What are they like, the people of the future?

German photographer Martin Schoeller, one of the world's most famous portraitists, asked himself how America's new people, those who cannot clearly identify with any one race, identify themselves.

Modern America has become one of those places on Earth where dozens, perhaps hundreds, of nationalities are melting pots. The number of people of mixed race is growing year after year. In 2000, when the U.S. Census Bureau allowed people to select multiple races, 6.8 million people identified themselves as mixed race. A decade later, that group had increased by 32 percent.

The boundaries are erased with each new generation, society is becoming more and more tolerant, and the old frameworks are too narrow for the new reality. Perhaps, after some time, humanity will no longer divide people into black, white and yellow, and the Earth will be inhabited by new people who will not judge a person by his genetic origin.

1. Mackenzie McPherson, 9, with parents Alison, 36, and Lawrence McPherson, 40, Houston, Texas. Self-identification: Mulatto, mixed ancestry. Census response: White/Black.

2. Julie Weiss, 33, Hollywood, California. Self-identification: Filipina, Chinese, Spanish, Indian, Hungarian, German Jewish. Census response: White/Asian/Indian/Chinese/Filipina.

3. Maximilian Sugiura, 29, Brooklyn, New York. Self-identification: Japanese, Jewish, Ukrainian. Census response: White/Japanese.

4. Imani Cornelius, 13, Shakopee, Minnesota. Self-identifies as black and white. Census response: black. Imani needs a bone marrow transplant, but because of a shortage of African-American and biracial donors, she has been forced to wait two years for a donor of similar descent.

5. Adrian Adrid, 24, Haleiwa, Hawaii. Self-identification: White. Census response: White/Filipino.

6. Celeste Seda, 26, Brooklyn, New York. Self-identifies as Dominican and Korean. Census response: Asian/other race.

7. Jordan Spencer, 18, Grand Prairie, Texas. Self-identification: Black, biracial. Census response: Black.

8. Tayden Burrell, 5, Sarasota, Florida. Self-identification: Black and white, biracial. Census response: White/Black.

9. Yoel Shak Bautista, 7, Castaic, California. Self-identification: Black, Mexican, "Afro-Xicano." Census response: Black.

10. Jakara Hubbard, 28, Monee, Illinois. Listed as white and African American. Self-identified as of indeterminate race.

11. Tevan Jones, 22, Grants Pass, Oregon. Listed as African American and white. Considers himself triracial, jokingly calling himself "Trinidad."

12. Temba Alleyne, 30, Los Angeles, California. He lists himself as black, white, Native American, Asian, Hawaiian, and Islander. He considers himself multicultural. "I check every nuance," he says.

13. Yuda Holman, 29, Los Angeles, California. Self-identification: Half Thai, half black. Census response: Asian.

34. Helen Robertson, 54, Los Angeles, California. Listed as white and Asian. Considers herself English.

15. Alexander Sugiura, 27, Brooklyn, New York. Mixed ethnicity. Japanese according to the census. Considers himself Jewish and American.

16. Ariel Toole, 14, Chicago, Illinois. Self-identification: Mixed race, multiracial. Census response: White/Black/Vietnamese.

17. Gabriella Guizzo, 5, Rockville Centre, N.Y. Listed as white and Japanese. Considers herself a "mix of all people."

18. Harold Fish, 23, Austin, Texas. Genetic ancestry not listed on census. Self-identifies as Puerto Rican, Texan, Jewish, and European.

19. Daisy Fenkel, 3, San Antonio, Texas. Parents' self-identification: Korean and Hispanic. Not reported in 2010 census.

20. Jessie Lee, 32, New York. Listed as Chinese. Is half Chinese, a quarter French, and a quarter Swedish.

21. Joshua Asoak, 34, Anchorage, Alaska. Self-identification: Jewish and Inuit Eskimo, "Jeweskimo." Census response: Alaska Native.

22. Jacob Benavente, 5, Torrance, Calif. Listed as Hawaiian, Asian, and Islander. Self-identifies as American.

23. Kelly Williams II, 17, Dallas, Texas. Self-identification: African American, German, multiracial. Census response: Black.

24. Christopher Braxton, 33, Brooklyn, New York. Listed as African American and Korean. Self-identifies as black and Asian.

25. Cameron Benjamin, 22, Los Angeles, California. Self-identification: Hawaiian, Chinese, and Caucasian. Census response: White/Chinese/Native Hawaiian.

26. Lula Newman, 7, New York City. Listed as white, Chinese, and Asian. Self-identifies as Welsh, Polish, German, Indonesian, and Chinese.

27. Maya Joey Smith, 9, Cary, Illinois. Self-identification: Black, Asian, Korean, and African American. Census response: Black.

28. Maryam Nayeri, 33, Brooklyn, New York. Self-identification: Mexican and of Saudi Arabian descent. Census response: Race unspecified.

29. Mars Wright, 25, Austin, Texas. Listed as African American and Filipino. Self-identifies as black and Filipino.

30. Hosanna Marshall, 32, New York. Listed as African American. Considers herself a mix of black, Native American, white and Jewish.

31. Sandra Williams, 46, Chicago, Illinois. Self-identification: Biracial, "human." Census response: Black.

32. Solomon Xiang, 29, San Francisco, California. Listed as white and Chinese. Self-identifies as Chinese and Jewish.

33. Una Walley, 25, Brooklyn, New York. Listed as white and Chinese. Self-identifies as Jewish and Chinese.