By Simon Davis in Los Angeles12:00AM BST 01 Sep 2000
WHITES have officially become an ethnic minority in California, the state traditionally associated in the American psyche with blond-haired, blue-eyed surfers.
Whites, counted as non-Hispanic people of European origin, make up only 49.8 per cent of the state’s population, according to the latest census. While Hispanic and other non-white groups can no longer be collectively known as “minorities”, it remains to be seen whether the shift in California – a trend that is predicted to sweep America over the next few decades – will alter the make-up of the nation’s governing bodies, nearly all of which are controlled by whites.
Hawaii already has a majority of Asians and Polynesians, and in the past other states have had a white minority. Before the Civil War South Carolina had a black majority, while in New Mexico a mix of Hispanics and American Indians has at times put whites in the minority.
But with the number of whites in states such as Texas, Florida, New York and Illinois rapidly being overtaken by non-whites, demographers predict that they will be a minority across America by the year 2070. Many California residents will be surprised that it has taken this long. A walk down any street in Los Angeles, the state’s largest city, suggests that whites are heavily outnumbered.
Robert Newby, a white shop owner who has lived in Hollywood for 40 years, said: “These latest figures confirm what most of us have thought for years. I am happy for there to be more immigrants – by and large they work harder and have more money to spend.” However, while the constraints of political correctness force state officials to promote the racial diversity of California, the reality is that the mix is often volatile.
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Conflict between the various ethnic groups is rife, particularly in Los Angeles, where Hispanic, black and Armenian gangs fight. This was clearly seen during the Los Angeles riots, sparked in 1991 after police were acquitted of beating black driver Rodney King. In the trouble that followed, 53 people were killed and £600 million damage was done in three days of looting and arson.
Los Angeles is also the home of the largest communities of Koreans and Iranians outside their own nations. As recently as 1970, eight out of 10 Californians were white, and the bulk of immigrants have come from Mexico and Central and Latin America. Five million immigrants – two million of them illegal – have settled in the state since 1980.
In the past 30 years, the proportion of Hispanics has risen to about 32 per cent of the 34 million population. Hispanics are expected to be in the majority about 2040, when whites will make up less than a third of California’s projected 52 million people.
The demographic shift is likely to further complicate the issue of affirmative action for minorities, a policy that many whites argue is now obsolete. It will also have a profound effect on the political and social make-up of America, with politicians having to make more effort to cross racial and ethnic lines.
