Whites Account for Under Half of Births in U.S.
US Census Bureau Press Release
The New York Times reports: A more diverse young population forms the basis of a generational divide with the country’s elderly, a group that is largely white and grew up in a world that was too. The contrast raises important policy questions. The United States has a spotty record educating minority youth; will older Americans balk at paying to educate a younger generation that looks less like themselves? And while the increasingly diverse young population is a potential engine of growth, will it become a burden if it is not properly educated?
What is emerging is a country where swaths of multicultural, diverse populations dominate. In the state of Texas, 7 out of 10 of the children under the age of 1 are members of minority groups. In contrast, babies born in the state of Utah are only 28% non-white. Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital, and four states are majority minority. They are California, Hawaii, New Mexico and Texas.
The Wall Street Journal reports: William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, says African-Americans are the largest minority among adults over 50. But for anyone younger—including the newborns forming America’s first ‘majority minority’ generation—Hispanics are the second-largest population group after whites of European descent. “It’s a major turning point for American society,” he said. “We’re moving from a largely white and black population to one which is much more diverse and is a big contrast from what most baby boomers grew up with.”
What do you think the impact of this new Majority Minority will have on America’s view of itself? We pride ourselves on diversity, but do you see any challenges or problems in the future? I’d like to know what you think.
Tokyo Nancy Snow 
I think that the impact of this major minority trend is going to be a threat to WASPs. Although the US so far has been dominated by WASP society, in the present this tendency is declining slowly. This will cause the corruption of WASP priorities. In my prediction, the number of Latino population becomes larger and then some of them will be richer than white counterparts. Eventually, the US won’t be a WASP-dominated country.
The word “majority minority” literally symbolizes today’s American society. Although the society has been “a melting pot” and different races have lived together, I feel people in the white group still have the inside track. Most of 1% billionaire are whites and most of 99% labors are “majority minorities.” It is difficult to change the system of society immediately as you can see that President Obama could not change the nation in four years. But I hope the steady increasing of the “majority minority” population will change America positively.
I think that it is great that the minority population in America is growing! I think the rise in a large population of minority births in America symbolizes peace.
In John Lennon’s song “Imagine,” there is one line that goes “Imagine there’s no countries.” America could be that country without borders. Although America is just one country itself, the increasing diversity of nationalities could be seen as people accepting and promoting greater acceptance of people from other cultures. Even though cultural clashes may occur, if America can set a example to all the other countries that fight because of religious beliefs or race and show them that people can live in harmony even though they have different concepts of the world, I think we would become one step closer to becoming a more peaceful world.
How long are we to use the term “minority” for? This was the question that popped into my head right after I read this article. The racial categorization now considered as a minority has a high chance of becoming a majority in the near future. And there is currently majority within the minority. The situation regarding race has always been complicated in the U.S, and I believe the situation will be even more complex, especially for the politicians. Whether to acknowledge immigrants or not is always a controversial topic among Americans, and the politician’s opinion on this always attracts people’s attention. Although it is necessary to get certain amount of votes from the minority, financial support from the rich white people is required to a politician. I believe how to balance these two will become even more difficult and critical with the growing percentage of “minority.”
The population of the minority exceeded that of the white in America. The United States consists of diverse ethnic groups, and the WASPs have been dominant for a while. In my opinion, the fact that “Majority Minority” emerged has both positive and negative aspects. As for the positive one, racial discrimination might be decreasing since the potential power of the current minority is becoming stronger. However, many minorities, such as the Black and Hispanic in America, are impoverished and this can lead to a higher rate of committing crimes under the circumstance in the states. Therefore, there is a possibility that “Majority Minority” might entail a further aggravation of the peace and order. I hope this affair brings benefits in the USA rather than challenges.