Race categorization has been a political priority since the inception of the census. Also, it is too costly to change the census and to represent all the ethnic groups or combinations of racial groups in America would take up too much space. . . . For generations rape was institutional and an accepted ritual which resulted in uncounted biracial and multiracial children growing up in our society. They were not counted because they did not count as human beings. We now take the position that our children do matter, we want recognition and acceptance, and most of all we want entitlement without adversely effecting the entitlement of others.
Empowerment is the issue.
Our power institutions respect only groups that also have leverage and power. The individuals and organizations who come together for the purpose of fair and equal treatment for all human beings will be on the side of justice. These individual efforts must transcend to the level of institutional action for this cause to be realized. Each person must decide what resources and energies can be applied to reach this level of justice. I hope and pray that our cause encourages individual exploration of one's total heritage.