CNN
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Sean Webb didn’t expect to be sitting at his keyboard, sharing painful childhood memories.
But that’s what the 35-year-old employment specialist in Denver found himself doing recently.
In a series of Facebook posts, Webb wrote about how invisible he once felt when standardized test forms forced him to select a race by checking just one box. He wrote about the first, harsh moment when he realized others saw him differently than he saw himself – describing how a classmate once berated him with questions insisting he was Chinese or Japanese (He isn’t). And he wrote about the time when his high school civics class once spent an entire period debating whether he was a US citizen (He is).
Webb’s mom is Filipina. His dad grew up in Appalachia. He’s inherited those identities. He takes pride in them. Sometimes, his feelings about them may even go unsaid.
But Webb says he felt like he had to speak out and share his reflections on Facebook after hearing recent remarks from former President Donald Trump. Trump was taking aim at Vice President Kamala Harris before an audience at the National Association of Black Journalists’ annual convention, but his words hit Webb hard.
“Is she Indian or is she Black?” Trump said, falsely claiming his political rival for the presidency “happened to turn Black” a few years ago.
“It felt like a direct attack against me and against other mixed-race people,” Webb says. “Especially his comment that implied that Vice President Harris should have to choose one or the other, and that you can’t be both. That’s my lived experience. You really must be both. Both sides of me inform my experience.”
It’s an experience that an increasingly large number of people in the United States can relate to. Webb, Harris and more than 33 million other multiracial Americans are, by some measures, part of the nation’s fastest growing demographic group. And for many of them, former President Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on Harris’ identity feel particularly personal.
There’s little doubt that Trump’s comments were in some part reflective of the country’s changing demographic realities, says Martha S. Jones, a professor of history at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Results from the 2020 Census revealed the country is more racially and ethnically diverse than ever. The number of people in the US who identify as two or more races grew a stunning 276% between 2010 and 2020, according to Census figures, though experts say that jump may largely be the result of better measurement of the existing population.
But when it comes to thinking about the scale of the shift, Jones says she’d estimate it differently. Yes, there are more than 33 million people who identified as two or more races in the census. But imagine, she says, the vast network of people connected with them — parents, spouses, other family members, even friends.
“There’s a math to do that says this is not (33 million) people, this is a hundred million people,” says Jones, who’s working on a memoir about her family’s own multiracial history.
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That all adds up, Jones says, to a country where many are likely to bristle at Trump’s framing of the issue, because their own lived experiences have shown them a different and more fluid reality.
Of course, multiracial Americans aren’t a monolithic group –— the umbrella term encompasses a vast array of beliefs, cultural backgrounds and lived experiences. And some wouldn’t describe themselves as multiracial or mixed race, preferring different terminology.
Some conservatives make an argument about race and political expediency
For her part, Harris has brushed off Trump’s criticism as “the same old show.” Referencing his remarks at a speech in Houston that same day, she slammed Trump’s “divisiveness and… disrespect” and added that “the American people deserve better.”
Harris’ father is from Jamaica, her late mother from India. In addition to honoring her South Asian heritage, she attended a historically Black university and has embraced and discussed her Black identity for decades, beginning long before she became a political candidate.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Kamala Harris speaks during an economic forum in Las Vegas in April 2019. The US senator from California is now the vice president of the United States.
From Kamala Harris/Facebook
A young Harris is seen with her mother, Shyamala, in this photo that was posted on Harris' Facebook page in March 2017. "My mother was born in India and came to the United States to study at UC Berkeley, where she eventually became an endocrinologist and breast-cancer researcher,"
Harris wrote. "She, and so many other strong women in my life, showed me the importance of community involvement and public service."
Courtesy Kamala Harris
Harris and her younger sister, Maya, pose for a Christmas photo in 1968.
From Kamala Harris/Facebook
Harris rides a carousel in this old photo
she posted to social media in 2015. Her name, Kamala, comes from the Sanskrit word for the lotus flower. Harris is the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants and grew up attending both a Baptist church and a Hindu temple.
From Kamala Harris/Twitter
Harris tweeted this photo of her as a child after referencing it during a Democratic debate in June 2019. During the debate,
she confronted Joe Biden over his opposition many years ago to the federal government mandating busing to integrate schools. "There was a little girl in California who was bussed to school,"
she tweeted. "That little girl was me."
From Kamala Harris/Facebook
Harris got her bachelor's degree from Howard University in Washington, DC.
