news
Census Shows Whites lose uS Majority Among Babies
Hope Yen
the associated Press
waSHINgtoN (aP) — For the first time, more than
half of the children under age 2 in the U.S. are minorities,
part of a sweeping race change and a growing age divide
between mostly white, older Americans and fast-growing
younger ethnic populations that could reshape government
policies.
Preliminary census estimates also show the share of
African-American households headed by women - mostly
single mothers - now exceeds African-American house-
holds with married couples, reflecting the trend of declining
U.S. marriages overall.
The findings, based on the latest government data, offer a
preview of final 2010 census results being released this
summer that provide detailed breakdowns by age, race and
household relationships.
Demographers say the numbers provide the clearest con-
firmation yet of a changing social
order, one in which racial and eth-
nic minorities will become the
U.S. majority by midcentury.
“We’re moving toward an
acknowledgment that we’re living
in a different world than the
1950s, where married or two-par-
ent heterosexual couples are now
no longer the norm for a lot of
kids, especially kids of color,”
said Laura Speer, coordinator of the Kids Count project for
the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation.
“It’s clear the younger generation is very demographical-
ly different from the elderly, something to keep in mind as
politics plays out on how programs for the elderly get sup-
ported,” she said. “It’s critical that children are able to grow
to compete internationally and keep state economies
rolling.”
Currently, non-Hispanic whites make up just under half of
all children 3 years old, which is the youngest age group
shown in the Census Bureau’s October 2009 annual survey,
its most recent. In 1990, more than 60 percent of children in
that age group were white.
William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings
Institution who analyzed the data, said figures in the 2009
survey can sometimes be inexact compared with the 2010
census, which queries the entire nation. But he said when
factoring in the 2010 data released so far, minorities out-
number whites among babies under age 2.
The preliminary figures are based on an analysis of the
Current Population Survey as well as the 2009 American
Community Survey, which sampled 3 million U.S. house-
holds to determine that whites made up 51 percent of babies
younger than 2. After taking into account a larger-than-
expected jump in the minority child population in the 2010
census, the share of white babies falls below 50 percent.
Twelve states and the District of Columbia now have
white populations below 50 percent among children under
age 5 - Hawaii, California, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona,
Nevada, Florida, Maryland, Georgia, New Jersey, New
York and Mississippi. That’s up from six states and the
District of Columbia in 2000.
At current growth rates, seven more states could flip to
“minority-majority” status among small children in the next
decade: Illinois, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado,
Connecticut, South Carolina and Delaware.
By contrast, whites make up the vast majority of older
Americans - 80 percent of seniors 65 and older and rough-
ly 73 percent of people ages 45-64. Many states with high
percentages of white seniors also have particularly large
shares of minority children,
including Arizona, Nevada,
California, Texas and Florida.
In California, for instance, the
median age for whites jumped
from 40.3 in 2000 to 44.6 years
old, even as the state’s overall
median age remained one of the
nation’s lowest at 35.2 due to
minority births - a sign of the
rapid race change under way,
according to 2010 census data released Thursday.
California’s minorities now make up 58 percent of the
state’s population, up from 51 percent in 2000.
“The recent emergence of this cultural generation gap in
states with fast growth of young Hispanics has spurred heat-
ed discussions of immigration and the use of government
services,” Frey said. “But the new census, which will show
a minority majority of our youngest Americans, makes
plain that our future labor force is absolutely dependent on
our ability to integrate and educate a new diverse child pop-
ulation.”
Kenneth Johnson, a sociology professor and senior
demographer at the University of New Hampshire, noted
that much of the race change is being driven by increases in
younger Hispanic women having more children than do
white women, who have lower birth rates and as a group are
moving beyond their prime childbearing years.
Because minority births are driving the rapid changes in
the population, “any institution that touches or is impacted
by children will be the first to feel the impact,” Johnson
said, citing as an example child and maternal health care
Demographers say the
numbers provide the
clearest confirmation yet
of a changing social order
We honor the many
accomplishments of
African Americans.
that will have to be attentive to minorities’ needs.
The numbers come amid public debate over hotly con-
tested federal and state issues, from immigration and gay
marriage to the rising cost of government benefits such as
Medicare and Medicaid, that are resonating in different
ways by region and demographics.
Alabama became the latest state this month to pass a
wide-ranging anti-immigration law, which in part requires
schools to report students’ immigration status to state
authorities. That follows tough immigration measures
passed in similarly Republican-leaning states such as
Georgia, Arizona and South Carolina.
But governors in Massachusetts, New York and Illinois,
which long have been home to numerous immigrants, have
opted out of the federal Secure Communities program that
aims to deport dangerous criminals, saying it has made ille-
gal immigrants afraid of reporting crimes to police.
California may soon opt out as well.
States also are divided by region in their attitudes about
old-age benefits and gay marriage, which is legal in five
states and the District of Columbia.
Among African-Americans, U.S. households headed by
women - mostly single mothers but also adult women living
with siblings or elderly parents - represented roughly 30
percent of all African-American households, compared with
the 28 percent share of married-couple African-American
households. It was the first time the number of female-
headed households surpassed those of married couples
among any race group, according to census records
reviewed by Frey dating back to 1950.
While the number of black single mothers has been grad-
ually declining, overall marriages among blacks are
decreasing faster. That reflects a broader U.S. trend of
declining marriage rates as well as increases in non-family
households made up of people living alone, or with unmar-
ried partners or other non-relatives.
Female-headed households make up a 19 percent share
among Hispanics and 9 percent each for whites and Asians.
Other findings:
-Multigenerational households composed of families with
grandparents, parents and children were most common
among Hispanics, particularly in California, Maryland,
Illinois, Nevada and Texas, all states where they represent-
ed roughly 1 in 10 Latino households.
-Roughly 581,000, or a half percent, of U.S. households
are composed of same-sex unmarried couples, representing
nearly 1 in 10 households with unmarried partners.
Unmarried gay couples made up the biggest shares in states
in the Northeast and West, led by the District of Columbia,
Oregon, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont.
The largest numbers were in California and New York,
which is now considering a gay marriage law.
-Minorities comprise a majority of renters in 10 states,
plus the District of Columbia - Hawaii, Texas, California,
Georgia, Maryland, New Mexico, Mississippi, New Jersey,
Louisiana and New York.
Tony Perkins, president of the Washington, D.C.-based
Family Research Council, a conservative interest group,
emphasized the economic impact of the decline of tradi-
tional families, noting that single-parent families are often
the most dependent on government assistance.
“The decline of the traditional family will have to correct
itself if we are to continue as a society,” Perkins said, citing
a responsibility of individuals and churches. “We don’t
need another dose of big government, but a new
Hippocratic oath of `do no harm’ that doesn’t interfere with
family formation or seek to redefine family.”
Caldwell’s, Hennessey, Goetsch
& McGee Funeral Home
Von D. Bailey
Funeral Director
20 NE 14th Avenue
Portland, OR 97232
503-232-4111
Fax 503-231-1586
von.bailey@sci-us.com
Page 10 The Portland Skanner June 29, 2011