The meaning of Barack Obama's election.

Barack Obama is the President-elect of the United States. He shall be the first black President in the history of the United States. What does this mean for the question of race in the United States?

Well, everyone is saying that it means that America is no longer racist - but it is by no means so clear. You see, America is not what it used to be. More precisely, America is not as white as it used to be. Caucasians in America are on the decline and the "minority" races are on the rise. This colours the interpretation of what this particular election means, racially.

Wikipedia supplies data on the demographics of the US in 2006. At this time, 66% of Americans were non-Hispanic Whites; 14.8 % were Hispanic or Latin American; 13.4% were Black; some other race alone 6.5%; Asian alone 4.4%; two or more races 2.0%; American Indian or Alaskan native 0.68%; Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander: 0.14%. The figures don't add up to 100% exactly because Hispanics are being counted twice across all the races.

What can be seen from this is that America is very racially diverse and that the minority races are in very significant numbers. Indeed, in August 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau predicted that, by 2042, that non-Hispanic Whites would be in the minority, in the US.

Barack Obama won the election. However, this does not mean that racism is entirely on the wane in the USA. It could mean that whites (the expected origin of anti-black racism) are on the wane. There is still likely to be remnant anti-Black racism among some whites (the racist cries at Palin rallies is enough to indicate this), however this was overwhelmed by the weight of minorities voting for another minority. Racism is admittedly less of an issue in the USA than it used to be - but just because Obama won, that does not mean that racism is at an end.

Everyone is amazed at the election of a Black President. I am not so amazed myself. The changing demographics in the US have almost come to guarantee that a minority President was soon to be elected. Indeed, the time will come, when it will not be a surprise that a non-White is President - but a surprise that a White is President. You see, it is only just over 33 years before Whites become a minority in the USA. In that time, it is, perhaps, the White candidates who will find themselves unelectable. It may not be long before we will have seen the last White President of the United States of America.

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