ABSTRACT
The number of mixed-race people in the United States is growing quickly. In 1970, 460,000 children lived in mixed-race families. By 1980 this number had doubled to 996,070 and by 1990 almost 2 million children lived in mixed-race households (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). Thus, the number of mixed race children in the United States had increased by 400% in only 20 years. In 2000, the first year that respondents were allowed to claim more than one race, more than 7 million people acknowledged being of more than one race in the United States, or
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about 3% of the population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005). There are many successful actors, singers, artists, and athletes who are biracial. Some examples are Joan Baez, Jennifer Beals, Halle Berry, Benjamin Bratt, Yul Brynner, Mariah Carey, Cher, Jimi Hendrix, Frida Kahlo, Ben Kingsley, Bob Marley, Anthony Quinn, Keanu Reeves, Jimmy Smits, and Tiger Woods. However, the multiracial heritage of these famous people is often not highlighted. When visible in the media, they may be pressed to identify only with their ethnic minority backgrounds (Streeter, 1996).
