Opinion ID: 1595736
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 17

Heading: Living ConditionsRacial Diversity

Text: Cynthia further argues that the children, as members of a racial and ethnic minority, would be better off in the diverse population of New York than the less diverse community of Lincoln. The record does not specifically state to which minority group the children belong. We have not previously discussed the degree to which racial identity might be weighed in the context of custody determinations. The Nebraska Court of Appeals, however, recently confronted a similar question in Ebirim v. Ebirim, 9 Neb.App. 740, 620 N.W.2d 117 (2000). In that child custody dispute, the father argued that his son's biracial heritage should be considered in determining custody and that the child should have been placed with him because he lived in the racially diverse community of Omaha, while the mother lived in Brownville, Nebraska, which the mother testified had no African-American children. Id. The Court of Appeals determined that the collected cases indicate that [race] is generally considered as one factor among several in evaluating the best interests of the child, id. at 743, 620 N.W.2d 117, and concluded that the race of the child could be considered as one factor among several... in custody determinations, id. at 744, 620 N.W.2d 117, citing Annot., 10 A.L.R.4th 796 et seq. (1981). Accord J.H.H. v. O'Hara, 878 F.2d 240 (8th Cir. 1989), cert. denied 493 U.S. 1072, 110 S.Ct. 1117, 107 L.Ed.2d 1024 (1990). Compare Palmore v. Sidoti, 466 U.S. 429, 104 S.Ct. 1879, 80 L.Ed.2d 421 (1984) (finding Equal Protection Clause violated where race of child was sole factor in making custody determination). We agree with the Court of Appeals and likewise conclude that a child's racial identity is one factor among several that may be considered in making custody determinations. In the instant case, we conclude that the relative racial diversity of Lincoln and New York is an appropriate consideration in evaluating the living conditions for the children. Based on the evidence presented to the district court, however, we do not find that racial identity and diversity should be given significant weight in our de novo review. Cynthia admitted that the children had not been taunted or otherwise discriminated against in Lincoln, and Dwight testified that Dwight III's school was racially diverse. While Cynthia testified that the New York City metropolitan area was more racially diverse than Lincoln, no evidence was adduced regarding the schools or neighborhoods of Suffolk County, where Cynthia planned to live, nor was any evidence presented regarding the general state of race relations, or instances of racial discrimination, in New York City. The record indicates that with respect to diversity, the living conditions of the children are satisfactory in Lincoln, given that there is no evidence of discrimination and that their local school is ethnically diverse. Based on the record presented, we cannot conclude that the greater racial diversity of the New York City metropolitan area would improve the living conditions for the children.