This document discusses the changing racial demographics in America and issues of racism and tolerance. It notes that as the US becomes more multiracial, there is hope that society will become more accepting of people from all backgrounds. However, racism still exists and many challenges remain, such as confronting stereotypes, having open discussions about race, and moving beyond just tolerance to acceptance of all people regardless of their race or ethnicity. The document advocates for equality and argues that as diversity increases, the importance of racial categories may diminish over time.

1. AS OUR COUNTRY BECOMES MORE MULTIRACIAL, ARE WE BECOMING MORE TOLERANT AND ACCEPTING? Multiracial America

2. What is Racism? 1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others. 2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination. 3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races. a.) Racism has existed throughout human history. It may be defined as the hatred of one person by another -- or the belief that another person is less than human -- because of skin color, language, customs, place of birth or any factor that supposedly reveals the basic nature of that person. It has influenced wars, slavery, the formation of nations, and legal codes. b.) The most notorious example of racism by the West has been slavery, particularly the enslavement of Africans in the New World (slavery itself dates back thousands of years). This enslavement was accomplished because of the racist belief that Black Africans were less fully human than white Europeans and their descendants.

3. What is Race? – noun 1. a group of persons related by common descent or heredity. 2. a population so related. 3. Anthropology . a. any of the traditional divisions of humankind, the commonest being the Caucasian, Mongoloid, and Negro, characterized by supposedly distinctive and universal physical characteristics: no longer in technical use. b. an arbitrary classification of modern humans, sometimes, esp. formerly, based on any or a combination of various physical characteristics, as skin color, facial form, or eye shape, and now frequently based on such genetic markers as blood groups. c. a human population partially isolated reproductively from other populations, whose members share a greater degree of physical and genetic similarity with one another than with other humans. 4. a group of tribes or peoples forming an ethnic stock: the Slavic race. 5. any people united by common history, language, cultural traits, etc

4. Martin Luther King Jr. “ Lukewarm acceptance is more bewildering than outright rejection.” I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. (MLK)

5. William Faulkner “ To live anywhere in the world today and be against equality because of race or color is like living in Alaska and being against snow.”

6. Albert Einstein “ Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools.”

7. Unknown Author(s) “ Laundry is the only thing that should be separated by color.” “ Racial superiority is a mere pigment of the imagination.”

8. The people of America hail from all over the world and all walks of life. No one “owns” America, we are all immigrants. Our Coun try is Het erogeneous .

9. The true Native Americans were persecuted and thought of to be “racially inferior”.

10. Fought to gain America’s freedom and Independence. The freedom and rights of all non whites was Achieved.

11. Fought to Free the Slaves in America. “ We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic cords of memory will swell when again touched as surely they will be by the better angels of our nature.”

12. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

14. America’s Fight for the Freedom of the Jewish People.

15. More recently Americans have made leaps and strides towards a more just America. We stood up and demanded equal rights even though we were not met with compliance we pushed until our goal was achieved.

16. Another event that may have set back our openness to diversity was 9/11 A Tragic event yes. Yet we must not let this tragedy set us back, we must as a whole learn to communicate, and show how we can be better.

17. Race does not exist in nature. Race is “social concept”, normally used in order to discriminate. Race cannot even be definitively determined biologically. "People who have lived in the same geographic region for many generations may have some alleles in common, but no allele will be found in all members of one population and in no members of any other.“ (Human Genome Project) The primary indicator of race has primarily been skin color. “Whiteness gives us status.” Certain physical traits have been recognized to determine race.

18. Immigration patterns The population is increasing, technology is more prevalent, the world is growing smaller and bringing us closer together. Interracial marriages increasing We are all the same underneath it all. Love is stronger than Hate. Most importantly, WHY NOT?

19. Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving were married in the District of Columbia. They moved to Virginia and were charged for violating Virginia’s ban on interracial marriage. The judge sentenced them to one year or suspended sentence if they left the state. He said, “ Almighty God created the races, white black, yellow , malay and red and he placed them on separate continents…the fact that He separated the races means He did not intend for them to mix.” Supreme Court overturned the decision in 1967

20. In 1967 Thurgood Marshall was only months away from appointment to the Supreme court when he suffered an indignity which today seems outrageous. He and his wife could not live in Virginia because he was black and she was Asian. The supreme court struck down the anti-interracial laws in Virginia and 18 other states. In 1967 these laws were not leftover scraps from an extinct era. A Gallop poll done in 1965 showed that 72 percent of Southern whites and 42 percent of Northern whites wanted to ban interracial marriages.

21. The 2000 census over 6.8 million Americans marked an identification with two or more races. The 2000 census was the first census to allow respondents to choose more than one race.

22. That means 6.8 Million people reported being of mixed decent, even though it is believed to be more. Most people record whatever the race they feel they “identify” with. Hawaii has the largest multiracial population. – 24.1 percent of its population. Alaska is second with 5.4 percent. The five least multiracial states are Mississippi, West Virginia, Maine, Alabama, and South Carolina. Every State has a Multi Racial population.

23. Caucasian American Japanese Olympic Gold medalist; Skater

24. Mother: African-American, West Indian Father: Russian-Jewish descent

25. Mother: African-American Father: Italian-American Singer

26. Mixed African American, Chinese, and Native American ancestry. Famous Golfer

27. Samoan, Polynesian, African American Professional Wrestler, Actor

28. Mother: English, German, Cherokee Father: Cuban Actress

29. Mother: Scottish, Irish, Italian Father: African American Singer, Actress

30. Mother: Irish American Father: Afro-Venezuelan and African American Singer, Actress, TV show Host

31. Father: African American Mother: Italian Producer, Writer, Actor, Director

32. Mother: English, German, Irish Father: African President of United States

33. In the past Americans uncomfortable with the idea that you can be more than one thing. One drop rule was deeply ingrained in our society. Obama has led to some frank discussions about race (see below) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehhxGC0cd4E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtWgl1qF3Y0

34. It is expected by 2050, the majority of the US population, nearly 75 million, will identify with more than one race. Thirty years ago it was 1-100, today it is 1-20.

35. The multiracial individual is a visible indication of our country’s move towards acceptance not just tolerance. As we become more integrated as a society, discussions of race may become unnecessary. Diversity is not only about race but experiencing various perspectives, values and the thoughts they bring with them. We are all the same underneath. WE ARE ALL EQUALS.

36. Educate. (eradicate/eliminate stereotypes) Face our reluctance to discuss race. Let children lead the way. Confront and stereotyping when it occurs. Don’t wait for Heritage Days and History months. Beyond Tolerance: Expecting Acceptance.

37. When they asked If I was Black or White or what . I said: I was Black and White and what difference did it make to them. and they said: did I have the answers to the math problems? and I had the answers.

39. Its something we as humans ALL have to work towards.