[TyBnett]

Just curious, as I am the product of a interracial union black dad/ white mother and ran across this article saying that Lansing Michigan has the highest percentage of people who checked both black and white as their ethnicity on the 2010 census.



Is Lansing the interracial love capital of America? | theGrio


In America in 2011, the idea of being “biracial’ has taken on a new meaning. The city that may be the best example of this new racial identity is Lansing, which has the highest percentage of blacks who identify with different races.




Any people who have lived in Lansing or who have spent time there care to chime in, are interracial black white couples an epidemic there, and why do you think that may be the case, I assume it is mostly the stereotypical black man white women situation as in the case of my parents.

There is also a ton of half black half white people in the east suburb of Cleveland where i grew up.


Thanks for any feedback.

[313 TUxedo]

Interesting pattern - the further north you go, the larger the proportion of biracial people.

I'm surprised Toledo, OH and Monroe, MI aren't on the list (perhaps Monroe id discounted as too small).

I must disagree with the use of the term "epidemic", seems somewhat pejorative.

[Sharks With Lasers]

You know, being from the Lansing area, I do notice this. I don't think people really care about interracial relationships that much here. I'm not really sure why, but it does seem like relatively blue-collar mid-size cities with both sizable black and white populations are the favorites for having the highest biracial black percentages. It's possible that large factories meant an egalitarian mindset where race doesn't matter.

I do find it interesting that the article references Flint as being one of the most segregated areas in the country, while they rank #9 in the country on having the highest biracial black percent, and far more than any of the other cities with the Top 10 highest black populations. Flint has a ton of problems, but I never really thought that they had the same racial problems as the Detroit area has.

[912]

As a black man, I've always felt that white women (especially BIG white women) who suffer from low self esteem, gravitate towards whoever will give them attention...and we black men LOVE us a thick woman!

[chiroptera]

Since this table is based on self-reported race during the 2010 Census, any difference in racial mix or combination may be purely regional.

Also the title of this post is possibly erroneously calling people of self-reported mixed race as a result of an "interracial union" within the last generation. I'm pretty sure "interracial unions" have been an ongoing thing since the 1700s and making the assumption that any city that self-reports a higher percentage of mixed-race is therefore currently high on the "interracial black/white love scale" is probably misinterpreting data big-time.

[Retroit]

Originally Posted by chiroptera

Since this table is based on self-reported race during the 2010 Census, any difference in racial mix or combination may be purely regional.

Also the title of this post is possibly erroneously calling people of self-reported mixed race as a result of an "interracial union" within the last generation. I'm pretty sure "interracial unions" have been an ongoing thing since the 1700s and making the assumption that any city that self-reports a higher percentage of mixed-race is therefore currently high on the "interracial black/white love scale" is probably misinterpreting data big-time.

That's an interesting point. But would a black person consider their self mixed race simply because they had a white ancestor in the 1700's? If so, then pretty much every black person is mixed race.

[chiroptera]

Originally Posted by Retroit

That's an interesting point. But would a black person consider their self mixed race simply because they had a white ancestor in the 1700's? If so, then pretty much every black person is mixed race.

Well yes, as is every white person when it comes down to it.

But I have to assume that a person's ethnicity is however they report it. So my point was, maybe black people in the Lansing area are more willing to self-identify as mixed-race than, say, someone from Denver? If that factor wasn't accounted for in the census, then any assumptions made merely on the basis of census reporting is spurious at best.

Or, you know, we could actually ditch the whole race identifier angst and move forward without taking skin color into consideration. That would be cool.

[Retroit]

Originally Posted by chiroptera

Well yes, as is every white person when it comes down to it.

But I have to assume that a person's ethnicity is however they report it. So my point was, maybe black people in the Lansing area are more willing to self-identify as mixed-race than, say, someone from Denver? If that factor wasn't accounted for in the census, then any assumptions made merely on the basis of census reporting is spurious at best.

Or, you know, we could actually ditch the whole race identifier angst and move forward without taking skin color into consideration. That would be cool.

Good point, but how would Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton make their money?

[DONNIEANDDONNA417]

Originally Posted by 912

As a black man, I've always felt that white women (especially BIG white women) who suffer from low self esteem, gravitate towards whoever will give them attention...and we black men LOVE us a thick woman!

[TheMittenState]

Lol, I live in Lansing, and am ~ Half/Half mixed.. I Actually have bits of some extra stuff mixed in like Dominican, and like 1/16th indian (cherokee) or something.. I'm not really from Lansing, but I've lived here about 5 years now. One thing that I noticed about Lansing, is that it has a really good Mix of people. People seem to be more accepting of different races, compared to other places that i've lived.