This Is What Americans Will Look Like in 50 Years
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More than 50 percent of children will be part of a minority group in some way by 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That's likely one reason why racial tensions have been high in America, as white Americans see a future where they are no longer the majority.
But if it becomes difficult to tell who's from which ethnic origin, will race even be a significant factor in the future?
National Geographic did an interesting cover story in 2013 that looked at images of what future Americans might look like in a few decades by using actual multi-racial Americans, and it's somewhat hard to tell which race many of the people are from:
National Geographic/Martin Schoeller - nationalgeographic.com
By 2065, no racial or ethnic group will be in the majority, according to Pew Research Center. Pew found that around 46 percent of America will be white, 24 percent will be Hispanic, 14 percent will be Asian, and 13 percent will be Black. Whites will see the biggest demographic decline, coming down from the current figure of 62 percent. Asians will see the biggest rise, going up to 14 percent from the current 6 percent.
Related: Here's Exactly When White America Could Become A Thing Of the Past
That said, it's important to note that the definition of who is considered "white" has changed many times in America's history. And it could be happening again. Pew found that 2.5 million Americans of Hispanic origin changed their race from "some other race" to "white" in the 2010 census.
"[T]here is no constant idea of 'black' or 'white' across time or space," The Atlantic's Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote in 2015. "Throughout American history it has been common to speak of an 'Italian race,' an 'Irish race,' a 'Frankish race,' a 'Jewish race' even a 'Southern race.'"
How the new look of America affects our politics remains to be seen. Will we move into a true "post-racial" world of a majority-minority America? Or will Americans change the definition of "white" to include more people? This will be a major question over the next couple decades.
