Arizona's multiracial population grows
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Former President Trump's false attack against Vice President Kamala Harris, questioning whether she can identify with more than one race, arrives at a time when a growing number of people in Arizona and across the U.S. identify as multiracial.
Why it matters: Trump's comments illuminate how some Americans consistently misunderstand the complexities of people from multiple racial and ethnic backgrounds and how those identities shape their lives.
State of play: People who identify as multiracial, or more than one race, are among the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
- The 2020 census found that those who identify as multiracial grew to 33.8 million, up from 9 million in 2010 — a 276% jump.
- Multiracial Arizona residents accounted for 13.9% of the state's population in 2020, the seventh highest in the nation.
The intrigue: Those who identify as Asian plus another race (like Harris) jumped 56% nationally during the same period and represent the fastest-growing multiracial group.