Social Construction of Race In the southern part of the United States, it was known as the "one-drop rule." If a person had even a single drop of Black blood, that person was defined and viewed as Black, even if he or she appeared to be White. Clearly, race had social significance in the South, enough so that White legislators established official standards about who was Black" and White. example of the social The one-drop rule was a vivid construction of race-the process by which people come to define a group as a race based in part on physical characteristics, but also on historical, cultural, and economic factors. It is an ongoing process subject to some debate, especially in a diverse society like the United States, where each year increasing numbers of children are born to parents of different racial backgrounds. Census Bureau estimates indicate that about 7 percent of the U.S. popula- tion could claim multiple racial ancestry in 1999; by the ar 2030 the percentage of the population is expected to climb to 21 percent Among Asian Americans the percent- age of people claiming mixed ancestry is expected to reach percent; Native Americans, 89 percent; among whites, percent; among Blacks, 14 percent; and among Hispanics, 45 percent (Edmonson and Passel 1999) is not mixed racial ancestry is an identity that clearly defined in a society that literally thinks in "black and "white" terms. Facing this social reality, the U.S. Cen- sus Bureau considered adding a biracial" category to Census 2000. But trial studies showed that people were confused by this "new" term, and relatively few chose it. As a compromise, the Census 2000 for the first time al- lowed people to check off as many racial categories as they wish, so that one could, for example, check off "White, American Indian," and "African American" Sociologists and others are eagerly awaiting the results of this oppor tunity for people to individually express their blended racial identity. A dominant or majority group has the power not only to define itself legally but to define a society's values. Socio y ogist William I. Thomas (1923), an early critic of theories of t racial and gender differences, saw that the "definition of the n situation" could mold the personality of the individual. To cs put it another way, Thomas, writing from the interactionist d perspective, observed that people respond not only to the as objective features of a situation or person but also to the meaning that situation or person has for them. Thus, we can create false images or stereotypes that become real in their consequences. Stereotypes are unreliable generalizations k about all members of a group that do not recognize individ ual differences within the group In the last 30 years, critics have pointed out the power of the mass media to perpetuate false racial and ethnic stereotypes. Television is a prime example: Almost all the leading dramatic roles are cast as Whites, even in urban- based programs like Friends. Blacks tend to be featured of mainly in crime-based dramas. (See Box 10-3 on p.272-273 as for further discussion of the distorted picture of American society presented on prime-time television programs.