A steady flow of Latino and Asian immigrants has helped push the rate of interracial marriage in the U.S. to one in every 12 couples, according to CBS News.

Interracial marriages have climbed to 4.8 million -- or 8.4 percent of all marriages -- in the U.S., and blacks are more likely than ever before to marry whites. The figures came from various sources, including several censuses. More than 15 percent of new marriages in 2010 involved interracial partners.

While Asian and Latino immigrants have helped push the marriage rate higher because they are more likely to marry outside of their race (more than 25 percent who married in 2010 had a partner of a different race), the highest increase was among African Americans, who have historically been the most segregated. In 2010, 17.1 percent of African Americans who got married chose a spouse of a different race.

The increase, predictably, comes as interracial marriage becomes more accepted among the general population. Eighty-three percent of Americans said that they are fine with blacks and whites dating each other, while 63 percent of those surveyed said that they would be fine if a family member married outside of their race.

These stats represent progress, but we do wonder about one thing: Does the mainstream media's fascination with articles about interracial marriage, the plight of the single black female and her need to expand her options, and the supposed downtrodden status of the black male help push black women toward white men?

Read more at CBS News.

Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

 

Tweet