Kassondra Scott November 11, 2008 AP U.S. Government Chapter 6 Essay

The Minority-Majority in the United States

The United States of America has always had a population dominated by Caucasians. Minority-majority is the term used to describe the emergence of a non-white majority. Data shows that minority groups are growing at a faster rate than whites. These minority groups include African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. African Americans make up twelve percent of the population, according to 2000 census data, meaning that one in every eight Americans is of black descent. Due to racial inequality and oppression, black people are at an economic and political disadvantage. 27% of the black population lives below the poverty line, as opposed to the 11% of whites. In spite of this economic situation, African Americans have been gaining political power in large U.S. cities, including New York, Las Angeles, and Chicago. Since 1970, the number of African Americans elected to office has increased by a whopping five hundred percent. Hispanics are currently the largest minority, outnumbering the number of Africa Americans in the year 2000. Most of the Hispanics immigrants free from poor living conditions and low wages in their native countries, coming to America with the hope of a better life. Hispanics make up 50% of the legislatures of states located in the southwest United States such as New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, California, and Colorado, in addition to Florida and Connecticut. Asian Americans come to America to expand on opportunities offered in their native countries. They are the highest skilled minority group, and 42% of Asian Americans over the have of 25 have college degrees. These superior skills and educational talents place their average yearly earnings above the average in the White community. Asian Americans make up only four percent of the population and therefore have little political power. Before the Europeans arrived, there were an estimated fifteen million Native Americans in the United States. Because of colonization and Western interference, the population here has decreased to 1.8 million, making up less than one percent of the nation. They are the poorest, least educated, and least healthy minority, making them the worst off here in America. More than half of the Native Americans living in South Dakota is below the poverty line. Very few Native Americans enjoy wealth and prosperous living conditions, and the people as a whole have virtually no political power.