![Cover of sheet music for "The Star-Spangled Banner" [words by Francis Scott Key], transcribed for piano by Ch. Voss, Philadelphia: G. Andre & Co., 1862. Photo Credit: Wikipedia](wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Americas-Future-1.jpg)
Cover of sheet music for "The Star-Spangled Banner" [words by Francis Scott Key , transcribed for piano by Ch. Voss, Philadelphia: G. Andre & Co., 1862. Photo Credit: Wikipedia"
The results of 2010 Census has caused a media frenzy about how racial issues play an important role in the way politicians will deal with a potential uproar from various political groups. According to an article written in the Washington Post about the results of the 2010 Census, it seems clear that many understand that the “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave” is a mixed melting pot that will continue brewing from many years to come. The article from the Washington Post states, “Currently, non-Hispanic whites make up just under half of all 3-year-old children, which is the youngest age group shown in the Census Bureau’s October 2009 survey, its most recent. In 1990, more than 60 percent of children in that age group were white.”
Several states in the United States documented that minority population is almost 50 percent of the total population. These states include New Jersey, California, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Washington D.C., Texas, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and New York.
In regards to future political elections, the Census predicts that minority populations will have a stronghold with staying power at the voting polls. Projections of minority groups rising in numbers in future years highlight the racial lines that will likely influence the political positions and strategies of politicians from every state. For politicians in areas that do not have a large minority population, they will most likely focus on issues that support the needs of their non-ethnic demographic, which includes retirement, healthcare benefits, education, and additional family needs like childcare.
After the death of Senator Ted Kennedy, Scott Brown is the man who filled the Massachusetts Senate seat as seen in this photo of the swearing in ceremony. Photo Credit: scottbrown.senate.gov
What if you have a politician like super conservative Scott Brown, who filled the late Senator Ted Kennedy Senate seat in Massachusetts? As the opposition of Brown’s appointment grew, he struggled to carry out his mission under the watchful eyes of the Tea Party loyalists, and Republicans, the ignition of racial issues began to swelter through every political hotbed in the United States. Conservative legend Pat Buchanan stoked the flames further with his racially- charged commentary. Author Chip Berlet highlights the reaction from Buchanan in his essay. Buchanan noted, “Scott’s victory should target the white vote and vowing an end to affirmative action and ethnic preferences, an end to bailouts of Wall Street bankers, a moratorium on immigration until unemployment falls to 6 percent, an industrial policy that creates jobs here and stops shipping them to China.”
Once the media sank its teeth into this angle towards race relations and elections, many people began to question how the rise in minority populations reported from the Census data could spark a rise in racial uncertainty for politicians looking to serve their fellow men in current and future elections.
Eric Ward of the Center for New Community helps lead a workshop on immigration. Photo Credit: UMNS photo by Mike DuBose, umc.org America’s Future 4: Ellis Cose, author of Red, Brown, and Blue. Photo Credit: elliscose.com/bio/
Eric Ward is a former community organizer, human rights activist and someone who currently works with the Center for New Community, has a strong view on how Americans should be responsible when it comes to dealing with racial issues: “Folks need to be accountable for their racism,” Ward stated in an article for the website “Religious Dispatches.org.” The Chicago-based Center for New Community encourages the formation of alliances to better inform individuals about racial relations and how to “build a democratic future based on human rights, justice, and equality.”
“The Democratic Party pundits seem to think this is some sort of game; they act as if there are no legitimate grievances at all out here. They have to realize that they are not playing a game, they are playing with the lives and livelihoods of real people,” Ward said. “Meanwhile, across the country, people are being pulled into right-wing populist movements, and from there, some of them are being recruited into white supremacist movements.”
Author Ellis Cose had a different view on how racial issues will affect predictions on political events. In his essay, “Red, Brown, and Blue,” Cose interjects an opinion that resonates why people need to think about racial issues, and how they will predicate over the voters at the polls.
Cose asks, “So what [do these statistical projections and evidence of more interracial interaction] mean for the future of America?” He postulates that, “At the very least, it means two things: that whites are not in danger of becoming a minority in the foreseeable future because the white category (or its equivalent) will likely encompass many we now consider to be minorities. But most important, race is not going to be quite as big a deal, as it is now; in the America of tomorrow — whatever people decide to call themselves — race will not be synonymous with destiny. That’s a future worth embracing.”
Could there be a future where humanitarian issues like hunger, eradicating religious intolerance, terrorism, poverty, disease, global warming, environmental pollution, and economic opportunity trump racial hatred and discord?
Is it possible that one race — the human race can work together to solve common challenges to make life better for all? Could the projected population trends foretell of such a future?
Politicians could focus on real issues that confront all humanity.
Sources:
http://www.racialicious.com/2010/01/07/will-race-matter-projections-on-americas-racial-future/
http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2008/0818_census_frey.aspx
Article reprinted with permission from www.usariseup.com
Article written by Cindy Ferraino
No Responses to “America’s Future: When Racism And Politics Collide”