Does the movement in favor of a multiracial category help or hurt racial minorities?
Those in favor of a multiracial category argue that such a category would acknowledge the increasing number of children who are born into mixed race families and recognize that current racial categories do not account for the identity and experiences of multiracial people. Some also argue that increasing the number of racial categories to include multiracials would weaken racial hierarchy. Other scholars assert that acceptance of a multiracial category creates definitional as well as practical problems. First, the acceptance of a multiracial category implies an acceptance that race is based upon “blood lines,” an approach that has been completely discredited. Furthermore, the category itself would be impossible to define. If it includes anyone of mixed heritage, then the majority of people in the United States would be defined as multiracial and the category would become meaningless. More importantly, some argue that a multiracial category could be used as a buffer category to further
