The U.S. is not a Post-racial Society

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=”15″]Race was undeniably a factor in this US election.[/perfectpullquote]
Donald Trump, the preening peacock of American bigotry, has ascended to the highest perch in the land of Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln.

And down whatever path this late night Twitter poster takes the world during his presidency, one thing is clear: he has made racism acceptable again outside the family dinner table, Ku Klux Klan cross burnings and whites-only clubs.

For many around the world, his ascendancy shocks as much as the venom he has spewed over a year and half. For more than 54 million American voters, he is a saviour.

But a saviour from what and from whom? From the fears of decline as a world military power, from the fears of terrorism, from the fears of continued economic decline and fears of the loss of a white majority that the US Census projects will occur in 2044 (PDF). [mc4wp_form id=”6042″]

May 16, 2014 “A pretty self-explanatory moment by Chuck Kennedy, as the First Lady toured the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka, Kansas, with Stephanie Kyriazis, Chief of Interpretation and Education.” (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy) This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.

Dec. 1, 2014 “Following the outcry over the shooting of Michael Brown by a policeman in Ferguson, Missouri, the President invited young civil rights leaders to a meeting in the Oval Office. Many of them had protested in Ferguson. A 30-minute scheduled meeting last more than an hour. As the meeting broke up, the President continued the conversation for a few minutes and I then managed to frame the bust of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the foreground.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.

Between 2014 and 2060, the U.S. population is projected to increase from 319 million to 417 million, reaching 400 million in 2051. The U.S. population is projected to grow more slowly in future decades than in the recent past, as these projections assume that fertility rates will continue to decline and that there will be a modest decline in the overall rate of net international migration. By 2030, one in five Americans is projected to be 65 and over; by 2044, more than half of all Americans are projected to belong to a minority group (any group other than non-Hispanic White alone); and by 2060, nearly one in five of the nation’s total population is projected to be foreign born. This report summarizes results from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 National Projections, with a focus on changes in the age structure and shifts in the racial and ethnic composition of the population—both the total population as well as the native and foreign born.