Blurring the Color Line: The New Chance for a More Integrated America - Jan 13, 2010
by The Center for the Future of Museums News Department
"Changing demographics in the United States present an opportunity for the advancement of minorities into higher-paying occupations. For minorities to fully benefit however, public policy must address the unequal quality of education before this window of opportunity closes."
That's the central thrust of Richard Alba's new book, Blurring the Color Line: The Chance for a More Integrated America. (Alba is a distinguished professor emeritus at the State University of New York, Albany. His work has deeply influenced CFM lecturer Gregory Rodriguez, among many other scholars of immigration and assimilation.)
In this interview with the Population Reference Bureau, Alba claims that
by The Center for the Future of Museums News Department
"Changing demographics in the United States present an opportunity for the advancement of minorities into higher-paying occupations. For minorities to fully benefit however, public policy must address the unequal quality of education before this window of opportunity closes."
That's the central thrust of Richard Alba's new book, Blurring the Color Line: The Chance for a More Integrated America. (Alba is a distinguished professor emeritus at the State University of New York, Albany. His work has deeply influenced CFM lecturer Gregory Rodriguez, among many other scholars of immigration and assimilation.)
In this interview with the Population Reference Bureau, Alba claims that
The conception of race is likely to shift [as the U.S. population changes]. Up until now, race has generally been envisioned as a set of mutually exclusive categories, as the contrast between white and black suggests. The social recognition of racially mixed ancestry is very recent, and the number of Americans who claim it for themselves is still small. That number is likely to grow rapidly because the changing demography of American youth heralds a rise in racial intermarriage, especially for whites (since their absolute size will shrink, implying an increasing pressure to choose outside the group). ... [But] barring something quite unforeseen, we will not see a revolution in U.S. race relations. This means that the privileged position of whites will continue, as reflected in their superior chances to acquire those resources and characteristics that are socially most valued, such as high-quality education, a well-paying job, residence in a desirable neighborhood and so on. However, they will share these privileges with a growing number of nonwhites....