We're Going to Need a New Term...

"Minority" just isn't going to work much longer.

Minority Population Tops 100 Million

The nation’s minority population reached 100.7 million, according to the national and state estimates by race, Hispanic origin, sex and age released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. A year ago, the minority population totaled 98.3 million.

“About one in three U.S. residents is a minority,” said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon. “To put this into perspective, there are more minorities in this country today than there were people in the United States in 1910. In fact, the minority population in the U.S. is larger than the total population of all but 11 countries.”

Full release from U.S. Census Bureau here.

Y, la versión española está disponible aqui.  (hat tip Babel Fish).

posted by Kevin Stolarick

Comments

[Bob]

Europe is a better example of why we need a new term. If a person is descended from Spain, he or she is considered a minority in the U.S. If another is descended from people on the other side of the Pyrenees in France, that person will not be considered a minority. Likewise, people from Mediterranean countries that are on the same latitude as Spain (Italy, Greece) are not minority. How does that make sense?

[Charles Rostkowski]

The one downside of this is that the majority of minorities are taught to see themselves as victims of the system and entitled to....you name it! (You know the old joke about God destroying the world that is reported in the New York Times headline as "God to Destroy World, Women and Minorities Hit Hardest"). Let's hope that along with the loss of minority status the minorities also have a change of attitude. Having a third of your polulation believing they are victims of the system will not be good for the nation.

[Steven]

In a related not, the Center for an Urban Future in New York released a great report in February about immigrant entrepreneurs..

Check it out:

http://www.nycfuture.org/content/about/immigrant_entrepreneurs_media.cfm

Also, a great story in the Wash Post on Thursday (5/17) about the changing faces of the District Columbia... story detailed how African Americans may be losing thier majority status in the District because of the growing hispanic and white populations.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/16/AR2007051602840.html