Among Nation’s Youngest, Analysis Finds Fewer Whites

[kpete]

Source: New York Times

Among Nation’s Youngest, Analysis Finds Fewer Whites
By SABRINA TAVERNISE
Published: February 7, 2011


WASHINGTON — Whites continued to decline as a share of the American population in 2009, and they now represent less than half of all 3-year-olds, according to a Brookings Institution analysis of census data released Monday.

The country’s young population is more diverse than ever, with whites now in the minority in nursery schools, preschools and kindergartens in eight states — Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas — and the District of Columbia, according to William H. Frey, a demographer at Brookings. That was up from six states in 2000.

..................

Nationally, whites accounted for 58.8 percent of all school enrollment in 2009, Mr. Frey said, citing the new data, which measured enrollment from preschool to graduate school as of October 2009. That was down from 64.6 percent in 2000, a decline that came with falling birthrates as the white population aged.

Population growth has come instead from Hispanics, blacks and Asians, whose children represent ever larger shares of the school population. Twenty-three percent of children in kindergarten were Hispanic in 2009, up from 18 percent in 2000 and 10 percent in 1989. Hispanics now account for nearly a fifth of all enrollment from nursery school through college, Mr. Frey said.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/08/us/08census.html?scp=2&sq=enrollment&st=cse

[Deep13]

1. I wonder if this reflects a shrinking middle class.

It's no secret that socio-economic classes get whiter the further up one looks. It seems the habits of middle class people to produce fewer children than poorer people may contribute to the shrinking middle class.

[entanglement]

2. Younger Americans of all colors have a long struggle ahead - for political representation,

economic opportunity and social security. They will have to wrest them from the aging, wealthy, selfish middle-class conservative white population which is, unfortunately, actively hostile to their future.

[closeupready]

3. Who cares.

As long as they are healthy and happy, that's what the NY Times should be reporting on. But of course, that would be too liberal for that right-wing 'paper'.

[mainer]

4. I wonder how they classify mixed-race kids

whites or nonwhites? Because that's a big part of the upcoming generation.

As for the observation that fewer whites are immigrating here from Europe, ahem, why would they want to leave their countries with safety nets and full health-care coverage to come to the U.S.?

[pampango]

5. I heard some census data recently that 16% of marriages are interracial now.

With more and more mixed-race children it will be interesting to see how how the census, and people in general, refer to the racial makeup of the country.

For reasons unknown to me there seem to be more Canadians immigrating here (22,508 in 2009) than Americans moving there (9,723 that year). Since their economy is doing better than ours and their safety net/health care is much better, maybe they are erstwhile teabaggers. Canada's got to have a few, right? ;)

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/research-stats/facts2009.pdf
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/yearbook/2009/ois_yb_2009.pdf

[goforit]

6. This study will intensify Beck's ultimate PARANOIA!

Aaaaaahhhhhh!
:wow:

[readmoreoften]

7. Ooooo Noessss!!!!

And I invested long term in the sun tan lotion industry! I'm doooomed!

[Odin2005]

8. This is what terrifies the Far Right more than anything else.