The U.S. Census Bureau has published the results of its research, which no doubt came as a big surprise to some. The Bureau publishes its demographic reports every summer for the past year. In this case, it was about 2004. The report revealed sensational news for the U.S.: in Texas, the most American state in the country, whites are no longer the majority. According to data as of July 1, 2004, the minority population here amounted to 11.3 million, or 50.2% of the state's total population of 22.5 million people.
Thus, Texas joined California, Hawaii, New Mexico, and the District of Columbia, where the white population is already a minority in each of these states and territories. According to the sociologists' research, Maryland, Mississippi, Georgia, New York, and Arizona are moving toward a similar result; in these states, the share of ethnic minorities is about 40%, and it is predicted that in the foreseeable future they will outnumber the white population.
Of the 293.66 million U.S. residents, according to the same estimates as of July 1, 2004, 95.81 million, or 32.6%, are people of color. In New Mexico and California, ethnic minorities already account for 57% and 56%, respectively, and in the District of Columbia, where the capital of the United States is located, minorities make up about 70%.
All states where whites have lost their majority have characteristic differences in the composition of ethnic minorities. For example, California, according to the Bureau's research, has the largest number of Spanish-speaking residents; in July 2004, there were 12.3 million of them. But in relative terms, New Mexico surpasses California - Spanish-speaking residents make up 43% of the state's total population. New York can boast the largest number of African Americans living in the state: in July 2004, there were 3.5 million. In the District of Columbia, African Americans make up 59% of the state's population. California also has the largest number of Native Americans, and the same state has the most Asians - 4.8 million people.
White Americans are already asking who is the minority in the country. "The minority, by which we currently mean ethnic minorities, will soon become the majority. And it is only a matter of time," said Robert Lang, director of the influential Metropolitan Institute, commenting on the fresh Census Bureau statistics.
Such conclusions cannot but worry conservative circles in America, which are mainly represented by whites. Predictions that at some point the white population of the country could become a minority no longer seem like fiction or exaggeration. Moreover, there are a number of objective reasons that could contribute to this outcome. For example, scientists have established that the average age of the white population of the United States is increasing, meaning whites show low rates of natural growth, while the share of Hispanics, African Americans, and Asians is increasing due to high birth rates and immigration. The U.S. Census Bureau has officially stated that by 2050, Hispanics, African Americans, and people of Asian descent will make up almost half of the U.S. population.
It is not yet clear how the ever-increasing population of color can influence the socio-political system of the country given that they do not have many political tools in their hands. Experts point out that whites dominate the upper political establishment of the United States and make up a significant part of the local elite. But Roderick Harrison, an expert at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, notes: "We are still far from the moment when minorities receive proper representation in the political system."
Ekaterina Pilt.
Газета.Ru