https://apnews.com/article/census-2020-house-elections-4ee80e72846c151aa41a808b06d975ea
This is a crucial point that hasn't gotten as much attention as it should in the discussion of the new 2020 Census data:
"Some demographers cautioned that the white population was not shrinking as much as shifting to multiracial identities. The number of people who identified as belonging to two or more races more than tripled from 9 million people in 2010 to 33.8 million in 2020. They now account for 10% of the U.S. population.
People who identify as a race other than white, Black, Asian, American Indian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander — either alone or in combination with one of those races — jumped to 49.9 million people, surpassing the Black population of 46.9 million people as the nation’s second-largest racial group, according to the Census Bureau."
The trend towards many more people identifying as multiracial or "other" race hopefully signals a reduction in the saliency of traditional racial categories. Since I view these categories as both morally arbitrary and pernicious, I hope that trend continues over time.
I am not naïve enough to think we are going to fully transition to a "post-racial" era anytime soon. But there is plenty of historical precedent for ethnoracial distinctions once thought fundamental to diminish in significance over time. Consider, e.g., the history of Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans, and lots of other cases that can be named. Ditto for some religious conflicts, like that between Catholics and Protestants (a hugely significant issue in 19th and early 20th century American politics; barely noticed today). For example, hardly anyone cares that Joe Biden is an Irish-American Catholic (only the second Catholic president ever).