Interracial families in the United States have been on the increase through marriage, birth, and adoption. Between 1960 and 1992, for example, the number of interracial marriages multiplied more than seven times over. Although black-white unions are still fairly uncommon, accounting for about 20 percent of all interracial marriages, other kinds of multiethnic pairings have become the norm. More than half of the U.S. marriages involving people of Japanese descent, for instance, are intermarriages with whites.

Many people feel positive about the increase in interracial marriages, maintaining that multiethnic families transcend race by unifying people through love, respect, and common humanity. These optimists believe that interracial families will dismantle racism as they bring different cultures together in kinship. As syndicated commentator Scott London states, “The mingling and the mixing of race is a sign that we are evolving to a higher, more...