More than half of multiracial Americans have been the subject of racial slurs or jokes, but nearly two-thirds are proud of their makeup, according to the results of a new survey.
A Pew Research Center survey polled multiracial Americans and concluded that most of them are happy and proud of their background.
Seventy-six percent, for example, said their multiracial makeup has made no difference in their life. Sixty percent are proud of their background, while 59 percent think their background has made them more open to other cultures that exist.
Pew estimates that 6.9 percent of the U.S. adult population can be considered multiracial — which differs from the U.S. Census estimate of 2.1 percent. According to Pew, being multiracial is based on having multiracial grandparents (2.6 percent), multiracial parents (2.9 percent), or simply choosing to identify to oneself by more than one race (1.4 percent).
Further, the number of multiracial babies has risen from 1 percent of the U.S. population in 1970 to 10 percent in 2013, according to Pew data.
Fifty-five percent of the multiracial Americans surveyed said they have been subjected to racial slurs or jokes during their life.
Other highlights from the survey:
- 29 percent of multiracial Americans used to refer to themselves as one race;
- 71 percent of Americans who identify as black and American Indian, and 61 percent of white-black Americans said they've been the subject of racial slurs or jokes;
- The median age of multiracial Americans is 19;
- White-American Indian Americans are the largest multiracial group (50 percent), followed by black-American Indian (12 percent), and white-black (11 percent);
- Americans identifying themselves as white and American Indian make up the only multiracial group (53 percent) that leans Republican.
President Barack Obama is biracial, with a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Kenya.
A report last year said he has largely ignored his family in Africa since winning the presidency in 2008.
A wealthy African-American, meanwhile, made a racial remark about Obama last month in response to the president's comments about the recent unrest in Baltimore.
Byron Allen, the CEO of Entertainment Studios, called Obama a "white president in black face"
during an interview with TMZ.com.
Allen followed up on his comments during an interview with Newsmax TV.
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