Minorities become the majority in 10 percent of U.S. counties (AP/CNN)

[eppur_se_muova]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Whites are now in the minority in almost one in 10 U.S. counties.

And that increased diversity, fueled by immigration and higher birth rates among blacks and Hispanics, is straining race relations and sparking a backlash against immigrants in many communities.

"There's some culture shock," said Mark Mather of the Population Reference Bureau, a Washington-based research agency. "But I think there is a momentum building, and it is going to continue."

As of 2006, non-Hispanic whites made up less than half the population in 303 of the nation's 3,141 counties, according to figures the Census Bureau is releasing Thursday. Non-Hispanic whites were a minority in 262 counties in 2000, up from 183 in 1990.

The Census Bureau's report has population estimates by race and ethnicity for every county in the nation. They are the first such estimates since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, scattering hundreds of thousands of people. See concentrations of ethnic minorities around the United States »
***
more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/09/minority.counties.ap/index.html

Historically, this is a somewhat interesting development. Some people choose to view it as a "problem" and look for "answers". The obvious answer is that if you don't consider it a problem, it isn't one.

I believe Hawaii has always been "majority minority", perhaps Alaska too? It would be interesting to know how many states were majority Native American at the time statehood was granted.

[EFerrari]

1. So whites are the majority in 9 of 10 counties.

Does anyone know if this is actually news? WJ elicited many rabidly fearful calls with this story this morning.

:crazy:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

6. I'm so glad I live in NYC.

I can see people from 20 different countries, and that's just on one block.

:D

[EFerrari]

7. I, too, love my hood. We're Heinz 57 here

and I love it. Russians, Irish, Chinese, Mexicans, folks from Viet Nam and Central America. A few stray Brits and tourists from everywhere. And somehow, we manage to be a closely knit community.

I guess in a way, I've always lived in these neighborhoods and I don't really understand the panic that people feel when they see melanin differences and chile oil "infiltrating" their communities.

But this morning, there were a bunch of really fearful calls into WJ. Full of hatred. This one guy said that Mexican culture with its dirt floors should be actively expelled from Amerika.

The hatred that the Republics have whipped up is palpable and dangerous. I don't see it dying down anytime soon. :(

[Starbucks Anarchist]

9. You're right.

In fact, I recently saw a couple of recruitment bumper stickers for the National Alliance (white-supremacist group) posted in the train station here.

I tore them off, of course, then laughed at the thought of these chickenshits not having the stones to proclaim their idiotic philosophy on the street corner, lest they receive a severe beatdown from the neighborhood.

[EFerrari]

10. Did you ever play "Mother May I" when you were a kid?

We've taken many Giant Steps backwards during this criminal adminstration. I'm glad Martin isn't here to see this shit.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

11. No, not familiar with that one.

[EFerrari]

12. link:

http://familyfun.go.com/games/indoor-outdoor-games/game/famfgam_mother/famfgam_mother.html

[SemiCharmedQuark]

14. I saw the image for this story on Yahoo news...

I KNEW it would have certain people in a panic. But I'm glad to see that DUers seem to have their heads on straight.

[EFerrari]

15. It's to the point where you can see the hook coming.

:shrug:

Sad for our country. We can do so much better than this.

[Donnachaidh]

2. yeah, let's make those frightened white males even crazier with SPIN

Stirring the pot to scramble the sheep -- did this come directly from the RNC?

[no_hypocrisy]

3. Was that the sound of Pat Buchanon's head exploding?

[eppur_se_muova]

4. self-delete

[Lone_Star_Dem]

5. In Texas 43 of our 254 counties are minority majority.

By up to 98% majority in one border area. Some of these areas are among the highest for children under 5 years old in the Nation. Even if their parents may not be citizens the children born here are. May they all grow up to vote for Democratic candiates and kick the Rethug's to the curb permanently.

[KamaAina]

8. In Hawai'i, 4 of our 4 counties are.

5 of 5 if you count Kalawao (the "Father Damien" settlement), which no one does because it's administered by Maui County.

Indeed, just today we learned in somewhat alarmist tones that the haole population is on the rise, now over 40 percent statewide!

http://starbulletin.com/2007/08/09/news/story06.html

Hawaii remains a state where whites are in the minority. But the percentage of the state's population that is white is increasing, while the Asian, native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, and mixed-race population makes up a smaller percentage, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

The state and some native Hawaiian organizations question the accuracy of the census data.

But there's a big ol' Bonds-like *:

According to the Census Bureau, the number of whites alone or in combination accounted for 42.6 percent of the state's population last year, up from 40.3 percent in 2000.

In most places on the mainland, someone describing him/herself as white "in combination" would be considered "mixed-race" or "biracial" rather than "white". The actual figure for full-on haoles statewide is a paltry 29 percent. The "haole-est" county was Maui at 39 percent. So there.

[EFerrari]

13. Hawai'i is a wonderful model to us all.

On my honeymoon (when I was supposed to be preoccupied with other issues, lol) I learned so much about puralism. So much about the tensions and the negotiations that a multicultural society must attend to. It was a week long, impromptu seminar for me, just walking around. :)