More Oregonians identify as multi-racial

(OCTOBER 1, 2021) A new report from The Oregonian newspaper says that "more than 400,000 Oregonians identify as having more than one race."

The newspaper reported data from the 2020 Census. A census is the federal government's official count of people in the country. However, the census often asks other questions. For example, the survey asks people to report their race.

In the 2020 census, 10% of people in Oregon said they have more than one racial identity. The newspaper said that this is the 12th highest rate in the country. In fact, it's higher than New York City.

The newspaper asked experts why this is true. One reason, say the experts, might be because the actual population of Black, Asian, Indigenous and Pacific Islander residents is small. Therefore, they often marry people from other races. This results in children who identify as multiracial because their father is one race and their mother is another race.

The newspaper says it saw this trend 20 years ago. It says it reported then that "one of every seven babies born in Oregon in 1999 had parents of different races or one parent who was Latino and one who was not."

In the 2020 census, Oregonians reported 54 different combinations of racial identity, from white and Asian, which is relatively common, to Asian, Pacific Islander and Native American, which is not. 45% of the combinations were white and "some other" race that wasn’t Black, Asian, Native American or Pacific Islander. Based on data, this would likely be white and some form of Latino or "mestizo" which represents a mixed heritage of indigenous and white ancestors over history.

The newspaper said the next most common responses from Oregonians who claimed more than one racial identity:

• • • Native American and white: 97,000, or 22% of multiracial Oregonians.

    • Asian and white: 59,000, or 13% of multiracial Oregonians.

    • Black and white: Nearly 33,000, or 7%.