Where Have All the Lovings* Gone?: The Continuing Relevance of the Movement for a Multiracial Category and Racial Classification after Parents Involved in Community Schools V. Seattle School District No. 1**

INTRODUCTIONAlmighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix.1This nation has a moral and ethical obligation to fulfill its historic commitment to creating an integrated society that ensures equal opportunity for all its children.2June 2007 commemorated the fortieth anniversary of the Loving decision.3 In two years, the 2010 Census will, for the second time, specifically enumerate the Loving' s children - and grandchildren - through the "two or more races"4 category. With the authority to apportion representation, this constitutionally mandated counting5 is an historical measure of the population as well as a social gatekeeper, determining who counts and for how much.6 From its founding, the United States recognized the relevance of race. Through the U.S. Constitution, the United States organized the populace of the young nation; identifying some who would not be counted and dividing others, unnamed, who became only fractions.7 This carefully crafted document reflects an even older story, one of the racism deeply rooted in our nation's history.8Historically, race has served many functions in the United States. The process by which individuals have been and continue to be "raced" is multifaceted and complex.9 The census has played a significant role in this process, constructing race in a variety of ways and reflecting the changing social and political utility of various races.10 In particular, the census employs a system of racial categorization; categorization that assumes and solidifies a monoracial, and implicitly hierarchal, framework.11This Comment explores contemporary "race" construction and relevancy by examining the demand for a multiracial category on the 2000 Census and public school documentation. The Multiracial Category Movement (MCM)12 and the debate it fostered pose a challenge to the racial assumptions entrenched in the U.S. legal system.13 Public focus on the subject of multiracial identity has dissipated since the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) decision to provide individuals with the option to "check all that apply"14 instead of the "multiracial" race box advocated by the MCM.15 However, the implications and consequences of this option have not been adequately examined. In particular, the practical effects of using and choosing this new option, both personal and social, impact preconceived notions of race that demand attention and further conversation. Race continues to be not only relevant, but plays a significant role, in social, interpersonal, political, and legal interactions.This Comment is premised upon the theory that race is neither biological nor fixed, but is instead a product of social and legal construction.16 The legacy of defining and determining race, particularly for people who may identify as biracial or multiracial,17 illustrates the relationship between power and prejudice, i.e., racism.18 A relationship that may solidify a unique racial status for "people of more than one race. "19 Part I examines the construction of "race" by exploring the U.S. Census and public schools' creation and use of racial categories within a monoracial framework. This construction has been the topic of extensive research and debate. Part I also highlights the scholarship on the historical development of "race" within the United States, focusing on the purported social and political utility of U.S. Census racial data.Part II reviews the origins of the Multiracial Category Movement and the debate around racial categorization on the 2000 Census. This Part presents the key MCM advocacy groups and the benefits and critiques of the multiracial category they envisioned and promoted. Part II concludes with a discussion of the future use of multiracial categories, in particular in the context of public schools and for the purposes of identifying a child's race. …