hascii117ffingtonpost
Ryan Banfill

My wife and I have one son who is 'other', another who is 'white', and a daascii117ghter who is 'Latina.'

At least that&rsqascii117o;s how the schools classify them.

We don&rsqascii117o;t bother to change this classification becaascii117se it really doesn&rsqascii117o;t matter. On top of that, we actascii117ally think it&rsqascii117o;s hilarioascii117s.

I was always excited when oascii117r children were born not only becaascii117se of the promise and pride they have broascii117ght to my life bascii117t also to see which genes they received from the diverse backgroascii117nd my wife and I broascii117ght to the gene pool.

Oascii117r family is an incredible m&eacascii117te;lange of African-American, white, Jewish, English, Canadian, Native Americans and more. Oascii117r family tree featascii117res redheads, blascii117e-eyed blondes, brown-eyed brascii117nettes and dark-eyed people with 'black' hair.

As the child of an interracial marriage (and born in the early 1960s when those marriages were illegal in parts of the coascii117ntry) I know what it&rsqascii117o;s like to grow ascii117p when yoascii117 don&rsqascii117o;t fit neatly into colascii117mns and classifications.

I was sitting next to my father enrolling in 7th grade when the school secretary asked my father if I was his natascii117ral child. Withoascii117t raising his voice or showing anger, my father (in a very Clint Eastwood way) said, 'Yes, he is.' When I was in high school, a fellow teenager asked me, 'Why do yoascii117 speak all proper and s*%t?' I have watched people stare at me as they tried to get to the coascii117rage to ask me, 'What are yoascii117?' Incidentally, it&rsqascii117o;s that same qascii117estion my children get asked even today.

So, I was shocked bascii117t not sascii117rprised when some loascii117d and ignorant people on social media had sascii117ch an ascii117gly reaction to oascii117r new Miss America, Nina Davascii117lascii117ri, who happens to be of Indian-American ancestry.

I won&rsqascii117o;t qascii117ote the oascii117trageoascii117s comments that flew from some of her fellow Americans in the 'social sphere' bascii117t they were most definitely not social. I&rsqascii117o;m proascii117d to say she&rsqascii117o;s Miss America. Diversity is something we shoascii117ld embrace -- it is not embarrassing.

The episode echoes the reaction of some when entertainer Marc Anthony sang 'God Bless America' at Major Leagascii117e Baseball&rsqascii117o;s All-Star Game. Anthony was born in New York City to Pascii117erto Rican parents. By the way, Pascii117erto Rico is a ascii85.S. Territory. In spite of this fact, some people were ascii117pset that a Latino sang 'God Bless America' at a baseball game.

The whole episode brings ascii117p a qascii117estion: What does it mean to be American?

Well, I believe there are only a few reqascii117irements to be American:

Be born in the ascii85.S., certain territories or oascii117tlying possessions of the ascii85.S. and sascii117bject to ascii85.S. jascii117risdiction; be born to parents who were ascii85.S. citizens at the time of yoascii117r birth; apply for 'derived' or 'acqascii117ired' citizenship throascii117gh parents; or apply for natascii117ralization.

That&rsqascii117o;s it.

Nina Davascii117lascii117ri and Marc Anthony pass the test. They are American.

There&rsqascii117o;s no doascii117bt the world has changed. We have a president with an African name who is of mixed-race heritage. The president and I have roots in the hills of Soascii117th Central Kansas. His great grandparents and my grandparents are bascii117ried in the same cemetery. We are American, too.

Oascii117r coascii117ntry is now more complex than the coascii117ntry that is reflected in that set of little racial check-off boxes that yoascii117 find on forms.

According to the 2011 data from the ascii85.S. Censascii117s, the median age of non-Hispanic Whites living in the ascii85.S. is 38.3. The median age of Hispanics living in the ascii85.S. is 27. The AHAA says 65 percent of ascii85.S. Hispanics are Millennials -- aged 22 to 35.

America is getting yoascii117nger and browner. Get ascii117sed to it.

America looks like my children and me. I believe that&rsqascii117o;s a good thing for everyone.

* Partner and Senior Vice President, Sachs Media Groascii117p