http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/081105dntexcensus.177e34d1.html
Latinos edge whites out of majority
Analysts say demographic shift will reshape Texas
By DIANNE SOLÍS / The Dallas Morning News
Texas is officially a majority-minority state with a distinctly cafe-con-leche hue, thanks largely to Latino population growth.
Students are dismissed at Garcia Elementary, a Grand Prairie school where 90 percent of students last year were Hispanic. Non-Hispanic whites dipped under the majority mark in Texas, around July 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday. And minorities now make up about 50.2 percent of the state's population, heralding further wide-ranging changes in commerce and culture, education and politics.
The transformation was predicted three years ago by demographer Steve Murdock, who sees the shift as a "mixed blessing" and one that indicates where the rest of the nation is heading.
The diversity brings a new energy and ideas, Dr. Murdock said, but it also brings challenges. It's now more pressing that Texas improve services to its 22.5 million residents, as its future lies with the minority population, he said.
Texas joins California, Hawaii and New Mexico as a majority-minority state. Five others – Maryland, Mississippi, Georgia, New York and Arizona – are next in line, with minority populations at about 40 percent, said the Census Bureau in a release Thursday.
The Lone Star State's new status is actually a re-transformation, said Roberto Calderon, a historian at the University of North Texas. He referred to Texas' tumultuous entry into the United States following the U.S.-Mexico War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
"It's a long time coming, despite the early history," Dr. Calderon said.
"Sometime before 2030, every single major city in Texas va a tener una mayoria Latina" or is going to have a Latino majority, Dr. Calderon said, switching into Spanish.
Thus, the Texas of postwar national memory, of light-skinned oil barons and blonde beauty queens, is likely to blur in a state where minorities dominate.
Some fifty years ago, the movie Giant etched its tale of money and prejudice through two generations of a Texas ranching family. Many remember Rock Hudson's character getting beaten up in a diner for defending his Mexican-American grandson and his Mexican-American daughter-in-law.
Today, some see a contemporary echo in that story line in the family of President Bush, whose Mexican-American nephew is a Dallas lawyer.
And there are other signs of sweeping change in the state. At Parkland Memorial Hospital, eight out of ten newborns are Latino, and the No. 1 radio station in Dallas now has Spanish lyrics. The bustling wholesale zone along Dallas' Harry Hines Boulevard was recently rechristened the Asian Trade District, thanks to the influx of Asian immigrant entrepreneurs.
Two of the state's largest cities, Dallas and Houston, have both recently had black mayors. In San Antonio, a Hispanic mayor recently completed his term.
Commerce and culture
So what does this mean for commerce and culture in Texas?
It means that entire business plans are made around the R&B and hip-hop culture. Examples: Dallas radio host Tom Joyner and Houston's Destiny's Child.
And Asians, lacking in numbers, capture commercial limelight because of their high incomes and entrepreneurial might.
In commerce and culture, great strides have been taken to integrate minorities. Some simply see it as the power of the green, of disposable cash among black and Hispanic households with attractively lower median ages and larger families. The median age for Hispanics is about 26, compared with 30 for blacks and 39 for whites, according to the Census Bureau.
In the case of Asian immigrants and Asian-Americans, the households simply earn more income than that of white households.
"All this was projected," said Ron Patterson, a vice president at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank.
"Most big banks like mine, and our competitors, are devoting a tremendous amount of time and money and resources to the emerging markets," said Mr. Patterson, referring to underserved minority communities.
Banks began this process because of the "overriding need of access to capital" for minority and lower-income entrepreneurs, said Mr. Patterson, who is black. In fact, J.P. Morgan Chase's efforts date to 1997, he added.
Florentino Ramirez, a Dallas lawyer, said his law practice is built around immigration and, particularly, the changing demands of school districts and their need to scramble for bilingual teachers.
In Dallas and Irving, for example, nearly one-third of the student bodies are now classified as using English as a second language.
"My business, though, would not be where it is if I didn't speak Spanish," he said. "There are huge market opportunities, and it is only beginning to be noticed."
But there are still struggles ahead in politics, as the balance of power shifts, and education, where more resources are needed for minority students, many Texans noted.
Politics
Like California, Latinos have pushed hard to take the governor's seat – and stumbled in the process.
And political analysts say it will take time for the increased minority population in Texas to shift the state's political dynamic.
"In the short run, you won't see much of a change," said Jerry Polinard, a political scientist from the University of Texas Pan-American. "But demography is destiny. It's like a big ship beginning to turn. It may take a while, but it's inevitable."
Mr. Polinard said the population trend suggests Hispanics will play a greater role in the electoral process and eventually hold more public offices. But the process could take several election cycles, since the Hispanic voting population is relatively young, he said.
"The Mexican-American vote becomes the key vote in the state," he said. "It will drive statewide elections."
