What Is The Impact Of The Demographic Shift On American Culture

According the the U.S Census Bureau, by 2044, minorities are projected to make up over 50% of the U.S population (Colby). Unlike popular belief, the increase in minority population will be due to those who already live in the United States, not immigrants. As we begin to see this demographic shift, anxiety towards minorities and immigrants in the United States is beginning to rise, peaking with the election of President Trump and his racist rhetoric. Some white Americans are afraid of how minorities will change the American culture, but if we analyze demographic shifts throughout American history, the American ethic always wins. Immigrants feel the need to assimilate to American culture, adding to it, but not drastically altering it. In the
When looking at historical patterns of immigrant assimilation, within a generation, they are fully assimilated and participate in mainstream culture (Alder). Immigrants become fully fluent in english, contribute to the economy and work hard to get a good education so they can participate in the American dream. They adopt American traditions, but also follow their own ideologies and traditions in the privacy of their own home. As we begin to see a minority-majority, American culture will not drastically change due to this pattern of assimilation, but will become more diverse and unique. A majority of the minority population will come from minorities and immigrants who already live in America (Goldstein). They will have grown up here attending American schools and being force by their parents to fit in with mainstream culture. Throughout history, immigrants and minorities have felt pressured to assimilate to the culture due to the lack of acceptance and racism from white Americans (Hoang). In order to be successful or attain the “American dream”, they had to fit in to the ideal American lifestyle and get rid of their differences. The United States has undergone dramatic demographic shifts in the past, eventually accepting the new demographics. In the early 1900’s, Southern Europeans, including Italians, immigrated to the United States. They were prosecuted for their ethnicity and religion. The largest lynching in U.S history was done to Italian Americans, not African Americans. John Parker, who helped organize the mob for the lynching, said “Italians are just a little worse than the Negro, being if anything filthier in [their] habits, lawless, and treacherous." (Faclo). This deep rooted hate eventually passed, fully assimilating Italians into