Posted on May 27, 2011

The Changing Face of America: Time-Lapse Map Reveals How Non-Whites Will Become the Majority in U.S. Within 30 Years

Daily Mail (London), May 27, 2011

By the year 2040, the majority of Americans will be people of colour–the minorities will have become the majority.

A fascinating new time-lapse map shows the increase in the non-white population across the decades.

It starts with 1990 and then predicts up to 2020, 2030 and 2040.

The map, titled the Map of America’s Tomorrow, was produced by PolicyLink, a national research agency dedicated to social equity.

It illustrates what theroot.com calls the decade-by-decade ‘browning’ of America.

It is said to be the first visual representation of its kind of the country’s racial future.

The all-inclusive term is used to describe ther growth of the populations of blacks, Hispanics/Latinos and Asians.

Angela Glover Blackwell, the Founder & CEO of PolicyLink, said: ‘This map makes crystal clear just how dramatically the face of America is changing–and how quickly.’

‘Already, nearly half of all young people are of color, and by 2040, people of color will become our nation’s majority.

‘Clearly, this snapshot of our future has struck a chord, leaving no doubt that we must invest in and start building the foundation of tomorrow’s America today. Let’s start now.’

The map, however, is causing some controversy.

One commenter said: ‘What a joke! This does not compare population density. This does not differentiate between Native Indians, Blacks, Mexican’s, Chinese etc . . . etc . . . This is just some few people’s wild guess put out for what reason!

‘This map appears to me to be a hate stimulator. Nothing more.’

Another commentator added: ‘I am Chinese American and I objected to the grouping under Asian as coloured . . . Chinese, Japanese and Koreans are not coloured. Our complexion is white if not whiter than caucasians.’

Miss Blackwell said: ‘Today, nearly half of all children are kids of color.

‘By definition, if they don’t succeed, the nation won’t succeed.

‘Many in the still-majority white population and political establishment don’t see themselves reflected in the faces of America’s children.

‘They are talking far more about slashing Medicaid and education funding than investing in the dreams and needs of our children.

‘Too many who have achieved success for themselves now want to pull up the ladder behind them.

‘The results are obvious–people of colour are disproportionately saddled with high poverty rates, failing schools, poor health, and under-invested communities.

‘But these challenges don’t only affect communities of colour.

‘White families that rely on the public education system struggle with these nationwide school budget squeezes. White college students are graduating with six-figure debt. ‘That’s no way to run a country.’

Two months ago new census maps and data was released showing the stark geographical divide between America’s black and Hispanic populations as they become increasingly concentrated on opposite ends of the country.

The U.S. black and Hispanic populations are mostly concentrated in the South–but whereas the black population is centred in the Southeast, Hispanics are mostly in the Southwest.

The biggest general population rises were in the Southwest and Southeast, but the largest falls came in the Midwest, according to 2010 Census Bureau data.

Although Hispanics are concentrated in the Southwest, other areas of the South such as Alabama have posted significant gains in Hispanic population share.

In many South states, the Hispanic population has doubled on ten years ago, with Hispanics outstripping whites for the first time in New Mexico–46 to 40 per cent.

The Census 2010 statistics showed the number of Hispanics in the U.S. reached 50million in 2010, with one in every six Americans now a Latino.

They now represent 16 per cent of the U.S. population of 309 million.

Minority groups were behind an unprecedented 90 per cent of total U.S. population growth since 2000, due to immigration and higher Latino birth rates.

America’s Tomorrow from PolicyLink on Vimeo.