Census Bureau Report: Hispanics Now Outnumber Blacks in U.S.

[prayerfull]

From Yahoo!

Hispanics Now Outnumber Blacks in U.S.

By GENARO C. ARMAS, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Hispanics have surpassed blacks as the nation's largest minority group, the Census Bureau (news - web sites) said Tuesday.



The Latino population grew to 37 million in July 2001, up 4.7 percent from April 2000. The black population increased 2 percent during the same period, to 36.1 million.


The estimates are the Census Bureau's first statistics on race and ethnicity since results from the 2000 census were released two years ago.


Census Bureau demographer Roberto Ramirez said it has long been expected that Hispanics would someday surpass blacks because their birth and immigration rates are higher.


"And the trend shows it will clearly be increasing more in the future," Ramirez said.


Hispanics now comprise nearly 13 percent of the U.S. population, which grew to 284.8 million in July 2001. That's up from 35.3 million, or 12.5 percent of the country's 281.4 million residents in April 2000.


Blacks make up 12.7 percent of the nation's population, up from 12.6 percent in April 2000. The black population grew by 700,000 in the 15 months after the census was released.


Whites remained the largest single population group, numbering about 199.3 million in July 2001, nearly 70 percent of all U.S. residents.


Asians are the next largest minority group after blacks and Hispanics, at about 12.1 million, or 4 percent of the population.


A breakdown by state was not released.


The 2000 census, for the first time, allowed people to check off more than one racial category, increasing the number of possible choices for racial origin from five in 1990 to 63.


A separate question also asks if someone is of Hispanic ethnicity. The federal government considers "Hispanic" an ethnicity instead of a race, so people of Hispanic ethnicity can be of any race.


Population figures for black, white and Asian refer to those who are not Hispanic.

[Honeykiss1974]

I just heard on NPR that blacks still outnumber hispanics

Let me go on their website and check.

BRB!

[Steeltrap]

Yeah, I'm not surprised at this because of the higher birthrates and immigration of Latino populations. That's why there are five TV networks, countless radio stations and politicians scrambling to court Latinos.

Despite the negative stereotypes thrown at us, Blacks don't have that high a birth rate. In fact, educated, middle-class Black women aren't that likely to have kids because many of us haven't been able to find a husband or don't choose to be a single parent, as is my case.

[Honeykiss1974]

Ok, maybe I misunderstood.

I do remember hearing that one reason why blacks are outnumbered could be due to the fact that in this census, people were allowed to check more than one race.

I am not sure if those that checked "black" and another race were included in the "black" tally or not.

[librasoul22]

Also, like it said, people of Hispanic descent may also be "black."

I know many people who are from Spanish speaking countries that check Dominican/Puerto Rican/Cuban/etc. on evaluation forms, but are racially BLACK.

Thats why the concept of race is such BS, imo. It is meaningless.

[ZChi4Life]

Originally posted by librasoul22
Also, like it said, people of Hispanic descent may also be "black."

I know many people who are from Spanish speaking countries that check Dominican/Puerto Rican/Cuban/etc. on evaluation forms, but are racially BLACK.

Thats why the concept of race is such BS, imo. It is meaningless.

I agree, the concept of race is really messed up. It's because society has made the term "race" into something based on someone's skin tone or physical characteristics. Race, based on anthropological factors, is really biological. We all make up the human race. We, humans, share a similiar biological make-up (obviously DNA comes into play and makes us different, but when it comes to distinguishing us from a whale....well you get the picture...). In our society, people are so quick to use race to mean someone's ethnicity.

But from this article, the census is really messed up in so many ways. The thing is, all the boxes should be based on ethnicities such as Hispanic/Latin, African, Asian, etc, etc. EVERYONE has an ethnicity, whether it's Irish or African. The word race shouldn't even be on there. To check a box based on what you look like is pretty messed up b/c like Librasoul said, you can be of hispanic descent and look "black". Sooo you're Cuban but you're of the black race?? What? I mean does that make sense? How can someone really determine anything from that? Basically, they need to figure out if they want to know how many people LOOK black, white, etc OR if they want to know what everyone's cultural background is.

[DoggyStyle82]

Originally posted by ZChi4Life


I agree, the concept of race is really messed up. It's because society has made the term "race" into something based on someone's skin tone or physical characteristics. Race, based on anthropological factors, is really biological. We all make up the human race. We, humans, share a similiar biological make-up (obviously DNA comes into play and makes us different, but when it comes to distinguishing us from a whale....well you get the picture...). In our society, people are so quick to use race to mean someone's ethnicity.

