Born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both immigrants, Kamala Harris reflects the changing demographics of the United States, analyzes Reuters. When she takes the stage Thursday night in Chicago to accept the Democratic Party's nomination as their presidential nominee, she will represent the nation's fastest-growing racial category.

About 42 million Americans now identify as multiracial, or 13% of the country, according to the US Census Bureau. That's up more than 2% since 2000, when people were first allowed to choose multiple races during the census.

In America, the metaphor "A melting pot of people of different cultures and backgrounds" has long been used. In practice, some states legally segregated citizens by race until civil rights laws of the 1960s and laws banning interracial marriage were repealed by 1967.

However, since then, social changes have been rapid. "Barack Obama was elected as the first black president in 2008, and Harris will be the first female president - black and Asian-American, if elected in November," writes Reuters.

"We're living in a situation 50 years later where we could be looking at our second mixed-race president, and that's wonderful," said Svante Myrick, president of People for the American Way, an advocacy group.

America's future will look even more diverse. The vast majority of multiracial people are under the age of 44, and a third are still children.

"Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump caused a lot of backlash when he said about Harris that he "didn't know if she was Indian or black."

He said that until recently she emphasized her Asian-American heritage and then suddenly "became black".

"I didn't know she was black until a few years ago when she suddenly turned black." Now she wants others to perceive her as a black woman. So now I don't know - is she Indian or is she black?" - said Trump, and this caused a lot of negative comments in the public.

Harris has long identified with both parents' backgrounds. In Trump's remarks, some multiracial people saw echoes of their own experience of being asked to choose one or the other.

Harris' upbringing makes her a better leader for America, say Chicago Democrats.

"When you have individuals who bring multiple experiences in one person, that's an advantage," said Rep. Maxwell Frost, who is Lebanese, Puerto Rican and Haitian, speaking at a Politico event on the sidelines of the convention. "It enhances her ability to legislate and advocate" on behalf of a wide range of Americans.

As the United States becomes more diverse and multicultural, white nationalist groups continue to thrive online, pushing conspiracy theories like "The Great Swap," while some Republican lawmakers have focused on banning books and canceling classes focused on racial history.

Thousands of racial hate crimes are reported annually, with 232 targeting people of multiple races in 2022, the latest year for which FBI data is available.

"Unfortunately, we're really in a period of backlash," said Matthew Delmont, a history professor at Dartmouth College who has studied the demographic trend, despite Harris' 2020 VP pick and her raising of racial justice priorities. administration.

"It's been so much of a push back that it's really come out in response to the Obama presidency and it's really been fueled among people who are scared of the demographic trends in the United States."

Tara Sethmeier, co-founder of the conservative political action committee The Seneca Project, said she was once drawn to the Republican Party in part because of its emphasis on color-blind politics.

"Do Democrats Sometimes Take Racial Identity Politics Too Far?" Well, yes,” she said.

Now, Sethmeier said some of the GOP's recent rhetoric on issues including illegal immigration carries undercurrents of racism. Republicans reject those criticisms, saying their focus on border controls is aimed at securing the country for all Americans.

"This is really their last gasp in trying to stop the country from developing, and I think they're missing out on something that's beautiful," Sethmaier said.