biracial

given that 'race' is an unscientific term invented to typify pseudo criteria for racist politics and ideas—we all came from the same African origins and our differences are minor adaptations to climate—it's preferable to select a word with a different 'root' for its basic meaning. To be specific, a person's heritage from two parents or families can be characterized by saying 'of Senegalese and French descent.' When people investigate family trees of parents, it becomes apparent that both sides are usually and recently from multiple heritages or various nationalities, for example, a second-generation Puerto Rican born in New York may be of Puerto Rican, Dominican, Spanish, Irish, Arawak, and Yoruba descent (Zoë Anglesey, "Moving From an Obsolete Lingo to a Vocabulary of Respect," MultiCultural Review). When necessary to specify a person's heritage (it very seldom is), use the adjective they use for themselves or name their multiple heritages. A few years ago, biracial generally meant someone with a black parent and a white parent. Today it can mean almost anything, and therefore means almost nothing. See also multiracial.