The number of people who identify as Biracial—belonging to two racial groups—is increasing at three times the rate of the general population in the U.S. Despite this growth, some people struggle with the idea that Biracial people can hold multiple racial identities simultaneously. For example, on July 31st, former president Donald Trump claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris was “always of Indian heritage” and suddenly decided to “turn Black.” Like Kamala Harris, many Biracial people face scrutiny based on how they choose to racially identify.
Do people find some racial identity claims more acceptable than others? And do these judgments depend on people’s own age and racial background? These are the questions that Zoe Liberman and I explored in a recent paper.
Children’s Judgments about Monoracial and Biracial People’s Identity Claims
We asked 157 White and racially minoritized children how they felt about Black and White monoracial people and Black-White Biracial who claim either a monoracial (Black, White) or Biracial (Black and White) identity. Participants saw images of children who appeared to be white, Black, or whose appearance was ambiguous. The images were presented alongside images of the child’s parents, who always appeared to be the same race as the child. We also explicitly mentioned the race of the parents. Participants learned that the child claimed either a Black, White, or Black and White racial identity, and were asked if it was “OK or not OK” for the child to claim that identity.
Children of all racial backgrounds evaluated monoracial targets’ claims as most acceptable when it matched their ancestry. That is, children thought Black kids should identify as Black and White kids should identify as White. However, children’s responses to Biracial targets depended on their own age and racial background. The older they were, the more White children thought all three claims were acceptable, whereas older racial minority children thought a Biracial claim was most acceptable.
Adults’ Judgments about Biracial People’s Identity Claims
In a second study, we explored 227 Multiracial adults’ judgments about Biracial people’s identity claims. Like the previous study, participants read about three Black-White Biracial children who claimed either a Black, White, or Black and White identity. They were again asked whether it was “OK or not OK” for the children to claim their chosen identity. While participants judged all three claims (Black, White, Black and White) acceptable, White and multiracial adults said that a Biracial identity claim was the most acceptable.
Possible Explanation for Divergent Findings with Racial Minority Children
Why did older racial minority children find it most acceptable for biracial people to claim a Black and White identity while older White children found all three identity claims acceptable? One possibility is differences in racial socialization. Racial minority parents are more likely to discuss race with their children, whereas White parents may emphasize colorblind ideologies or avoid discussions about race altogether. Racial identity may be more salient for racially minoritized children, leading to harsher judgments of Biracial people who do not claim their full racial identity.
Takeaway
Our findings suggest that the criticism aimed at Kamala Harris (and other Biracial people) may be due to perceptions that she is not always claiming her full identity (Black and Asian). For example, Kamala recently appeared on the podcast “All the Smoke” and stated, “I’m clear about who I am. […] My mother was very clear. She was raising two Black girls to be two proud Black women. It was never a question.” It’s also possible that people are not criticizing which racial identity she claims but rather that she seems to switch between her identities for personal advantage. Indeed, people judge Biracial people negatively when they think someone changes their racial identity based on the context.
Many of the comments on social media following Trump’s remark about Kamala’s racial identity reflect this sentiment. His supporters argue that their anger is not about her claiming a Black identity but that she is seemingly changing her identity for political gain. Regardless, many Americans still struggle with understanding that Biracial people hold multiple racial identities.
For Further Reading
Quinn-Jensen, E. & Liberman, Z. (2024). Judgments of identity claims vary for monoracial and Biracial people*.* Social Development, e12770. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12770
Albuja, A. F., Sanchez, D. T., & Gaither, S. E. (2018). Fluid racial presentation: Perceptions of contextual “passing” among Biracial people. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 77, 132–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2018.04.010
Priest, N., Walton, J., White, F., Kowal, E., Baker, A., & Paradies, Y. (2014). Understanding the complexities of ethnic-racial socialization processes for both minority and majority groups: A 30-year systematic review. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 43, 139–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2014.08.0
Small, P. A., & Major, B. (2019). Crossing the racial line: The fluidity vs. fixedness of racial identity. Self and Identity, 20(5), 620-645. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2019.1662839
Elizabeth Quinn-Jensen is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She studies how people understand ambiguity in social perception, and how social identities—such as one’s race, gender, and/or sexual orientation—are a potential source and solution for such ambiguity.