Posted on 08/15/2006 6:57:28 AM PDT by devane617
The youngest Anglo children in Hillsborough County and across Florida are now a minority, foreshadowing the day when Florida - like four states now - becomes a majority-minority state.
Non-Hispanic whites in Florida accounted for fewer than half of all children younger than 5 last year, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released today. Slightly more than 47 percent of the state's youngest children were non-Hispanic whites, down from nearly 55 percent five years earlier.
In Hillsborough County, non-Hispanic white children have become a minority also, making up less than 47 percent of the population younger than 5, down from nearly 51 percent in 2000.
In parts of the county, the trend was evident before this report. The Hillsborough County school district reported nonwhite enrollment of 55 percent in 2004. At St. John Presbyterian Learning Center, students move between two worlds, speaking English and Spanish and adjusting based on when their families moved here.
Out of 100 children at the learning center, 75 are nonwhite, many in families that moved here from Colombia, Cuba, Mexico or Puerto Rico, Director Dianne Patterson said. The numbers have been high for five years because the center, at 4120 N. MacDill Ave., attracts low-income families, which are predominantly nonwhite.
"The children learn the language very rapidly," said Patterson, who adapted by hiring staff to reflect the student population. "Having a lot of Spanish-speakers is the trend all over. We have 4- and 5-year-olds interpreting for their parents."
The impact of the population shift will be felt in school and health-care systems that may not be prepared, demographers say.
Children who live in minority neighborhoods and are not exposed to mainstream society - by attending child care or prekindergarten, for example - will struggle with language and assimilation, said Mark Mather, a demographer with the Population Reference Bureau.
"It won't be an immediate impact," Mather said. "Once they start going through the school system, there will be more demand for language courses. Some are assimilating more than other certain groups, who are more likely to live in minority enclaves.
"I'm speaking mainly of Hispanics and Asians," Mather added. "There will be more challenges for those groups, the schools and medical systems."
The recent Census estimates come from the American Community Survey, the cornerstone of the government's effort to keep tabs on the nation's changing population. The new survey will provide demographic, socio-economic and housing information about America's communities every year - information that until now was only available once a decade.
Texas, the Census Bureau reported in August 2005, joined Hawaii, New Mexico and California as a majority-minority state. Eight other states with minority populations of about 40 percent today were expected to join them next - Maryland, Mississippi, New York, Georgia, Arizona, Louisiana and Florida.
Some demographers expect the U.S. population as a whole to reach that plateau by 2050.
Aurea Velazquez, a St. John's parent, is part of the trend.
Velazquez moved from Puerto Rico, a U.S. commonwealth, six months ago. Her 4-year-old daughter, Yamilette, is in prekindergarten.
"It's been difficult in Puerto Rico with no work, and the economy is bad," she said. "People are going to continue to move here because of the bad economies. Here, you can at least survive with your family."
Kristi Bennett's two children, Gillian, 4, and Aedean, 3, are among the minority Anglo children at St. John's. Bennett doesn't mind.
"I love it," she said. "I think it's healthy to be around children who don't look like them. It teaches them tolerance and diversity really early on."
Am thinking George Orwell might know.
Short for English-speakers. This includes, in the case of Texas, many people with German surnames whose grandparents spoke German.
Honestly, who cares? The Latin American obsession with exact percentages of European ancestry is, in my humble opinion, stupid, racist and disgusting. The Argentines and Cubans are masters of it, but Brazilians (I know, not technically Latin American) and Mexicans are not far behind.
What about PRIVATE schools?
What happens when those are factored in?
In the larger urban areas, private schools are booming.
Are we doing something wrong?
Hear hear. I want the citizenry to be patriotic, law-abiding, English-speaking, and self-sufficient. ....nothing more. Unfortunately, that's not even close to being the case.
Nope. Liberalism is diseased meme that lives on from generation to generation. It is passed on by people not forcing their children to learn that they have to work to get what they deserve. I mean, think of the brainless Paris Hilton. Old man Conrad Hilton at the beginning of the twentieth century, was working hard: he bought one hotel, then saved and built his first hotel. But his descendents haven't learned his values. And even those first generation wealthy who get to the top by "talking" are almost always liberal (ie., John Edwards, Oprah, Hollywood actors and deal-makers in general).
How does that work in the absence of contraception?
Yes, but Cuban-Americans, IIRC, have lower birthrates than other latinos, in fact I believe they are as low as Anglo whites. In addition, when Castro finally dies and Cuba becomes free, you may an influx of other Cubans who are of African descent.
White males are not getting married, either. In our relationship, four of the seven men ages 28-40 are not married, and I'm sure there are other families that mirror these stats.
So "Anglo" could refer to a person of Mexican ancestry, who doesn't speak spanish?
Thanks for the link. Some of my cousins have already gone through this process. Their children get all kinds benefits including college. I've always felt guilty because of my appearance. Many tribe members discriminate, and don't blame them really. The fact that I'm so 'white' I guess makes them feel like I don't need assistance or am trying to take advantage somehow. My cousins on the other hand are quite dark and assimilate well with the other mixed.
Perhaps I'll do something for my daughter. After all, she should know where she comes from. Had my great grandfather (white Englishman) not taken such a fancy for my Seminole Indian great grandmother "Minnie" who knows what my rather large family would have turned out like!
I think the feminist indoctrination of women is another huge factor. Another is the risk of divorce.
Can we toss out Affirmative Action now?
The new focus is moving away from racial and ethnic identification to one of income status; when schools report performance, the results are always adjusted for family income as a comparison to the higher performing group.
This way, no matter how large the at-risk group grows, the denominator will always be the perceived "access" that wealth brings and the racial, cultural, ethnic and sex aspects will fade into the background.
But blacks and Americans of other races also speak English. Why, then, are they not referred to as Anglos?
What exactly are you looking for me to post in response to that question?
If a family decides they can't afford more children because of the cost of living, then they responsibly decide not to have any more children.
I don't think I need to post how that is done.
ROTFLMAO. I can't help it. That was so funny that I literally almost fell off the chair.
Oe even one who does but has an "Anglo-wife" and children who are Anglos.
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