Hispanics fuel US white population growth

This is quite a fascinating breakdown on how U.S Race is currently identified...and how it's rapidly evolving.

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Census: Hispanics fuel US white population growth
By HOPE YEN - AP – Thu, Sep 29, 2011


WASHINGTON (AP) — In a twist to notions of race identity, new 2010 census figures show an unexpected reason behind a renewed growth in the U.S. white population: more Hispanics listing themselves as white in the once-a-decade government count.

The shift is due to recent census changes that emphasize "Hispanic" as an ethnicity, not a race. While the U.S. government first made this distinction in 1980, many Latinos continued to use the "some other race" box to establish a Hispanic identity. In a switch, the 2010 census forms specifically instructed Latinos that Hispanic origins are not races and to select a recognized category such as white or black.

The result: a 6 percent increase in white Americans as tallied by the census, even though there was little change among non-Hispanic whites. In all, the number of people in the "white alone" category jumped by 12.1 million over the last decade to 223.6 million. Based on that definition, whites now represent 72 percent of the U.S. population and account for nearly half of the total population increase since 2000.

Broken down by state, California and Texas were home to nearly half of Hispanics who identified as white, followed by Florida and New York. Together, these four states comprised nearly two-thirds of the "white alone" population who were Hispanic. Overall, Hialeah, Fla.; Fargo, N.D.; Arvada, Colo.; Billings, Mont., and Scottsdale, Ariz., posted the highest shares in the "white alone" category, at roughly 90 percent or more.

"The white population has become more diverse as evidenced by the growth of the Hispanic white population and the multiple-race white population," including black-white and white-Asian people, according to the 2010 census analysis released Thursday.

Some demographers say the broadened white category in 2010 could lead to a notable semantic if not cultural shift in defining race and ethnicity. Due to the impact of Hispanics, the nation's fastest-growing group, the Census Bureau has previously estimated that whites will become the minority in the U.S. by mid-century. That is based on a definition of whites as non-Hispanic, who are now at 196.8 million.

That could change, if the common conception of white were to shift.

"What's white in America in 1910, 2010 or even 2011 simply isn't the same," said Robert Lang, sociology professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, citing the many different groups of European immigrants in the early 20th century who later became known collectively as white. He notes today that could mean a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant in upstate New York or Jews and Italians in the lowest East side of Manhattan.

Predicting a similar shift for Hispanics, Lang and others noted that mixed marriages are now more common between whites and Hispanics. U.S.-born Latino children of immigrants also are more likely than their parents to identify as white. "The definition of white has always been expansive," he said. "I could see the census in 2030 or 2040 dropping the differentiation between Hispanics and whites."

Roderick Harrison, a Howard University sociologist and former chief of racial statistics at the Census Bureau, agreed that growing numbers of second- and third-generation Hispanics may lose some of their cultural identity as they become more assimilated in the U.S. "Some portion might indeed become, for most social purposes, 'white,'" he said.

The latest census figures also show the number of Americans who identified themselves as partly black and partly white more than doubled to 1.8 million. For the first time, the black-white combination is the most prevalent group among multiracial Americans, making up 1 in 5 members of that subgroup. They exceed the number of multiracials who identified as being white and "some other race," composed of mostly Hispanics, as well as white-Asians and white-American Indians.

States in the South including South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi and Alabama tripled their numbers of people identifying as a mix of black and white, mostly because their overall numbers are smaller. In those places, less than 3 percent of blacks identified that way — lower than the national average of 4.5 percent.

In raw numbers, states that had the biggest increases in the black-white category were California, Florida, Texas, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Some blacks who are partly white have been reluctant to openly embrace their white background, due to a strong black identity in their communities. Historically, several states previously had a "one drop" rule that classified whites with any African blood as black.

In the 2010 census, President Barack Obama was among those who identified himself only as African-American, even though his mother was white.

"There is no question that racial lines are blurring in the United States, especially among 'new' minorities — Hispanics, Asians and growing mixed race generations. Yet it's particularly significant that we are seeing breakdowns in white-black separation," said William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. "Strong gains in interracial marriages and higher mixed-race identification among youth suggest that past racial categories will need to be radically changed or even dispensed with in the next two or three decades."

The share of Hispanics identifying themselves as white increased over the past decade from 48 percent to 53 percent, while the proportion of those who marked "some other race" dropped from 42 percent to 37 percent. Many Hispanics previously preferred to check the "some other race" category to express their nationalities — such as Mexican or Cuban.

The Census Bureau has been examining different ways to count the nation's demographic groups. One experiment is a possible change to the questionnaire that would effectively treat Hispanics as a mutually exclusive group. It would allow people to check off just one of five race or ethnic categories — white, black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian/Alaska Native — rather than asking people who identify themselves as Hispanic to also check what race they are.

Other findings:

—The multiple-race white population, including black-whites and white-Asians, increased by at least 8 percent in every state, with the biggest gains in the South. :smt052

—The non-Hispanic white population declined in 15 states, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest.

—The majority of blacks, both non-Hispanic blacks and those in combination with Hispanics or other races, lived in the South.
About 60 percent of their total population lived in 10 states — New York, Florida, Texas, Georgia, California, North Carolina, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia and Ohio. The biggest gains in blacks over the past decade occurred in Florida, Georgia, Texas and North Carolina.

—Cities with the highest share of blacks, both non-Hispanic and in combination with others, include Detroit at 84 percent. It was followed by Jackson, Miss., Miami Gardens, Fla., and Birmingham, Ala.