From Kamala Harris/Facebook
Harris graduates from law school in 1989. "My first grade teacher, Mrs. Wilson (left), came to cheer me on," Harris said. "My mom was pretty proud, too."
Paul Sakuma/AP
Harris is joined by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, left, and the Rev. Cecil Williams, center, for a San Francisco march celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. in January 2004. Harris was the city's district attorney from 2004 to 2011.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Harris speaks to supporters before a "No on K" news conference in October 2008. The San Francisco ballot measure Proposition K sought to stop enforcing laws against prostitution. It was voted down on election day.
Rich Pedroncelli/AP
Harris looks over seized guns following a news conference in Sacramento, California, in June 2011. Harris became California's attorney general in January 2011 and held that office until 2017. She was the first African American, the first woman and the first Asian American to become California's attorney general.
Sandy Huffaker/Corbis/Getty Images
Harris attends the Democratic Party's state convention in February 2012.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Harris watches California Gov. Jerry Brown sign copies of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights in July 2012.
Harry E. Walker/MCT/Getty Images
Harris speaks on the second night of the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
Rich Pedroncelli/AP
In May 2013, Harris and California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow place a wreath honoring Highway Patrol officers who were killed in the line of duty.
Jeff Chiu/AP
Harris officiates the wedding of Kris Perry, left, and Sandy Stier in June 2013. Perry and Stier were married after a federal appeals court cleared the way for California to immediately resume issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
From Kamala Harris/Twitter
Harris is flanked by her husband, Douglas Emhoff, and her sister, Maya. Next to Maya Harris is Maya's daughter, Meena, and Maya's husband, Tony West.
Sandy Huffaker/Corbis/Getty Images
Harris receives a gift from supporters in January 2015 after she announced plans to run for the US Senate.
Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
Harris speaks during a news conference in February 2015.
Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images
Harris, as a new member of the Senate, participates in a re-enacted swearing-in with Vice President Joe Biden in January 2017. She is the first Indian American and the second African American woman to serve as a US senator.
Tom Williams/Getty Images
Harris talks with former US Sen. Bob Dole on Capitol Hill in January 2017.
Noam Galai/WireImage/Getty Images
Harris attends the Women's March on Washington in January 2017.
Zach Gibson/Getty Images
Harris speaks to Fatima and Yuleni Avelica, whose father was deported, before a news conference on Capitol Hill in March 2017.
Julia Rendleman/Getty Images
Harris greets a crowd at an event in Richmond, Virginia, in October 2017.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg/Getty Images
In November 2017, Harris was among the lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence Committee grilling Silicon Valley giants over the role that their platforms inadvertently played in Russia's meddling in US politics.
From Kamala Harris/Facebook
Harris and her husband attend a Golden State Warriors basketball game in May 2018.
Patrick T. Fallon/Getty Images
Harris attends a rally with, from left, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom, and Newsom's wife, Jennifer, in May 2018. Newsom won the election in November.
Melina Mara/Getty Images
Harris speaks with US Sen. Cory Booker during the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in September 2018.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Harris presses Kavanaugh during his confirmation hearing.
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/AP
Harris arrives with staff for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in September 2018.
Faye Sadou/MediaPunch/AP
Harris reads from her children's book "Superheroes Are Everywhere" during a book signing in Los Angeles in January 2019. She also released a memoir, "The Truths We Hold: An American Journey."
Barbara Davidson/Getty Images
A person holds a Harris poster during the Women's March in Los Angeles in January 2019.
Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters
Harris holds her first presidential campaign rally in January 2019. She had announced her presidential bid a week earlier on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Her campaign signs carried the theme "Kamala Harris for the people" — the words that she spoke each time she rose in the courtroom as a prosecutor.
Edward M. Pioroda/CNN
Harris speaks during her CNN town-hall event, which was moderated by Jake Tapper in Iowa in January 2019.
Bebeto Matthews/Pool/Getty Images
Media members photograph Harris and the Rev. Al Sharpton as they have lunch at Sylvia's Restaurant in New York in February 2019.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Harris confronts former Vice President Joe Biden, left, during the first Democratic debates in June 2019. Harris
went after Biden over his early career opposition to federally mandated busing.
Maddie McGarvey/The New York Times/Redux
Harris rides her campaign bus in Iowa in August 2019.
Adam Schultz/Biden for President
Harris and Biden greet each other at a Detroit high school as they attend a "Get Out the Vote" event in March 2020. Harris had dropped out of the presidential race a few months earlier, telling her supporters that the campaign didn't have the financial resources to continue.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Harris joins fellow Democrats from the House and Senate as they kneel in silence to honor George Floyd at the US Capitol in June 2020.
