RACE

The real issue is that race is the representative sign for mate selection. In anthropology it is called exogamy and there is a demarcation line, called race. The practice is endogamy or marry-in your own race. There is some miscegenation but this is usually mediated by class. The ""NORM"" is anti-miscegenation. Since all of the so-called races, even ethnicities practice these marriage rules, interbreeding or cross-cultural relationships or interfaith marriages become controversial.  Race is not realized at the genetic level since all humans can interbreed, but race is realized at the cultural and political levels. Today, we are experiencing increasing integration of the "races," that is, organizations are wiling to hire individuals of varied racial backgrounds if their social capital, e.g. education, is appropriate. But, we are not experiencing an increase in "assimilation" or intermarriage. Some groups intermarry more than others, but the White-Black intermarriage rate is low, whereas, the Asian-any other group is the highest.