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www.census.gov

 

It is fascinating. I'm cynical enough to wonder at the dismissal of Hispanic/Latino as a category is to make white people feel less like they're "headed for extinction."

I also note that as I said when I was first here, one of the reasons I didn't date much IR when I was younger was lack of access to black men on anything other than a professional level, and I think that's at least partly born out by the stats showing that the majority of blacks live in a small percentage of states. There just were not a lot of black guys in suburban Boston when I was growing up. After I divorced, while the numbers had increased, the majority of black men I ran into I met through work (which is IMHO a lousy place to meet partners - it can get messy).

I had to actively go looking for BM to find them. It does seem to have tripped a switch or something though, since I now find more BM are approaching me than ever before - and I'm surely not complaining!

 

After the 2020 census, they gonna list bi-racial people as white to increase the white population numbers.

Curious to know how they are listing latino's as white. There are spanish people out there darker than me with nappier heads than me.

But this is no surprise, up until 9/11, they included people of Middle Eastern descent white. That's one of the reason's why there was such a big drop in white population count in 2010.

 

I don't think that's as much the case when you consider the reality - there are 197 million non-Hispanic Whites - so it's going to be a while before Whites are extinct in the U.S.

After one factor's (historically) how the country has arrived at such a high figure, ie:
"..the many different groups of European immigrants in the early 20th century who later became known collectively as white. He notes today that could mean a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant in upstate New York or Jews and Italians in the lowest East side of Manhattan."

it stands to reason that the same will soon occur with White-skinned (?) Hispanics.

The only question will be is how will Hispanics respond to that? The fact that so many are making the CHOICE to affiliate or identify themselves as White when given a choice of two - I wonder if it reflects their actual skin shade or a desire to assimilate with the majority.

It's all just so messy that there's even a "distinction" issue in 2011.

 

They, the U.S government, is listing people according to what individuals write down on the census. Those darker, nappier heads, will often write down White Latino/Hispanic.

 

Most hispanics from what i understand seem pretty confused by their racial heritage in so far as a little puerto rican girl who is in my afterschool program claimed that Puerto Ricans are a mix "Indian, White and Spanish". I LOL'D. :lol:

 

She's a little girl.

 

But shows you what they're teaching in school. And as i recall, she said her mother told her that.

 

Not all PRs have the same admixture. The only thing that her mother left out was that some PRs have African ancestry. I guess that is where the Taíno/Indian/Spanish gets muddled in. Spanish is White of course, the seperation is probably a reaction to American standards.

The Hispanic population growth in this county will only continue racial discord; the colorism and aberrant denial of African ancestry is rife in some of these provincial Hispanics.

 

White people tend to define "whiteness" in terms of what they feel reflects a certain civilizational and/or moral excellence. What renders the definition of "white" problematic for America is the ages old tension between the Anglo-Germanic and Latin constructions of white European identity.

Of all the Latin cultures (Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese), I think French culture is the one that Anglo-America respects the most. White conservatives here love to pick on the French, but that has its limits because they've also produced one of the world's most accomplished cultures. The French are responsible for some of our greatest painters, philosophers, writers, and scientists; something you don't see as much in Spanish, Portuguese, or recent incarnations of Italian culture. Hispanics are primarily a byproduct of several cultures (Spanish, indigenous, African) that aren't particularly well-regarded within the Anglofied version of America that currently exists.

I have to admit to not being impressed with Mexican culture on the west coast either. I find it rather chauvinistic and simple with reproduction starting before you've given yourself a chance to explore the world. Definitely not my cup of tea.

 

I've been telling people this.

So much for all that "people of color" talk you hear from so many Black folk.

Immigration has always been used to offset the Black population...at one time Italians and Jews were not considered white.

 

The complicated history of racial identity amongst Black and Latin people, was explored quite well by Henry Louis Gates Jr. in his PBS mini-series BLACK IN LATIN AMERICA
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/black-in-latin-america/

 

Add Irish too.

 

Explored well? I would say Gates has a strong cultural bias in his work, a good series nonetheless.

 

Middle Eastern people are still counted as white on 2010 census. Reason being is b/c White and Caucasian are used for the same racial group.

Hispanics can choose what race they want to identify as. They have the same choices as everyone else white, black, native American, Asian, and some other race. So many choose white b/c they choose to identify with their Spanish blood opposed to native American blood or is some cases black. They come in all races, and every mixture, and every color from pale to black. When I was doing the census though I had several Mexicans choose white or white and native American. Some told me their race selection right off. Others wasn't sure what to choose. For those I would break it down for them. See we had to hand the form that had all the races listed and ask them which they belong too. If they look confused shoot I would say was your ancestors white spaniards, natives, or black from Africa. They would typically then choose white and native. Some would tell me their grandfather was from Spain or something like that. I remember I had one lady who was Dominican and her husband was puerto rican. She listed herself as black and him as white.
Americans just can't compare Latin racial categories to America's history of categories. They are not the same by any means. They never had one drop of black rule made you black and some places even had the opposite like puerto rico had a if you had a white grandparent you were white rule.

The comment made before the one I'm responding to said something about America trying to get more white numbers or something like that. How could that be when these people are choosing their on self identity?

 

You were a census taker?

 

At first I was going to say and she is right but then I noticed you said Indian, white and Spanish opposed to Native, white, and black. Their DNA proves they are mostly mixed race and majority of their paternal DNA is white. Their maternal is native. Their admixture most often is majority white followed by native, and then black.

 

Yep. I enjoyed doing it.

 

Neither were Irish.

 

Undoubtedly.