But from this article, the census is really messed up in so many ways. The thing is, all the boxes should be based on ethnicities such as Hispanic/Latin, African, Asian, etc, etc. EVERYONE has an ethnicity, whether it's Irish or African. The word race shouldn't even be on there. To check a box based on what you look like is pretty messed up b/c like Librasoul said, you can be of hispanic descent and look "black". Sooo you're Cuban but you're of the black race?? What? I mean does that make sense? How can someone really determine anything from that? Basically, they need to figure out if they want to know how many people LOOK black, white, etc OR if they want to know what everyone's cultural background is.

There is a concept of race, especially how it was used on the census prior to 2000. In your example of what race would a Cuban be if the "appeared black". They would be and are still racially "black" despite their nationality. We must not confuse nationality or ethnicity for "race". Hispanics can be of any race (black, white, or indian/native american). What makes them Hispanic is their shared linguistic or cultural characteristics that define Hispanic culture.

Also African is not an ethnicity. An Ibo, a Yoruban, a Kikuyu, a Dinka, A Tigre, a Zulu, and a Hotentot are all Africans but they are very different ethnically and culturally. What they do share is that they are of the same race.

For the most part, until the loosening of immigration laws in the mid-70's, east of the Mississippi, most Americans were easily identifiable as White or Black, with some Puerto Ricans in major Northern cities. Most Hispanics were confined to South Florida, Texas and Califirnia. Now we have an influx of Central Americans, Asians, East Indians, etc who don't fit neatly into Black, White categories.

One last thing, because Hispanics can be of any race, its usually not their "race" that defines them in society, but how well they assimilate into the larger culture. The big "handicap" that they face is generally mastery of the English language. Cameron Diaz, Frankie Munoz, Christina Aguilera all have Spanish surnames, but they have the benefit of being "racially" white so that one or two generations removed from immigrant parents doesn't really make them "Hispanic" anymore whereas, if your skin is black, its gonna stay that way whether you change your culture or not (unless you are Michael Jackson of course).

[NewBee]

Originally posted by librasoul22
Also, like it said, people of Hispanic descent may also be "black."

I know many people who are from Spanish speaking countries that check Dominican/Puerto Rican/Cuban/etc. on evaluation forms, but are racially BLACK.

Thats why the concept of race is such BS, imo. It is meaningless.

I agree.

[NewBee]

Originally posted by ZChi4Life


I agree, the concept of race is really messed up. It's because society has made the term "race" into something based on someone's skin tone or physical characteristics. Race, based on anthropological factors, is really biological. We all make up the human race. We, humans, share a similiar biological make-up (obviously DNA comes into play and makes us different, but when it comes to distinguishing us from a whale....well you get the picture...). In our society, people are so quick to use race to mean someone's ethnicity.

But from this article, the census is really messed up in so many ways. The thing is, all the boxes should be based on ethnicities such as Hispanic/Latin, African, Asian, etc, etc. EVERYONE has an ethnicity, whether it's Irish or African. The word race shouldn't even be on there. To check a box based on what you look like is pretty messed up b/c like Librasoul said, you can be of hispanic descent and look "black". Sooo you're Cuban but you're of the black race?? What? I mean does that make sense? How can someone really determine anything from that? Basically, they need to figure out if they want to know how many people LOOK black, white, etc OR if they want to know what everyone's cultural background is.

Well said!

[NewBee]

Originally posted by DoggyStyle82


There is a concept of race, especially how it was used on the census prior to 2000. In your example of what race would a Cuban be if the "appeared black". They would be and are still racially "black" despite their nationality. We must not confuse nationality or ethnicity for "race". Hispanics can be of any race (black, white, or indian/native american). What makes them Hispanic is their shared linguistic or cultural characteristics that define Hispanic culture.

Also African is not an ethnicity. An Ibo, a Yoruban, a Kikuyu, a Dinka, A Tigre, a Zulu, and a Hotentot are all Africans but they are very different ethnically and culturally. What they do share is that they are of the same race.

For the most part, until the loosening of immigration laws in the mid-70's, east of the Mississippi, most Americans were easily identifiable as White or Black, with some Puerto Ricans in major Northern cities. Most Hispanics were confined to South Florida, Texas and Califirnia. Now we have an influx of Central Americans, Asians, East Indians, etc who don't fit neatly into Black, White categories.

