Multiracial cereal

Over the summer, Cheerios launched an ad campaign centering around families eating breakfast together. The flagship commercial "Just Checking" starred a multiracial family. In the short thirty seconds, we witness an adorable daughter ask her white mother about the heart-healthy benefits of Cheerios, scurry away, and then see her black father wake up with cereal poured all over his chest.

Once it was uploaded, there was a slew of negative and racist comments on the YouTube video that ultimately led to Cheerios disabling the comments section. At the same time, however, viewers commended the commercial and the audacity of the Cheerios company.

A large part of this positive response came from actual multiracial families and individuals who could point to this commercial and say, "That's me. That's my family."

Omi and Winant stated "Whether multiracial identity, consciousness, and organization will seriously subvert or merely reinforce racial hierarchy in the United States remains very much an open question." The prevalence of multiracial families isn't reflected in popular culture today, even in the wake of a multiracial President! It's difficult for me to recall any movies or television shows that portray multiracial families. This falls in line with the lacking representation of non-white families on the big screen or flat screen. Screen time is dominated by largely white casts or families. It seems that at least for now, we've fallen into "merely reinforc[ing] racial hierarchy" with regard to multiraciality, but hopefully this Cheerios ad is a step in the right direction.