Biracial: 1) Of, for, or consisting of members of two races.  2) Having parents of two different races. 3) refers to a person whose parents are of two different socially designated racial groups, for example: Black mother, White father. In a less commonly used, but equally accurate meaning, biracial can also refer to someone who has parents of the same socially designated race, when one or both parents are biracial or there is racial mixing in the family history that is important to the individual. This use of biracial moves us away from requiring “fractions of blood” to recognize the prevalence of racial blending throughout American history. However, the social and psychological experience of the person who uses the term this way may be different from someone who is a “first-generation” biracial.

Courtesy of the Mavin Foundation