Mary Eyer ran headlong into antebellum attitudes about race classification in -- surprise -- St. George.
Several years ago, Eyer was visited in her Washington County home by a census taker. The officer asked Eyer, a black woman, how many were in their family."Me and my daughter, Taniyah" Eyer answered.
"Two blacks?" the census taker asked.
"No, my daughter is biracial, her father is white."
"Oh, that's the same thing as black," said the taker, enlisting the "just a drop" racial classification policy practiced since slavery.
Eyer disagreed, saying categorizing Taniyah as black ignored her daughter's accurate racial heritage. The census taker relented, checking "other" to classify Taniyah.
For a growing number of Utah families, dealing with race check-boxes on school, employment, government and medical forms is just one of the challenges of raising multiracial children.
Just how many multiracial people live in Utah. Who knows?
The Governor's Office of Planning and Budget collects numbers on the state's racial demographics using data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
But past censuses have squeezed the nation's racial profile into four categories: white, black, American Indian and Alaska Native and, finally, Asian and Pacific Islander.
Beyond that, the census included two ethnicity categories: Hispanic or non-Hispanic.
In the end, most Americans were classified as both a member of one of four race categories and either Hispanic or non-Hispanic.
People could check "other" for race, but census opponents argue "other" means "different," an undesirable classification.
Expect changes in the 2000 Census. For the first time, American families will be able to select more than one racial category to in indicate mixed heritage.
That's not enough, said Susan Graham, executive director of Project RACE, a national advocacy group for multiracial children and adults.
A "multiracial" category should be included to the list of check boxes, said Graham, a Florida mother of multiracial kids.
"Simply checking two or more races does not give children like mine nomenclature for themselves . . . when someone asks my son about his race, he says he's multiracial," Graham said.
Graham adds simply allowing someone to check more than one race will not end the "one-drop rule," fearing that a person who checks more that one box will simply be reassigned to the largest of the nonwhite groups marked.
(Some race advocacy groups have reportedly opposed a new race category on the census because their political strength could be diluted.)
Accurate racial designation on government and other forms goes beyond family pride and identity, Graham said. Without precise racial designation, multiracial children are at risk for improper medical screening for diseases that affect certain races.
Successful bone marrow transplants for young patients with leukemia and other blood diseases often depend on finding a match within the same genetic pool of potential donors, according to Project RACE.
Graham and her organization are continuing their fight at state and federal levels to include "multiracial" on forms asking for racial identity.
While many Utah parents agree challenges are an element of raising multiracial kids, opportunities abound.
Allyson Lesuma of Taylorsville is white. Her husband, Waisea, is Fijian. The Lesuma children have been able to move comfortably through two cultures. Polynesian dance lessons have shared time with other typical American activities for the kids.
Allyson is also pleased her oldest daughter has been able to participate in educational programs designated for minority students.
While the Lesuma parents come from different races and cultures, their shared religious faith is the greatest factor in how they raise their children.
"The church is our common ground," Allyson said.
Utah's scant black population has sometimes made it difficult for Mary Eyer to expose Taniyah to her African-American heritage.
During a visit to Washington, D.C., several years ago, Eyer was dismayed to learn her young daughter was frightened of black people.
"I think (Taniyah) was totally unaware of part of her heritage . . . I needed to do everything I could to expose her to more people of color," Eyer said.
Although Eyer and her daughter, now a teenager, are active in an LDS Ward in Utah County, the two sometimes make the trip to a black Baptist Church in Salt Lake City.
It's important, said Eyre, for Taniyah to recognize the spirituality that is to be found in a traditional black church.
The challenges and opportunities of being a multiracial child in Utah even prompted the young Taniyah to publish her story two years ago. "Am I God's Will? It's Tough Being a Biracial Kid" is a moving tale of young Taniyah's experience coming to terms and, in the end, celebrating her diverse heritage.