Adam Schultz/Biden for President
Biden calls Harris from his Delaware home to inform her that she was his choice for vice president.
Adam Schultz/Biden for President
Harris and Biden sign paperwork to officially get on the ballot in all 50 states.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
Harris delivers a speech as she formally accepts the nomination at the
Democratic National Convention. "Let's fight with conviction," Harris said in her speech. "Let's fight with hope. Let's fight with confidence in ourselves and a commitment to each other. To the America we know is possible. The America we love."
Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Biden and Harris appear before supporters at the end of the Democratic National Convention.
Morry Gash/Pool/Getty Images
From Doug Emhoff/Twitter
Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff, tweeted this photo of him and Harris that was taken in November 2020, just after she and Biden were projected to win the election. "So proud of you," Emhoff wrote.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Harris arrives on stage to give a victory speech in Wilmington, Delaware.
Erin Schaff/The New York Times/Redux
Biden and Harris greet each other on the stage where they delivered their victory speeches.
Maddie McGarvey for CNN
Harris walks with her family to the White House on the final stretch of an abbreviated inaugural parade.
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
Leah Millis/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
Harris is given a tour near the demarcation line as she
visited the Demilitarized Zone dividing North and South Korea in September 2022. It was the last stop on her four-day trip to Asia, and it came a day after North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the waters off its east coast.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
addresses Congress at the US Capitol in December 2022 as Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hold up a Ukrainian national flag signed by troops from the besieged area of Bakhmut.
Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Biden and Harris pose with the Golden State Warriors as the NBA champions
visited the White House in January 2023. Harris said she had been a Warriors fan her "entire life."
Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post/Getty Images
Biden and Harris
meet with congressional leaders in the White House Oval Office in May 2023 to talk about a deal to raise the nation's borrowing limit and avoid a historic default. Joining Biden and Harris, from left, are Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images
US Sen. Laphonza Butler is sworn in by Harris at the US Capitol in October 2023. Harris and Butler are
two of only three Black women to have served as a US senator.
Matt Kelley/AP
Harris embraces Biden after a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, in March 2024.
The rare joint appearance highlighted the emphasis that the duo planned to place on health care for the upcoming election.
Erin Schaff/The New York Times/Pool/AP
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images
Harris speaks in Milwaukee in
her first campaign rally, two days after Biden dropped out of the presidential race. She told supporters that she would spend the coming weeks "continuing to unite our party" ahead of August's Democratic National Convention and this fall's showdown with Donald Trump.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
CNN/Rebecca Wright/CNN
Harris waves as she takes the stage for her speech at the
Democratic National Convention in August 2024. She officially became the first Black woman and first Asian American to lead a major-party ticket.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Harris shakes hands with former President Donald Trump at the start of
their presidential debate in September 2024. Harris walked over to Trump and extended her hand. He accepted the handshake. It was the first time the two had met.
That hasn’t stopped Trump from doubling down and sharing numerous social media posts painting her as a political opportunist as he calls her racial identity into question. On Thursday, he told reporters he thought she was “disrespectful” to both sides of her heritage. The former president’s surrogates and supporters have also defended and repeated his false claims, arguing that Harris has only recently embraced her Black identity.
Republican Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance, himself the father of three biracial children, told CNN last week that Trump’s comments didn’t give him pause at all.
“Look, all he said is that Kamala Harris is a chameleon,” Vance said.
“She’s only Black when it’s time to get elected,” said Michaelah Montgomery, a Black GOP activist, drawing cheers from the crowd at a recent Trump rally in Georgia. “While you’re touting her as a savior for Black people, she identifies as an Asian woman. She chose her side, and it wasn’t ours.”
Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Republican vice presidential nominee US Sen. JD Vance carries his daughter Maribel Vance as he and his family greet supporters at the Park Diner in St Cloud, Minnesota, in July.
Model and media personality Amber Rose, who is biracial and a fervent Trump supporter, echoed that point in a recent interview, drawing a contrast between her own approach to racial identity.
“I have a Black mom and a White dad. And you know, for me, people get mad at me because I identify as biracial. I don’t pick a side. I don’t say I’m a Black woman. I don’t say I’m a white woman. I don’t feel like either. I feel like both,” she said. “And so I think the confusing part with Kamala is she really promoted herself as an Indian woman, and she picked a side essentially. Even though she’s biracial, she picked a side. And now all of the sudden she wants the Black vote. And it’s like, ‘Oh, I’m a Black woman now’ … It seems disingenuous.”
