It was just 20 years ago that the U.S. census began to allow Americans to identify as more than one race. And now, the …
It was just 20 years ago that the U. S. census began to allow Americans to identify as more than one race. And now, the country is on the threshold of seeing the name of Kamala Harris — proud daughter of a Jamaican father and Indian mother — on the national ballot. Harris’ historic nomination for vice president on the Democratic ticket is challenging multicultural, race-obsessed America’s emphasis on labels. While her dual heritage represents several slices of the minority experience in America, many have puzzled over how to define her — an issue people of multiracial backgrounds have long had to navigate. Harris has long incorporated both sides of her parentage in her public persona, but also has been steadfast in claiming her Black identity, saying her mother — the biggest influence on her life — raised her and her sister as Black because that’s the way the world would view them. “My mother instilled in my sister, Maya, and me the values that would chart the course of our lives,” Harris said in a Wednesday night speech at the Democratic National Convention to accept her party’s nomination. “She raised us to be proud, strong Black women. And she raised us to know and be proud of our Indian heritage.” A 2015 Pew Research Center study found that multiracial people in the U. S. were growing at a rate three times faster than the general population. A majority said they were proud of their mixed-race background, but had been subjected to racial slurs or jokes. And about 25% said they were bothered by people making assumptions about their racial background. Harris herself has lamented how others feel a need to define her, despite how comfortable she is in her own skin. “I didn’t go through some evolution about who am I and what is my identity,” she said in a June interview with the Los Angeles Times’ “Asian Enough” podcast. “And I guess the frustration I have is if people think that I should have gone through such a crisis and need to explain it.” For others from multiracial backgrounds, however, the journey can be fraught. On her Instagram account, Amanda Neal proudly declares that she’s “HELLA BLACK, HELLA PINAY,” referring to the demonym for a woman of Filipino descent.