And blacks and Latinos in Texas are forging important political coalitions.
From Houston, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who is black, has become an important voice on immigrant rights. This month, she spoke out on a bill that would have authorized civilian volunteers, such as the controversial Minutemen, to assist the U.S. Border Patrol.
At the statehouse in Austin, Hector Flores, a veteran activist, says black and Hispanic politicians have worked together successfully on such issues as preserving eligibility into state colleges and universities for the top 10 percent of minority students. Mr. Flores, the national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said there have been many disappointments, as well.
When told that minorities are now officially the majority, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said through a spokesman that he has worked to make sure that minorities have made up a third of all his appointments.
Education
For many digesting the news about the state's demographics, education became a key point.
Mr. Perry has proposed increasing funding to teach students who speak English as a second language, spokesman Robert Black said. Mr. Black called the governor a "passionate advocate" of salary incentives for teachers who succeed in schools with large numbers of economically disadvantaged students.
Dr. Murdock, the state's official demographer, who's based in San Antonio, took the news somberly.
His report – The Texas Challenge in the Twenty-First Century –was widely read around the state when it was released in 2002.
"The real significance of this information is that it further demonstrates that the future of Texas is tied to its non-Anglo population," Dr. Murdock said. "For the state to be competitive in the international economy, we need a well-educated workforce."
Blacks have made huge strides and nearly equal whites in high school graduation rates but lag behind in higher education. Latinos are behind whites in both high school graduation and higher education.
Among adults in Texas ages 25 and older, 79.5 percent of Anglos and 75.8 percent of African-Americans were high school graduates, compared with 49.3 percent for Hispanics, according to the Census Bureau. And Texas lags the nation in all education numbers.
In Texas, about 30 percent of Anglos ages 25 and older are college graduates, compared with 15 percent for African-Americans and 8.9 percent for Hispanics.
"If we don't create the means by which all Texans are provided better opportunities for education, it could lead to a Texas that is poorer and less educated," Dr. Murdock said.
San Antonio, the state's second-largest city, at 1.2 million, on the banks of a river with the same name, has long been a minority-majority city. About 58 percent of its residents are Hispanic.
"San Antonio, an old city with a long-standing Hispanic heritage, is a good indicator of what Texas is today," Dr. Murdock said. "And what Texas is now is what the U.S. will be in the future. By the year 2040, the United States is projected to have a minority population majority that mirrors very much like what Texas has today."
Latinos edge whites out of majority
Analysts say demographic shift will reshape Texas
By DIANNE SOLÍS / The Dallas Morning News
Texas is officially a majority-minority state with a distinctly cafe-con-leche hue, thanks largely to Latino population growth.
Students are dismissed at Garcia Elementary, a Grand Prairie school where 90 percent of students last year were Hispanic. Non-Hispanic whites dipped under the majority mark in Texas, around July 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday. And minorities now make up about 50.2 percent of the state's population, heralding further wide-ranging changes in commerce and culture, education and politics.
The transformation was predicted three years ago by demographer Steve Murdock, who sees the shift as a "mixed blessing" and one that indicates where the rest of the nation is heading.
The diversity brings a new energy and ideas, Dr. Murdock said, but it also brings challenges. It's now more pressing that Texas improve services to its 22.5 million residents, as its future lies with the minority population, he said.
Texas joins California, Hawaii and New Mexico as a majority-minority state. Five others – Maryland, Mississippi, Georgia, New York and Arizona – are next in line, with minority populations at about 40 percent, said the Census Bureau in a release Thursday.
The Lone Star State's new status is actually a re-transformation, said Roberto Calderon, a historian at the University of North Texas. He referred to Texas' tumultuous entry into the United States following the U.S.-Mexico War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
"It's a long time coming, despite the early history," Dr. Calderon said.
"Sometime before 2030, every single major city in Texas va a tener una mayoria Latina" or is going to have a Latino majority, Dr. Calderon said, switching into Spanish.
Thus, the Texas of postwar national memory, of light-skinned oil barons and blonde beauty queens, is likely to blur in a state where minorities dominate.
Some fifty years ago, the movie Giant etched its tale of money and prejudice through two generations of a Texas ranching family. Many remember Rock Hudson's character getting beaten up in a diner for defending his Mexican-American grandson and his Mexican-American daughter-in-law.
Today, some see a contemporary echo in that story line in the family of President Bush, whose Mexican-American nephew is a Dallas lawyer.
And there are other signs of sweeping change in the state. At Parkland Memorial Hospital, eight out of ten newborns are Latino, and the No. 1 radio station in Dallas now has Spanish lyrics. The bustling wholesale zone along Dallas' Harry Hines Boulevard was recently rechristened the Asian Trade District, thanks to the influx of Asian immigrant entrepreneurs.