Angela Lee was dreading the ripple effects when she first heard Trump’s remarks last week. The 38-year-old nonprofit executive director in Pasadena, California, says she’s played the video of Trump over and over in disbelief.
Lee identifies as Afro-Latina. She immediately thought about her two young daughters, who are Black and Puerto Rican, like her, and Korean, like their dad. Her heart sank as she imagined how they’d feel if someone said something like that to them on the playground.
“There’s a permission that was given in what he said, for other people to continue that conversation,” she says. “It gives me a stomachache.”
Courtesy Angela Lee
Angela Lee, center, poses with her husband Paul and their family, 14-year-old Lizzie, 4-year-old Ayla and 5-year-old Justise. Lee says she makes a point of teaching her daughters to embrace their full identities and steers away from using fractions to describe their heritage.
Lee says she’s offended by the implication that Harris is denying her Blackness if she emphasizes her Indian heritage at certain points.
In a recent post on Truth Social, for example, Trump shared a video of Harris cooking alongside Indian American actress Mindy Kaling and slammed the vice president as a “stone cold phony.” Lee says Trump’s interpretation is “completely incorrect.”
“The reality is, as mixed-race folks, when we show up in spaces, depending on the room, we are constantly taking the temperature. Does this space require me to be more Black? Does this space require me to be more Latina?” she says. “In that space, she was cooking Indian food with another South Asian, so of course she’s going to talk about her Indian heritage, because that’s what that moment required of her.”
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Trump, Lee says, keeps raising the kinds of accusations she knows all too well.
“In high school, kids would tell me to my face that I wasn’t Black enough because of the lifestyle that my family and I lived, or the way that I spoke. … Or I was told I wasn’t Latino enough because my hair couldn’t be slicked back in a bun. Whatever it was, there was something about my presentation that negated my racial identity in their eyes,” she says. “And it’s painful.”
When asked to describe his race, Anthony McDowell generally has a go-to response: “Human.”
McDowell, 50, of Houston, also took to Facebook when he heard Trump’s recent comments, sharing a snapshot of more than a dozen family members with a caption.
“My mixed family. So I can identify as white, Asian, or even Asian American. See how that works.”
Courtesy Anthony McDowell
Anthony McDowell shared this photo of his family on Facebook after hearing Trump's recent remarks questioning Harris' racial identity. "My mixed family. So I can identify as white, Asian, or even Asian American. See how that works," McDowell wrote in the caption.
McDowell’s mom is Vietnamese. His dad was the first generation in his Irish family born in the United States. “My sister-in-law’s Black. My wife is Hispanic. Two of my sons are blonde hair, blue eyes. … When we go places, when people see us all, they think we’re like a church group, or we’re just like friends hanging out, when we’re actually a family. We’ve been called the United Nations of families.”
But since Trump’s 2016 campaign for the presidency began, McDowell says the pride he feels in his family’s diversity has been accompanied by a sense of dread amid what he says is growing hostility they’ve faced.
“I’m scared for my mother whenever she goes somewhere by herself,” he says. “I have even been told to go back to my country, and I’m like, ‘I was born here.’ I was born in Texas. I was born in Houston. This is my country. I served it. My mom’s a citizen.”
And in this divisive and decisive political moment, McDowell says his fears are intensifying. He worries about the “great replacement theory” rhetoric from some on the far right who he says seem to be threatened by racial diversity.
“I just want people to love other people. But it doesn’t seem like they see it that way,” he says. “They think that people are coming here to take everything from them, and no one’s doing that.”
Depending how the election goes, McDowell says he’s prepared to sell everything and move overseas to protect his family.
“I know this is a great country. I served in the military. I did my time for our country,” he says. “But it’s just gotten so fearful and so hateful lately.”
Despite his misgivings about Trump’s recent comments, and the painful personal memories they evoked, Sean Webb says he’s feeling hopeful about the future.
There are many things that excite him about Harris’ candidacy, including her mixed-race heritage. That part of her background, he says, helps make her even more qualified for the presidency, as she can draw on experiences navigating and embracing different cultures.
“I know she understands the feeling of coming from two worlds, and possibly being pulled between the two,” he says. “But she very clearly puts forward that she is both.”
And Webb says another event is also inspiring his optimism.
While watching this year’s Olympics, Webb says he’s also been struck by another reality.
“Especially on the gymnastics teams, on Team USA, you see every demographic representation,” he says. “And I think that’s what’s really beautiful, and what America should be, and what makes us strong.”