The New York Times is reporting that for the first time, black, Hispanic and Asian residents of New York City and its suburbs are a majority of the metropolitan area's more than 19 million residents, according to the 2010 census, released last week.
New York is the first major metropolitan area in the country outside the South or West in which non-Hispanic whites have become a minority of the population.
Some of the same dynamic that transformed New York into a majority-minority city in the 1980s also contributed to that benchmark in the 23 counties that make up the metropolitan area: New York's five boroughs, as well as Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, Fairfield County in Connecticut and 12 counties in New Jersey.
We get it — the country is becoming more diverse. The 2010 census figures are confirming what many have already known: The United States will look decidedly different sooner than later. The real question is, will the current majority, who will officially become the minority, be able to handle it? Based on the xenophobia and anti-immigrant legislation that is pervasive in this country, sadly, we already know the answer to that question as well.
Read more at the New York Times.
In other news: White Celebs Announce 'I Am African.'
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