Grandparents Grew Up in a White (84%) USA: For Millennials, Only 56% Are White

We all know that America’s demographics are changing. This research excerpt is remarkable, nonetheless.

The Pew Foundation studied four generations of living Americans. See the grainy photo of the chart (above, click to enlarge), comparing “Silents/Greatest” (born before 1940), “Boomers” (born 1946-1961), “Gen Xers” (born 1965-1980), and “Millennials”(born 1981-1996).

Here is a summary of the findings by Richard Fry, et al., How Millennials Today Compare with Their Grandparents 50 Years Ago, Pew Research Center (March 16, 2018), available in http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/16/how-millennials-compare-with-their-grandparents/.

“Millennials are much more likely to be racial or ethnic minorities than were members of the Silent Generation. Fifty years ago, America was less racially and ethnically diverse than it is today. Large-scale immigration from Asia and Latin America, the rise of racial intermarriage and differences in fertility patterns across racial and ethnic groups have contributed to Millennials being more racially and ethnically diverse than prior generations. In 2017, fewer than six-in-ten Millennials (56%) were non-Hispanic whites, compared with more than eight-in-ten (84%) Silents. The share who are Hispanic is five times as large among Millennials as among Silents (21% vs. 4%), and the share who are Asian has also increased. However, the share who are black has remained roughly the same.”