The Myth Of Minority Majority America Explained by Richard Alba

Prospect Debate: The Illusion of a Minority Majority America

The American Prospect, 2.11.16
In The Likely Persistence of a White Majority, - Richard Alba, the Graduate Center, CUNY, argues that highly publicized projections by the U.S. Census have misled the public into thinking that whites in the United States are destined to become a minority by the middle of the century. That projection is incorrect, Alba suggests, for two primary reasons. First, the census data mistakenly assume that children of mixed marriages where one parent is white will identify as nonwhite. Second, the census sees the white 'mainstream' as a fixed category even though the conception of whiteness has changed in the past and will likely change again. As a result, Alba contends, America will probably have a white majority for some time to come. Three respondents engage Richard Alba in this online forum.