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Blacks and Latinos Majority in Many U.S. Counties |
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Thursday, 16 August 2007 |
INLAND EMPIRE
By Chris Levister
Figures Show Diversity Spreading to Suburbs and Beyond
Whites are the minority in almost one in 10 U.S. counties.
One need only stroll down East Highland Avenue in San
Bernardino, jockey for parking at Wal-Mart in Fontana, visit a public school in
Moreno Valley, pull up to a fast food drive thru in Rialto or visit the campus
of UC Riverside to see evidence of the U.S. Census Bureau's latest study.
 In nearly one of every 10 U.S. counties, 303 of 3,141, more than half the residents are ethnic minorities, according to a new report from the Census Bureau.
"There's some culture shock," said Mark Mather of the
Population Reference Bureau, a Washington based research firm. "But I think
there's a momentum building, and it is going to continue."
Back in the early 1960s, R&B singer-songwriter Sam Cooke
informed us that ‘a change is gonna come'. He was right, ethnically speaking:
In counties such as Los Angeles,
less than 50 percent of the population identifies itself as white.
Los Angeles, Chicago
and New York may remain among the fastest
growing centers for Latinos and Blacks, but according to the U.S. Census
Bureau, America's
minority groups are leaving big inner cities in rapid numbers, settling in
rural and suburban communities.
The report is the first population estimate by race and
ethnicity since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast
in 2005, scattering hundreds of thousands of people. Experts say southern California is now home
to thousands of Blacks displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Other
hurricane victims have settled in New York, Florida and Texas.
According to the Census Bureau, Los Angeles County
has some 7 million minority residents - 71 percent of its population and one of
every 14 minority residents in the nation. That's more people than the total
population of Cook County the nation's second biggest county, which
includes Chicago.
The numbers also underscore most demographers' view that California's population is pushing east, from both Los Angeles and the Bay Area, to less congested counties
such as Riverside and San Bernardino.
In California the minority
migration has come about as Los
Angeles in recent years has added more jobs that
require high levels of skill. Meanwhile, the creation of low skill jobs has
continued to dwindle.
Adding to the exodus of Blacks and Latinos is the
fast-rising cost of living in Los
Angeles, rampant crime and underachieving schools. An
acute labor shortage in other parts of the state and nation, is spurring many Blacks
and Latinos to seek better opportunities away from California.
The study indicates, during the 1990s and 2000s, many middle
and low income Blacks moved out of
historically African-American communities such as Inglewood and Compton to
inland communities such as Fontana, Rialto, San Bernardino, Riverside and the
high desert city of Barstow.
Census experts say it's not surprising that Blacks and
Latinos move to where it is less expensive to live and work. Because of the
high cost of doing business in Los Angeles, many
companies are either moving or outsourcing their low-end jobs to less congested
counties like Riverside and San Bernardino were it's cheaper.
Although Hispanics dominate Los
Angeles County's
demographics, it also has nearly one million African-American residents,
trailing only Cook
County, which has 1.4
million.
African-American's increased by 1.3 percent to 40.2 million,
comprising about 13.3 percent of the nation's population.
Nationally, the number of minorities topped 100 million for
the first time in 2006 - about a third of the population. By 2050, minorities will account for half of U.S. residents,
according to Census Bureau projections.
No question San Bernardino
and Riverside Counties
will feel the effects of the historic migration from Los Angeles eastward, says William Frey,
demographer at the Brookings Institution.
"The new wave of immigration, along with its continued
dispersal to the suburbs and Sun Belt, is transforming the places which are now
being classified as multiethnic and majority-minority," said Frey. "We'll be
able to see how well America
can adapt to multiethnic populations.
Over the next half-century, California's population will
explode by nearly 75%, and Riverside will add 3.1 million by 2050, an increase
of almost 3.5 million residents to become the second most populous county after
Los Angeles, according to state Department of Finance projections released in
mid July. With less expensive housing than the coast, Riverside County
has grown by more than 472,000 residents since 2000 according to state
estimates.
San Bernardino
County is not far behind
with a total population of 1,916,665 and a combined minority population of 54.3
percent.
It's opportunity with baggage," said Jack Kyser, chief
economist for the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., in a country
masquerading as a state."
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