Tiger Woods has been called one of the best black golfers ever. But he doesn't like that description. The son of an Asian mother and a dad who is a mix of several races, he calls himself a "Cablinasian."
Tiger's not alone. The number of U.S. children in mixed-race families jumped from fewer than 500,000 in 1970 to more than 2 million in 1990.
Last week the U.S. decided it was time for the U.S. Census--the government's official population count--to reflect this change. For the first time, the Census will allow people to select more than one racial category to describe themselves.
Every 10 years, the Census collects information about the people who live in this country. Some Americans argued that racial definitions on the Census forms were too limited. Some wanted a new "multiracial" category. The government decided it could get better information by allowing citizens to check off several categories.
"Not all Americans fit neatly into one little box," Susan Graham of Georgia told officials who were making the decision. Graham is the mother of multiracial children. She said kids "who wish to embrace all of their heritage should be allowed to do so."