adminFor the first time, America’s racial and ethnic minorities make up about half of the under-5 age group, the US government has said.
The historic shift, announced on Thursday, shows how young people are at the forefront of sweeping changes by race and class.
The new census estimates, a snapshot of the US population as of July 2012, come a year after the Census Bureau reported that whites had fallen to a minority among babies.
The population younger than five stood at 49,9 percent minority in 2012. “More so than ever, we need to recognise the importance of young minorities for the growth and vitality of our labour force and economy,” said William H Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution who analysed the census data.
Fuelled by immigration and high rates of birth, particularly among Hispanics, racial and ethnic minorities are now growing more rapidly in numbers than whites. Based on current rates of growth, whites in the under-five group are expected to tip to a minority this year or next, said Thomas Mesenbourg, the Census Bureau’s acting director.
The government also projects that in five years, minorities will make up more than half of children under 18. Not long after that, the total US white population will begin a decline in absolute numbers, due to aging baby boomers.
The nation’s demographic changes are already stirring discussion as to whether some civil rights-era programmes, such as affirmative action in college admissions, should be retooled to focus more on income rather than race and ethnicity.
The Supreme Court will rule on the issue this month. — AP
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter