![]() Discussions on this topic sometimes become heated because the increase in the minority populations is closely linked to important policy issues relating to immigration, affirmative action, welfare, and education reform.įew Americans have a good grasp of how large the different minority groups are. Others see the rapid increase in racial and ethnic minorities as an unwelcome departure from America’s European heritage. Some see the rapid growth of minorities as a key to the revitalization of America and a logical continuation of the “melting-pot” tradition. Aspects of black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian culture-including art, food, music, and styles of dress-are being adopted throughout American society.Īmericans are divided in their beliefs about the long-term effects of the growing diversity. Many businesses target their products to specific minorities because they recognize that minorities are an expanding market. The growth of the African American, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian populations is profoundly changing the racial and ethnic makeup of the country’s schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods, and it is creating a new multiracial and multicultural heritage in the United States. More minorities are earning graduate and professional degrees, yet a disproportionately large percentage never finish high school. More minority politicians are being elected to public office, but minorities are more likely than non-Hispanic whites to serve time in prison. The number of minorities in the highest income brackets has more than doubled since 1980, for example, yet minorities still account for a disproportionate share of the poor. Minorities have also become more diverse socioeconomically. At the century’s end, Asian Americans with roots in India, Vietnam, or Korea outnumber Japanese Americans. Asian population was predominately Japanese, Filipino, and Chinese just two decades ago. Hispanics from Guatemala, El Salvador, Ecuador, and other Central and South American countries have created communities alongside well-established Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban communities. The nation’s changing demographic profile has important economic and social implications. Minorities make up less than 5 percent of the populations of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and West Virginia, for example. But many parts of the country have little racial or ethnic diversity. Within 25 years, California, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Texas will be “minority majority” states in which minorities will be more than one-half the population. The four minority groups make up at least one-half of the residents in Honolulu, Los Angeles, Miami, San Antonio, and several other metropolitan areas. ![]() This transformation of America’s racial and ethnic profile is most visible in certain states and communities. But in the 1990s, the term “minority” usually refers to four major racial and ethnic groups: African Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asians and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics. “Minority” is likely to have a very different meaning in the 21st century.Īmerica’s ethnic landscape also includes a rapidly growing Arab population, a sizeable Jewish population, and other ethnic groups. Blacks, Asians, and American Indians together will make up close to one-fourth of the population. Hispanics will be nearly one-fourth of the U.S. By the middle of the 21st century, non-Hispanic whites will make up a slim and fading majority of Americans. The minority population is comprised of nearly as many Hispanics as blacks, surging numbers of Asians, and a small but growing American Indian population. At the century’s end, non-Hispanic whites account for less than 75 percent of the U.S. The nonwhite minority was composed primarily of black Americans living in the rural South. The 20th century has witnessed the transformation of the United States from a predominately white population rooted in Western culture to a society with a rich array of racial and ethnic minorities.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |