Posted on: Tuesday, March 20, 2001

Hawai'i a racial rainbow: Islands outpace nation in residents of mixed ancestry

By Mike Madden
Adveriser Washington Bureau

More than 20 percent of Hawai'i residents reported ancestors of more than one race, giving the state a far higher percentage of multiracial inhabitants than the nation as a whole, according to Census data released yesterday.

And the latest numbers from the Census Bureau's 2000 count also show Hawai'i's population has grown to 1.21 million — up 9.3 percent over 1990 despite the state's sluggish economy during much of the decade.

"The fact that we grew 9.3 percent when we had some of the toughest years in our economy is interesting," said Gov. Ben Cayetano, noting Hawai'i's population growth lagged the national growth rate of about 13.2 percent.

Other Census data on Hawai'i released yesterday showed:

• 21.4 percent of the population now identify themselves by two or more races. • Almost a quarter of the state reported at least some Native Hawaiian ancestry, and 58 percent of the state's population reported being at least part Asian. About 39 percent of the state reported some white ancestry.

• Growth on O'ahu, where 876,156 people live, was less than 5 percent.

• The Big Island remained the second most-populated county in the state, with 148,677 residents, an increase of nearly 24 percent. Maui County's population grew almost 28 percent, to 128,094 residents. On Kaua'i, the Census counted 58,463 residents, an increase of a little more than 14 percent.

Neighbor Islands

Cayetano predicted some changes to adapt to the numbers of residents growing faster on the Neighbor Islands than on O'ahu.

"The growth of the population on the Neighbor Islands will result in more state resources having to be invested there" for schools and other government services required by larger communities, he said.

Population growth, especially the spikes on the Neighbor Islands, was not surprise to local economics specialist Leroy Laney, now a professor of economics and finance at Hawaii Pacific University.

"We certainly would have grown faster if we didn't have such a bad decade," Laney said. "Most of the job losses have been in Honolulu."

In addition to the overall look at the number of residents, the latest figures also give a racial snapshot of the state, which so far is outpacing other states in the number of people describing themselves as mixed race. In Hawai'i, 21.4 percent of the population now identify themselves by two or more races.

That number was boosted in the 2000 Census by allowing people for the first time to choose more than one race to describe themselves.

Few longtime residents were surprised that the data saw large numbers of Hawai'i residents choosing to count themselves as mixed-race.

"They just want to say what they are," Cayetano said. "If I answered factually what I am, I'm not just Asian, I'm Filipino, Chinese and I'm supposed to have some French in me, believe it or not."

The mixed-race preference appears to show a trend toward continued blending of ethnic groups and races, Cayetano said. "Who knows, maybe in the end, it will be what ("Hawai'i" author James) Michener said — it will be the golden people."

National percentage

Nationwide, only about 2.4 percent of residents indicated a multiracial heritage in the 2000 Census.

Of the 26 states for which the Census Bureau has released data, Hawai'i has by far the highest percentage of multiracial inhabitants. Only 4.5 percent of people in Oklahoma, which had the second-highest percentage, reported more than one race in their background.

Nearly 7 percent in Hawai'i classified themselves as being part of three or more races, which is about the same as the national average.

Experts said the multiracial statistics reflected both Hawai'i's diverse population and cultural values that made people more likely to check more than one racial category on a census form.

"Native Hawaiian culture wants to honor all ancestors," said Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, director of the Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai'i. "Even though we might be three-quarters Hawaiian and one-quarter British ... we would say we are of the two races because we want to honor our ancestors, which is something that doesn't seem to be too important to the rest of America."

Kame'eleihiwa said she was surprised the multiracial population wasn't higher than the 21.4 percent reported to the census.

Hawai'i County had the highest percentage of multiracial inhabitants, with 28.4 percent of the county's 148,677 people reporting two or more races in their backgrounds. In Honolulu County, 19.9 percent of the 876,156 residents claimed a multiracial ancestry.

Because residents could check off as many racial categories as they wanted instead of choosing just one, the number of people who checked any one race decreased, even as the state's overall population increased by 9.3 percent.

Advertiser staff writer Robbie Dingeman contributed to this report.