Media shines light on multiracial individuals

When Tiger Woods became a household name, the media wrote endlessly about his African- American father and his Thai mother.

The attention on one of the world’s most famous golfers was not unusual, but the focus on his multiracial background was rare.

With the exception of the 2000 Census, the media have largely ignored the United States’ multiracial population, experts say.

Maria Aysa-Lastra, a Florida International University sociology professor, said a wealth of untold stories abounded about multiracial people.

Among them: multiracial couples overcoming cultural differences, the self-identity crisis among multiracial children and the role of schools in helping parents and children overcome racial discrimination.

“The media has done a poor job,” said Aysa-Lastra.

Experts, however, agree that coverage of the 2000 Census brought the issue to light in the media.

Census Bureau officials allowed people – for the first time – to report more than one race. The census included six racial categories along with 57 possible combinations.

Nearly 7 million people, more than 2% of the population, describe themselves as multiracial, census figures show.

Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Suzette Parmley, the child of a Filipino mother and white father, said newspapers were overlooking coverage of multiracial issues. Even at her own newspaper, she said, the ethnic community beat has been eliminated as part of cutbacks in the newsroom.

“People feel there are more important things than ethnic and racial issues,” she said. “But it definitely needs to be a beat ... because it’s a big national issue that touches on both coasts.”

For Parmley, the issue is personal. She said she always felt “more Asian than white” growing up because of her physical appearance. As a child, she recalls speaking Tagalog and English, as well as practicing cultural traditions from both sides of the family, which are equally important to her.

But she couldn’t represent her father’s side because her appearance would never let her pass as a white woman, she said.

Boston Globe sports editor Greg Lee also said he thought the media needed to improve its coverage of multiracial issues. He grew up in New Orleans with African-American parents and a Chinese greatgrandfather on his mother’s side.

Although he took some Asian studies courses in high school and continues trying to connect with his Chinese roots through conversations with his mother and grandmother, a cultural gap still exists. “We never talked about our Chinese heritage because we were a black family,” he said. “I never had a chance to embrace it growing up.”

Contact Erika Usui at erika. usui@colorado.edu.