NEW YORK TIMES
WASHINGTON — America’s population of white children, a majority now, will be in the minority during this decade, sooner than previously expected, according to a new report.
The Census Bureau had originally forecast that 2023 would be the tipping point for the minority population under the age of 18. But rapid growth among Latinos, Asians and people of more than one race has pushed it earlier, to 2019, according to William Frey, the senior demographer at the Brookings Institution who wrote the report about the shift, which has far-reaching political and policy implications.
The single largest increase was among Hispanics, whose birthrates are far above those of non-Hispanic whites, largely because the white population is aging and proportionally has fewer women in their child-bearing years. The median age of whites is 41, compared with 27 for Hispanics, the report said.
As a result, America’s future will include a far more diverse young population, and a largely white older generation. The contrast raises important policy questions. Will the older generation pay for educating a younger generation that looks less like itself? And while the young population is a potential engine of growth for the economy, will it be a burden if it does not have access to adequate education?
The population of white children fell by 4.3 million, or about 10 percent, in the last decade, while the population of Hispanic and Asian children grew by 5.5 million, or about 38 percent, according to the report, which was based on 2010 Census numbers.
The number of African-American children also fell, down by 2 percent. Over all, minorities now make up 46.5 percent of the under-18 population.
Whites are now the minority of child populations in 10 states, double the number from the previous decade, according to the report, and in 35 cities, including Atlanta, Phoenix and Orlando, Fla. Vermont had the largest drop in its child population of any state.
The changes also have political implications. Though whites are still 63 percent of the population as a whole, that is down from 75.6 percent in 1990, and minorities, particularly Hispanics, who now outnumber blacks, are becoming an increasingly important part of the electorate.
Mr. Frey estimates that whites will slip into the minority by about 2041. The number of whites grew by just 1.2 percent in the population as a whole in the last decade, a fraction of the 43 percent growth among Latinos.
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It is crazy to think that during my lifetime, I will become part of a minority in the United States. That is almost scary to me. Living in northern Minnesota, we don't have as much diversity compared to a bigger city such as Minneapolis. Since we aren't exposed to all the different cultures, it rattles me that the white population is becoming a minority very rapidly. I feel that whites need to remain a majority. The original immigrants were white. Immigration laws should become tougher; making it harder to get in and impossible for illegal immigrants to remain here. Because of all the different nationalities here, American traditions are becoming deluded because America has turned into such a melting pot. However, our diverseness makes our country unique. Unique in everything from entertainment to education to even what we eat. And it seems to have wide appeal to the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Deidre and Brittany on some of the things. I also think it's weird/crazy that whites could be a minority in my lifetime. That'd be soo weird, because up here, we hardly ever see a wide variety of races as they do in larger cities. But I also believe that the "older white generation" shouldn't be soo racist that they don't want to pay for the younger generation that doesn't look like them. That, in my opinion, is kind of selfish.
ReplyDeleteTo me, I think it would just be weird to see other races more than whites, but I won't feel very upset about it. Because time is changing, people are changing, marriage between two races are becoming more common, which is neither a good nor a bad thing, it's just people's choice. The only thing I feel weird is that in most movies, we see white people all the time. I can't imagine how the movies will be after 2041. I don't even care about the majority of race, it doesn't really matter to me... Well, unless there will be no white left.
ReplyDeleteIt's weird to imagine that the whites are going to be a minority in the United States. I am not an American, so I don't have certain feelings about that, but I can totally understand how they feel about becoming a minority which was once a majority.
ReplyDeleteBut things change in life such as the population of differenet races increase. I don't think it's a bad thing. The Americans should feel good that people from different cultures want to come to their country. And I think that each different culture is a gift for the United States. They adopt the American lifestyle and the Americans adopt their "special" things, for example food etc. And only because they have a different skin color and a different background than a white American doesn't mean that they are not true Americans.
It might be weird that whites will eventually be a minority in this country, but I don't think its necessarily a bad thing. The only thing that might be hard to deal with is that some of us aren't used to dealing with any other ethnic group besides whites. Pretty much everybody in our area is white so we aren't used to it, and that might become a problem. Just because somebody is a different color doesn't mean they aren't Americans. Everyone is welcome in this country and we should just accept that. So i defintely don't think its a big deal that we may become the minority.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Deidre and Brittany. I think that with the hispanics coming here illegaly that it should not be allowed. The laws should be harder and should make more of the illegals go back where they came from. They have come to America illegaly but if they came here legaly then I think that it would not bother me as much.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Warren, Brittany and Deidre also. It is weird how we will be the minority in the United States and I feel like that is not a really good thing. Now I'm not trying to be rude here because just because someone is a different race doesn't mean they are a bad person, but I feel like that in America whites should be the majority because this is our country and the whites did take over. I also agree with Warren about the hispanics coming into our country illegally. That is becoming too big of a promblem here and it's getting way to out of control. But, if they come her legally that is totally fine with me because they did the right things to get here and not just sneaking across the border.
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