This article covers the complex shifts happening in American society as the country becomes increasingly diverse and the traditional notion of whiteness is challenged. It examines the experiences and perspectives of Black Americans, Asian Americans, and Mexican Americans, and explores the implications for the future of American identity.
diverse ethnic population in AMERICA
It is estimated based on population projections that in the year 2045, individuals classified by the US Census as being white will no longer be the majority grouping in the US. In that year, Hispanic/Latinx citizens will comprise 29% of the population, followed by Blacks at 13% and Asians at 9%.
The total of the three groups combined will equal 51%. It is a day that is dreaded by many who subscribe to white supremacy and white nationalism.
To understand what white supremacy and white nationalism mean in the US it is important to understand the history of the nation and what it means to be an American.
With the exception of the Native Americans, the Indigenous people that lived in what is now known as the US, and enslaved Africans brought to work the land and build the nation, America/US is a nation of immigrants. These immigrants, a majority during the early years when America was just colonies and later as a nation, came from Europe.
They were not identified, nor did they identify themselves as being American. They were identified by their country of origin.
They were English, Scottish, German, Dutch, Irish, Italian, Jewish, and Polish. It would take years, sometimes generations, before they conscientiously accepted the title of being an American. A title, more often than not, that was thrust on them by individuals outside of the US.
Until that time, they were referred to by the country they immigrated from, the language they spoke, and/or the religion they followed in the case of Jews and Catholics.
When these groups first arrived in numbers from Europe and elsewhere, they were oftentimes treated as the nation’s newest pariah. In many ways, they were treated like America’s permanent pariah group, Blacks.
American history projects that the US was a melting pot; the reality was that America was more like a fruit salad with each fruit occupying its own unique space. It was also a dumping ground for European and other countries eager to get rid of their “trash”.
There was considerable resistance and outright hostility, and violence directed at the latest group of immigrants to come to America by groups that had come earlier. The hostility and violence directed at America’s most recent immigrant group was similar to how Blacks were treated.
To graduate from being a parish group, it was extremely important for the group to show how American it was. The ultimate criterion, if not the only criterion, was to demonstrate “whiteness”. It remains to this very day the only real criteria for being an American.
Contrary to people like President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt who spoke fervidly about an Americanism which was “not a matter of creed, birthplace or national descent, but of the soul and of the spirit”, such a soul and spirit arguably has yet to take form.
If there is any doubt one only has to sit back and witness the extreme amount of hostility and hatred currently on display daily by Americans towards each other to the point that some are predicting a second civil war.
Many White Americans are totally unaware and probably care even less that their great-great grandparents were treated with the same hatred, intolerance, violence and evil that Blacks in this country faced then and now.
Although there never really developed an American soul and an American spirit to define and unify America’s immigrants, one thing which did become the norm for all groups of immigrants was the American idea of race.
Immigrants, individually and collectively, to be accepted and no longer a pariah and outcast, were given the opportunity to show they belonged by the adoption of the nation’s racial thoughts and behavior. The adoption of those thoughts and behavior took place not only through interactions with Blacks, but also through interactions with other Whites, who in essence “taught” the newcomers what it meant to be an American.
The quicker the immigrant, individually and collectively, demonstrated their racism by expressing racial stereotypes and use of racist language towards Blacks, Native Americans and other people of color the quicker the transition from the immigrant being another unwanted outcast to becoming an American.
There have been some Blacks who believed that they too could transcend being an outcast, a parish in America. That they could and would transcend being a parish fighting in its wars and displaying the stripes of rank and accomplishments while wearing the uniform of one of the nation’s military forces. That if they attained a PhD or had a huge bank account, celebrity or fame they would be viewed as an American.
Unfortunately, for too many they would experience a moment during which they would understand that they were nothing more than just a nigger in the eyes of what they thought were their fellow Americans. That is all they would ever be in the eyes of too many Americans. They failed to understand the normative American identity was “whiteness”.
Which brings us back to the year 2045, when people of color are the majority of people in the US. In particular, Hispanics/Latinxs will be 29% of the US population and its largest demographic group. It is the day that white racist and white nationalist fear.
Their fretting and anxiety may turnout to be real. Or it may have been for nothing.
It rests with the essential question of the day: will Hispanics/Latinxs finally put an end to the US’ ugly, tragic and evil history of racism or will they follow the tradition established by previous subgroups in the US?
From the outset as any Hispanic/Latinx social scientist will be quick to caution anyone when discussing Hispanics/Latinxs is that they are not a monolithic group. With the exception for the most part of speaking a similar language and sharing certain cultural similarities, Hispanics/Latinxs are as different and diverse as the countries many of them originated from.
Many, in particular Afro-Latinxs and Indigenous Hispanics/Latinxs, have experienced discrimination, colorism and racism in their country of origin as well as the US. However, Afro-Latinxs and Indigenous Hispanics/Latinxs have been actively confronting other Hispanics/Latinxs to acknowledge and address the discrimination, colorism and racism that Afro-Latinxs and Indigenous Hispanics/Latinxs experience as Hispanics/Latinxs and also found in the culture. If Afro-Latinxs and Indigenous Hispanics/Latinxs are successful in their efforts, Hispanics/Latinxs could possibly reshape and redefine the US to be a more perfect union.
If Hispanics/Latinxs can break the cycle of America’s racist, evil past they will inherit a nation which finally has the potential to truly be great. It will also mean to be an American no longer was limited to whiteness, but those elements of the soul and the spirit that reflect the best in man, woman and society. Hispanics/Latinxs should be credited with saving a nation and righting its course for which there has been given so much hope.
However, if Hispanics/Latinxs are unable to break the cycle of America’s racist past they should not be faulted. They will have been just another group of passengers on a sinking ship listening as the orchestra plays “Nearer, My God, To Thee,” and buglers warm up their bugles to play “Taps”.
Staff Writer; Al Alatunji
Question? Comment? Regarding the above article. Feel free to send a message to this address: Alatunji@ThyBlackMan.com
