"Change We Can Believe In!"

It's time to Break It Down!

Don’t let the title fool you. If you are expecting (or desiring) a Barack Obama commercial, you may stop reading now! The elements of change I will touch upon must certainly be factored into the calculus of President Obama's success, but it goes well beyond any political campaign, even one with implications as historic as those in Mr. Obama's election.

By almost any reckoning, Maria de la Soledad Teresa O’Brien, and that does not include her husband’s last name (which, by the way, is Raymond), is the world’s most renowned Afro-Cuban-Irish-Australian. For the past two years Ms. O’Brien has spotlighted the conditions of Blacks in America during two 2-hour evening segments. Tonight and tomorrow, she turns up the Klieg lights on another part of her matriarchal heritage, Latin Americans.

In the event one has been disconnected from the dynamic evolution of American society, this may see like a story that, even when all three segments are combined, takes up just 12 hours of 6 days, out of 731 days, and 17,544 possible TV viewing hours, over the 2-year period of 2008-2009. While that is correct, technically, this is an instance in which the whole is significantly greater than the sum of its parts.

In 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated, Latinos in America surpassed African Americans to become the nation’s largest ethnic minority group. As a side note, African Americans remain the largest racial minority; Latinos are comprised of both blacks and whites. A second point worth mentioning is that even after 2050, when minorities will make-up the ethnic majority of the country, whites will still account for the racial majority, because such a large number of Latinos and Hispancs are white.

The change to Latinos and Hispanics becoming the largest ethnic minority in America marked the first in a major trend line. More than 46 million Americans are Latino, making them the nation’s largest ethnic minority. When combined with the roughly 42 million African Americans, 13 million Asians, and over 2 million Native Americans, the 103 million minorities in the four principal groups in this country comprise more than one-third of the 308 million Americans estimated to be in this country today.

The U.S. Census Bureau projects that minorities will be the majority of Americans by the year 2042. Moreover, the agency projects more than half of the nation’s children will be minorities as early as the year 2023. By 2050, more than 54% of Americans will be minorities, as will 62% of the country’s children, according to Census predictions.

These developments amount to “Change We Can Believe In,” because, in large measure key aspects have already occurred, and the foundation for others is solidly in place. Latino Americans are not only the largest ethnic minority, the also have the highest birth rate among Americans. As a group, minorities have higher birth rates than whites. Finally, as the often contentious immigration debate underscores, there is a substantial influx of Latin Americans into the U.S. from the 20 countries in the region.

Persons of Spanish origin are also counted in calculations and projections of Latino and Hispanic population growth. It is largely for that reason the terms Latino and Hispanic are not interchangeable. Though Americans often use them as if they were, broadly speaking, Latino refers to persons native to the Latin American region, while Hispanic tends to be inclusive of all native Spanish speakers in both hemispheres, and emphasizes the common denominator of language in communities where there are few other mutual characteristics. Framed differently, a native of Spain residing in the United States is not a Latino, just as there is no “Hispanic influence” on Mexican culture.

One way to view the on-coming change in America is through the lens of a Prince Song. Given his heritage, perhaps there is a subtle irony in that fact. In the song, “Family Name,” Prince asserts:

• “When a minority realizes its similarities on a higher level - not just
"black," - but PEOPLE OF COLOR, and higher still, "INDIGENOUS," and even
higher still, "FROM THE TRIBE OF,” and yet higher - the "RAINBOW CHILDREN."
When this understanding comes, the so-called minority becomes a majority, in
the wink of an eye!”

It is not going to happen in the blink of an eye; but…it is going to happen. As the Generation Y set is fond of extolling, “You better recognize!” “Change We Can Believe In” is here; and it is here to stay.

I am done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com. A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2009/latino.in.america/

http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2009/black.in.america/

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2008/black.in.america/

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/13/census.minorities/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic_and_Latino_Americans

http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2006/July/20060707160631jmnamdeirf0.2887079.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_the_United_States

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_American

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States

http://www.lyricsdepot.com/prince/family-name.html