One last thing, because Hispanics can be of any race, its usually not their "race" that defines them in society, but how well they assimilate into the larger culture. The big "handicap" that they face is generally mastery of the English language. Cameron Diaz, Frankie Munoz, Christina Aguilera all have Spanish surnames, but they have the benefit of being "racially" white so that one or two generations removed from immigrant parents doesn't really make them "Hispanic" anymore whereas, if your skin is black, its gonna stay that way whether you change your culture or not (unless you are Michael Jackson of course).

Doggystyle, your post proves even more why the concept of race is irrevelant and shouldn't be used in the census. I am not sure if that was your intent, but thats what aI got out of it. But if that was your intent, I agree with you.

[ladygreek]

My questions are: Since Hispanic denotes ethnicity and not race, should the two even be compared? And what is the purpose of the report?

[Eclipse]

Originally posted by ladygreek
My questions are: Since Hispanic denotes ethnicity and not race, should the two even be compared? And what is the purpose of the report?

Hummmm... Maybe the purpose is to show that Blacks are not the "number 1" minority anymore so all of that catering folks have been doing to "y'all" is about to change. Look for more pictures of W with his "brown" (remember when Daddy Bush said that?) neices and nephews. There needs to be a 'tounge in cheek' similie!

[Steeltrap]

Originally posted by Eclipse


Hummmm... Maybe the purpose is to show that Blacks are not the "number 1" minority anymore so all of that catering folks have been doing to "y'all" is about to change. Look for more pictures of W with his "brown" (remember when Daddy Bush said that?) neices and nephews. There needs to be a 'tounge in cheek' similie!

Well, out here in Cali, "all of that catering folks have been doing to 'y'all,' " hasn't been the case for many years. Although blacks from California loom large in the national conscience (Prop. 209, Rodney King and gangsta rap ), we only make up 7 percent of this state's population.

[RedefinedDiva]

What is the hoopla about anyway? This whole issue of race/ethnicity/etc. is bogus. AmeriKKKa doesn't care about whether we are the 2nd largest or not. However, when these "races" start to surpass the number of those that call themselves White/Caucasian, the isht is really going to hit the fan....!

[ZChi4Life]

Originally posted by DoggyStyle82


There is a concept of race, especially how it was used on the census prior to 2000. In your example of what race would a Cuban be if the "appeared black". They would be and are still racially "black" despite their nationality. We must not confuse nationality or ethnicity for "race". Hispanics can be of any race (black, white, or indian/native american). What makes them Hispanic is their shared linguistic or cultural characteristics that define Hispanic culture.

Also African is not an ethnicity. An Ibo, a Yoruban, a Kikuyu, a Dinka, A Tigre, a Zulu, and a Hotentot are all Africans but they are very different ethnically and culturally. What they do share is that they are of the same race.

For the most part, until the loosening of immigration laws in the mid-70's, east of the Mississippi, most Americans were easily identifiable as White or Black, with some Puerto Ricans in major Northern cities. Most Hispanics were confined to South Florida, Texas and Califirnia. Now we have an influx of Central Americans, Asians, East Indians, etc who don't fit neatly into Black, White categories.

One last thing, because Hispanics can be of any race, its usually not their "race" that defines them in society, but how well they assimilate into the larger culture. The big "handicap" that they face is generally mastery of the English language. Cameron Diaz, Frankie Munoz, Christina Aguilera all have Spanish surnames, but they have the benefit of being "racially" white so that one or two generations removed from immigrant parents doesn't really make them "Hispanic" anymore whereas, if your skin is black, its gonna stay that way whether you change your culture or not (unless you are Michael Jackson of course).

I see what you're saying. I do want to say thank you for clarifying the ethnic differences of the various African cultures. I should've been more clear b/c I know there is a difference among them.

I think overall we're explaining the same thing. I agree w/ you that in America, there is a concept of race. However, I'm saying that it is really inappropriate for that concept to be used on the census. Race, as I said, is defined in our society primarily on one's skin color. To use that type of classification on a census is, IMO, wrong. For me, to define someone's "race" by any type of phenotypical traits such as skin color, body shape, facial features, is not really saying how many ethnicities we have in the U.S. I guess if that's what they're interested in, fine, but what's the point of that? I'd like to know a little bit more info that than.

The last thing about Hispanics being of any race is a weird concept to me. I don't know what to really say about that, except that it makes the census seem even more wrong to me.

Again, I agree w/ what you're saying for the most part, I just think that the census needs to change the way people can identify themselves.