Blacks and Latinos Majority in Many U.S. Counties
Black Voice News, News Report, Chris Levister, Posted: Aug 24, 2007
INLAND EMPIRE, Calif. - 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. The country is growing more racially diverse. Nonwhites now make up a majority in almost one-third of the most populous counties in the country and in nearly one in 10 of all 3,141 counties according to Census Bureau figures released Saturday.
''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 ëa 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 percent, 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 county masquerading as a state.''
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