A. Bacon

      Sorry, Eric, you are wrong.

      You are correct to differentiate between the claims that (a) all whites are racist, except maybe so-called allies, and even they are suspect, and (b) that systemic racism is embedded in our institutions. The fact is that the proponents of Critical Race Theory and its various offshoots make both claims. My post deals with the first claim, that white Americans are racist.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        What most, not all proponents of critical race theory, say is that we have racist structures embedded in our culture, not that individuals are racist.

        And CRT are not the only ones who think that our culture has those issues. There are others including generations of black people who have personally experienced those things.

        What the deniers want to say is that individuals are NO LONGER racist and they don’t accept that we have racism embedded in our culture as if things like Jim Crow statues and confederate names of school and streets do not exist and racial disparities between demographics groups do not exist.

        As if this Air Force Report is wrong and it too is CRT:

        https://www.af.mil/Portals/1/documents/ig/IRDR.pdf

        ” This Independent Review confirmed racial disparity exists for black service members in apprehensions, criminal investigations, military justice, administrative separations, placement into occupational career fields, certain promotion rates, professional military educational development, and leadership opportunities. While the data show race is a correlating factor, it does not necessarily indicate causality, and the data do not address why racial disparities exist in these areas. It is important the reader appreciate the identification of racial disparity does not necessarily equate to either racial bias or racism. ”

        But Conservatives just flat refuse to acknowledge this.

        1. WayneS Avatar
          WayneS

          It is important the reader appreciate the identification of racial disparity does not necessarily equate to either racial bias or racism. “

          Conservatives understand that just fine. It’s you who have been incorrectly using this Air Force study as evidence of systemic racism.

          And the proponents of CRT do say that racial disparities in outcome equate to racism, so obviously that study is not CRT.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            The Air Force Study lays out the fact that there ARE racial disparities JUST LIKE is being said with schools, our criminal justice system, and other.

            It stands on it’s own and I offer it as an example of the reality that folks like you just deny. ( see when you point to me, I’m going to point right back at you.
            Why don’t you stay on the issue instead of personalizing it? Can you not do that?)

            They ALSO point out that even though these disparities DO EXIST, that they are NOT necessarily due to overt racism.

            That – it’s an issue that is real and needs to be addressed.

            What Conservatives have to say about this is not that and some of them are in full attack mode by denying the fact that we do have racial disparities AND focusing on the most radical of the CRT folks INSTEAD of admitting we do have issues and we should be addressing them which is EXACTLY hat most College and K-12 systems are trying to do while Conservatives are just raising hell and opposed to any changes.

          2. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            It stands on it’s own and I offer it as an example of the reality that folks like you just deny.

            That is simply not so. I have never denied that racial disparities exist, and it is extremely disingenuous of you to claim otherwise. Also, I’ve never seen anyone else here deny that these disparities exist. Where we part ways is on the reasons for the disparities and what should be done about them.

          3. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            … people like you… got it?

            and yep, you’re disingenuous to the extreme… IMHO.

            Keep personalizing and I’ll keep returning the favor.

            Stick to issues.. argue your points, attack my POINTS not me!

            And NO, you’re WRONG – people here DO argue that we do NOT have racial disparities that need to be addressed.
            They basically argue against doing anything at all and some imply that the disparities are due to cultural differences , something the Air Force Report did NOT do.

          4. WayneS Avatar
            WayneS

            Feel free to “return the favor” to your heart’s content, as long as you are telling the truth – which you did not in this case.

            On the other hand, it is true that you have been flinging that Air Force study around this site for months, repeatedly offering it up as evidence of systemic racism.

          5. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            In terms of returning the favor, I do not like personal attacks and at some point, will just not listen to them any more.

            I’m appealing to your better side but realize we may be at it’s limits.

            Yes, I will continue to refer to the Air Force study as long as others continue to claim that there are no racial disparities that need to be dealt with.

            Got that? I respond in kind.

            When the idiot and disingenuous and often just plain not truthful, blather about CRT ceases, I will also.

            make sense?

      2. dick dyas Avatar
        dick dyas

        According to the U.S. Census the highest income by nationality is East Indian-American. ( By a large margin.) Why doesn’t CRT hold them back? Also, Caribbean Black-American income far exceeds Black-American. What’s with that?

    2. WayneS Avatar
      WayneS

      “The system” is made up of the people. If the people of the U.S. and VA are not racist, then “the system” will not be racist. How then can there continue to be “systemic racism”?

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        This is why I brought up the Air Force Report.

        That report states that there ARE racial disparities, but NOT due to overt racist or racism.

        They think the disparities are REAL and not acceptable and want to address them.

        I’m not sure you’ve really spent that much time on the issue.

        Try this:

        ” Race in the Ranks: Investigating racial bias in the U.S. military
        David Martin reports on the new efforts being put forth to address inequality in the military, this time under the watch of the country’s first Black Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin.”

        ” David Martin: Was it racial bias?

        Admiral Mike Mullen: I don’t think it was conscious bias, but I think it was institutional bias, if you will.

        David Martin: So, what is the institutional bias?

        Admiral Mike Mullen: I have a phrase I use called ducks pick ducks. And when you have White guys pickin’, they pick other White guys. That, to me, is the bias and that’s what the leadership has to break up to make sure that we’re not in that kind of a situation.”

        You may not agree but the point is that they are TRYING to understand why there are disparities and in doing that they are NOT, at this point, actually proposing changes.

        Bascially, they:

        1. – acknowledge that there ARE racial disparities
        2.- trying to understand why

        as opposed to many Conservatives who are just flat opposed to 1 and 2.

      2. Eric the half a troll Avatar
        Eric the half a troll

        I think this is the crux of the argument put forth by some of the CRT. First, if we recognize that racism exists in “the system” apparently as a remnant of overt racism of the past, yet the people of the US and VA are not racist, why is “the system” still racist? Their answer is if one is not actively acting to correct the remnant racism in the system one is not anti-racist enough (while not overtly racist). In other words, if there is a racist momentum in “the system” and you don’t see it as a priority to change, it is because you are not “anti-racist” enough to make it a priority. There is a distinct difference, btw, between being “racist” and not being “anti-racist”. In my mind, this argument is not really wrong.

        You may wish to argue there is no systemic racism which sidesteps the whole issue but I think that is a tough sell.

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