U.S. Ethnic Diversity Grows
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WASHINGTON (AP) - By Will Lester, Associated Press Writer, Wednesday,
September 15, 1999. The Hispanic and Asian populations of the United States
surged during the 1990s, the number of Hispanics growing by more than 35
percent and Asians more than 40 percent, the Census Bureau says. A report
released Tuesday furnishes fresh evidence of increasing ethnic diversity and
its unpredictable impact on the nation's political and social landscape. The
trend is leading to a time when ``everybody's a minority,'' said Vanderbilt
University historian Hugh Davis Graham. Blacks, whose numbers grew almost 13
percent between 1990 and 1998, remain the nation's largest minority at 12.7
percent, or 34.4 million of the nation's population of about 270 million in
1998.

Hispanics made up 9 percent of the population in 1990, and that grew by 1998
to just over 11 percent of the total, 30.3 million, the annual update
of the 1990 Census said. The high number of Hispanics in large Electoral
College states such as Texas, California, Florida and New York gives the
group substantial political clout, but the growth of Hispanics showed up in
less expected areas. "Four states had their Hispanic populations double --
Arkansas, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina,'' said Census statistician
Larry Sink.
--Arkansas' Hispanic population increased by 150 percent to 49,000.
--Georgia's increased by 102 percent to 220,000.
--Nevada's increased by 124 percent to 78,000.
--North Carolina's increased by 110 percent to 161,000.

The Hispanic population, already one of the nation's largest minorities, will
overtake the non-Hispanic black population by the end of 2004, said
statistician Larry Sink. ``We've seen race relations as a black-white
issue,'' said Roderick Harrison of the Joint Center for Political and
Economic Studies, a Washington think tank. ``Clearly, the size of the
Hispanic population and the Asian population turns it into a multicultural
issue.''

The Asian and Pacific Islander population grew in the 1990s from 3 percent of
the overall population to almost 4 percent at 10.5 million.
--In Nevada the Asian-Pacific Islander population increased by 106 percent
to 81,000.
--In Georgia, it increased by 95 percent to 150,000.
--In North Carolina, it increased by 87 percent to 100,000.

Dinah Choi, project director for the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning
Council, said the rapid growth in numbers of Asians emphasizes a need for an
accurate Census count in 2000. The country's population of American Indians,
Eskimos and Aleuts grew 14 percent to 2.4 million during the period. States
that already had significant populations of specific minorities showed less
dramatic rate increases. For example, California increased its Hispanic
population by 31 percent and its Asian population by 34 percent.

The explosion in Hispanic population lets Latinos sense their growing
political potency. "This is a very critical (presidential) race for us, and
we will be the defining group,'' Aida Alvarez, chief of the Small Business
Administration, said Tuesday at a rally for Vice President Al Gore's
presidential campaign. "The 21st century will be a Latino century, no doubt
about it.'' George W. Bush, governor of Texas and the front-runner in the
race for the Republican presidential nomination, also is targeting the
Hispanic vote. A recent poll said he and Gore are splitting the Hispanic
vote in Texas, but Bush trails in California.

Republican consultant David Hill of Houston warned a decade ago that the GOP
needed to gain a bigger share of the Hispanic vote or lose gains made when
they carved away some whites who traditionally voted Democratic before the
Reagan era. These Democrats came to be known as "Reagan Democrats." "The
only way to change the equation is for Republicans to get a larger share of
the Hispanic vote,'' Hill said. Hispanics voted for President Clinton in
1996 by more than 3-1, according to exit polls. "The Democratic Party has
always believed that one of our greatest strengths is the diversity of our
party, and Hispanics and Asians have felt comfortable with Democrats,'' said
Jenny Backus, a Democratic spokeswoman.

Presidential candidates from both parties have made clear this year that they
want the Hispanic vote, said Lisa Navarrete, spokeswoman for the Latino
advocacy group the National Council of La Raza. "We have been experiencing
something people have been predicting for a long time,'' she said. ``The
growth has been amazing since the 1970s. What has really made a difference is
the growth of the Latino communities where they normally have not been.''