The Changing Face Of America

(CBS)  Census figures reveal a new reality in America's classrooms, reports CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes. Minority populations are climbing everywhere.

"The white population, I wouldn't say is fading into the background, but it is becoming the older, less fertile part of the population," says demographer William Frey of the Brookings Institute.

Frey crunched the census data and found huge jumps in the Hispanic population far from the traditional melting pots - up 21 percent in St. Joseph, Missouri; up 17 percent in Scranton, Pennsylvania; and 15 percent in Pascagoula, Mississippi - all in just one year's time.

"You're seeing it everywhere. People are going for jobs," Frey says. "They're going because they want the American Dream."

Whites still make up 66 percent of the population. But their numbers have grown only two percent since 2000, compared to eight percent for blacks, 29 percent for Hispanics and 26 percent for Asians.

"It's tough because we are seen as being either inconsequential or that we're not even really Americans," says Chinese-American writer Helen Zia.

It's forcing school systems to adjust quickly to new fault lines. In Maryland's Montgomery County outside Washington, D.C., the schools went from mostly white in the 1990s to 60 percent minorities today.

Superintendent Jerry Weast dropped class sizes, boosted literacy programs and now sends pamphlets to parents in six different languages.

"If you don't have a plan to accommodate the diversity and the poverty and the language, your community is gonna have a train wreck," Weast says.

The census bureau has long predicted that whites would drop below 50 percent of the population by the year 2050. Experts say the new data suggest that shift could come far sooner.

[avaughner]

here is a great webpage with awesome stats about the changing face of America: http://assets.aarp.org/www.aarp.org_/articles/bulletin/interactive/powerof50/divsam/index.html

[libsluv2spit]

This blending and melting pot of other non White races has not only happened in the United States. It has happened in Ancient Rome, Greece, Persia, and today its also happening in Britain and France. As more Whites mix with non Whites and illegal immigrants continue to have huge families, you will have a lessening of the dolichocephalic(long headed) intelligent Caucasian stock(Ben Franklin, Rockefeller, Henry Ford, Fulton, Eisenhower,Thomas Jefferson, and other greats. Most of the Whites that are of mixed race, will take on a brown or dark brown complection much like most Middle Easterners or Latin Americans. As the lessening of the Nordic or Caucasian strain continues as it has, education will be less stressed and the US will no longer have the intellect it strongly posessed from the time of the founding fathers till about 1960. Since 1960, education has plummeted, illegal immigration has been out of control, and the threat on America''''s superior dominance in the West has greatly diminished with poor leadership(George W. Bush and Congress), greedy CEO''''s, the ACLU, and teacher''''s unions. Neither far left wing(bleeding heart) ideas or far right wing ideas ever work. The entire administration and Congress should be disbanded and overhauled or else we will dig our own grave...

Posted by dan_8951 at 02:39 AM : Aug 10, 2008
+ report abuse

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that was straight of mein kampf...the more i see people like you..the more i am glad of this change

[laurelblosso]

SO MUCH FOR WORK ETHICS

[barbaram99]

They think skin colour when it comes to this issuE.
I find it odd. Us blind are a minority. Oh yes I am white.

[barbaram99]

I only read and write english. Ye only saw english signs years ago.

[bhappy2-2]

ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS are what has changed the hispanic ratio to where it currently is. By getting rid of the ILLEGAL ALIEN INVADERS we would be about where we need to be.

[toolmangler-2009]

Whatever happend to Americans being proud to be an American. These days everyone is African American, Spanish American and so on.
Posted by usuallyhere at 06:50 PM : Aug 08, 2008



I am proud to be an American I am also proud to be 1/4 American Indian (Not indian American) We put ''America'' first, Never last. I am also proud to be a ''Native American'' so we only call ourselves "American" period. I hope this answers your query.

[txgrouch2006]

Tortillas are replacing bread at the market.
Posted by tiddsanbeer at 07:15 PM : Aug 08, 2008

THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! When we whites are a minority, we''ll RISE UP and DEMAND EQUAL SHELF SPACE FOR WHITE FOOD.

Well, except bread is FLUFFIER than tortillas, so we need MORE SHELF SPACE to be EQUAL!

WE NEED TO STICK IT TO THE MAN!!!

[txgrouch2006]

You realize that just because you`re a minority, the unemployment and welfare check will continue to be the same.
Posted by Nancy_Naive at 05:17 PM : Aug 08, 2008

Wait, you get WELFARE????

WHOOPEEEEEEE! That''s more than I''m making now.

[txgrouch2006]

8. Notice computer timed out. Say "What''s wrong with this @*%! thing." Start it up again. Look at watch, notice it''s time for afternoon coffee break.
9. Get back from break area around four, four thirtyish.
10. Notice computer timed out again. Say "I''m gonna call tech support about this @*%! computer."
11. Start computer again. Call another minority guy while computer is starting up. Talk about sports and minority issues.
12. Get off phone around five thirty, sixish. Notice computer timed out again. Say, "I''ve HAD IT with this @*%! computer!" Make sure you use the same profanity every time, every day.
13. Boss checks on you around sixish. Complain about lousy computer, you haven''t been able to get any work done all day. Ask boss if you''re "on the list" for a promotion. Boss says "You bet, we''re on an initiative to promote more minorities."
14. Boss leaves office six thirtyish. Time to go home!

I CAN''T WAIT to be a minority.