Minority Babies Can Ease Racial Tension

By  The Associated Press

Minority babies can ease racial tension among current and future generations of Americans. Now a majority among babies, racial and ethnic minorities in the United States will outnumber whites by 2043.

White people will no longer make up a majority of Americans by 2043, according to new census projections. That's part of a historic shift that already is reshaping the nation's schools, workforce and electorate, and is redefining long-held notions of race.

The official projection, released by the Census Bureau, now places the tipping point for the white majority a year later than previous estimates, which were made before the impact of the recent economic downturn was fully known. More and more minority babies can ease racial tension.

America continues to grow and become more diverse due to higher birth rates among minorities, particularly for Hispanics who entered the U.S. at the height of the immigration boom in the 1990s and early 2000s. Since the mid-2000 housing bust, however, the arrival of millions of new immigrants from Mexico and other nations has slowed from its once-torrid pace.

Minority babies can ease racial tension as they grow. Photo Credit: outsidethebeltway.com

The country's changing demographic mosaic has stark political implications, shown clearly in the last Presidential election that gave President Barack Obama a second term - in no small part due to his support from 78 percent of non-white voters.

There are social and economic ramifications, as well. Longstanding fights over civil rights and racial equality are going in new directions, promising to reshape race relations and common notions of being a "minority." White plaintiffs now before the Supreme Court argue that special protections for racial and ethnic minorities dating back to the 1960s may no longer be needed, from affirmative action in college admissions to the Voting Rights Act, designed for states with a history of disenfranchising blacks.

Feature Photo Caption and Credit: America becomes a nation of minorities, white, black and brown. What a beautiful tapestry. Photo Credit: minipost.com

Article reprinted with permission by http://www.usaonrace.com