Living Life in the Middle? Multiracials, Residential Segregation and the Fate of the U.S. Color-line

Abstract

A vast amount of social sciences research investigates the residential segregation of racial groups in the U.S.however very little is known regarding the segregation of multiracial Americans. The principle aim of this research is to examine the segregation patterns of mixed-race adults but to do so within a broader perspective. The segregationpatterns found in this studyare used as a proxy for thesocial positionof multiracial groups, addressing the tenets of six varied perspectives, spanning the disciplines of race and ethnicity, demography, and economics. This study examines segregation patterns of multiracial adults in49 U.S. cities using various summary indicators acquired with data from the 2010 U.S.Census.Thisstudyincorporates a recent methodological innovation by drawing on refined versions of segregation indices that improve the quality of segregation estimates in situations involving small groups such as the multiracial population. Three main findings emerged:1) multiracial segregationpatterns varyfrom the patterns of their single-race counterparts,2) multiracial segregation patterns varyacross type ofmultiracial combination and 3) residential outcomes for multiracials vary across urban areas and regions of the country.These findings suggest that contrary to the contemporary perspectives on social position of racial groups, multiracials hold various positions in the racial hierarchy based on racial composition.