Two of the state's largest cities, Dallas and Houston, have both recently had black mayors. In San Antonio, a Hispanic mayor recently completed his term.
Commerce and culture
So what does this mean for commerce and culture in Texas?
It means that entire business plans are made around the R&B and hip-hop culture. Examples: Dallas radio host Tom Joyner and Houston's Destiny's Child.
And Asians, lacking in numbers, capture commercial limelight because of their high incomes and entrepreneurial might.
In commerce and culture, great strides have been taken to integrate minorities. Some simply see it as the power of the green, of disposable cash among black and Hispanic households with attractively lower median ages and larger families. The median age for Hispanics is about 26, compared with 30 for blacks and 39 for whites, according to the Census Bureau.
In the case of Asian immigrants and Asian-Americans, the households simply earn more income than that of white households.
"All this was projected," said Ron Patterson, a vice president at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank.
"Most big banks like mine, and our competitors, are devoting a tremendous amount of time and money and resources to the emerging markets," said Mr. Patterson, referring to underserved minority communities.
Banks began this process because of the "overriding need of access to capital" for minority and lower-income entrepreneurs, said Mr. Patterson, who is black. In fact, J.P. Morgan Chase's efforts date to 1997, he added.
Florentino Ramirez, a Dallas lawyer, said his law practice is built around immigration and, particularly, the changing demands of school districts and their need to scramble for bilingual teachers.
In Dallas and Irving, for example, nearly one-third of the student bodies are now classified as using English as a second language.
"My business, though, would not be where it is if I didn't speak Spanish," he said. "There are huge market opportunities, and it is only beginning to be noticed."
But there are still struggles ahead in politics, as the balance of power shifts, and education, where more resources are needed for minority students, many Texans noted.
Politics
Like California, Latinos have pushed hard to take the governor's seat – and stumbled in the process.
And political analysts say it will take time for the increased minority population in Texas to shift the state's political dynamic.
"In the short run, you won't see much of a change," said Jerry Polinard, a political scientist from the University of Texas Pan-American. "But demography is destiny. It's like a big ship beginning to turn. It may take a while, but it's inevitable."
Mr. Polinard said the population trend suggests Hispanics will play a greater role in the electoral process and eventually hold more public offices. But the process could take several election cycles, since the Hispanic voting population is relatively young, he said.
"The Mexican-American vote becomes the key vote in the state," he said. "It will drive statewide elections."
And blacks and Latinos in Texas are forging important political coalitions.
From Houston, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who is black, has become an important voice on immigrant rights. This month, she spoke out on a bill that would have authorized civilian volunteers, such as the controversial Minutemen, to assist the U.S. Border Patrol.
At the statehouse in Austin, Hector Flores, a veteran activist, says black and Hispanic politicians have worked together successfully on such issues as preserving eligibility into state colleges and universities for the top 10 percent of minority students. Mr. Flores, the national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said there have been many disappointments, as well.
When told that minorities are now officially the majority, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said through a spokesman that he has worked to make sure that minorities have made up a third of all his appointments.
Education
For many digesting the news about the state's demographics, education became a key point.
Mr. Perry has proposed increasing funding to teach students who speak English as a second language, spokesman Robert Black said. Mr. Black called the governor a "passionate advocate" of salary incentives for teachers who succeed in schools with large numbers of economically disadvantaged students.
Dr. Murdock, the state's official demographer, who's based in San Antonio, took the news somberly.
His report – The Texas Challenge in the Twenty-First Century –was widely read around the state when it was released in 2002.
"The real significance of this information is that it further demonstrates that the future of Texas is tied to its non-Anglo population," Dr. Murdock said. "For the state to be competitive in the international economy, we need a well-educated workforce."
Blacks have made huge strides and nearly equal whites in high school graduation rates but lag behind in higher education. Latinos are behind whites in both high school graduation and higher education.
Among adults in Texas ages 25 and older, 79.5 percent of Anglos and 75.8 percent of African-Americans were high school graduates, compared with 49.3 percent for Hispanics, according to the Census Bureau. And Texas lags the nation in all education numbers.
In Texas, about 30 percent of Anglos ages 25 and older are college graduates, compared with 15 percent for African-Americans and 8.9 percent for Hispanics.
"If we don't create the means by which all Texans are provided better opportunities for education, it could lead to a Texas that is poorer and less educated," Dr. Murdock said.
San Antonio, the state's second-largest city, at 1.2 million, on the banks of a river with the same name, has long been a minority-majority city. About 58 percent of its residents are Hispanic.
"San Antonio, an old city with a long-standing Hispanic heritage, is a good indicator of what Texas is today," Dr. Murdock said. "And what Texas is now is what the U.S. will be in the future. By the year 2040, the United States is projected to have a minority population majority that mirrors very much like what Texas has today."
No, because white will still never be considered a "minority" even if it statistically is.
