Minorities become majority in more states

Four states now have majority minority populations, according to a new story on Stateline.org. Texas now joins New Mexico, California and Hawaii as states where minorities make up the majority of the population.

Five states – Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi and New York - are next in line with minority populations of about 40 percent. Minorities comprise 77 percent of Hawaii's population, 57 percent in New Mexico, 56 percent in California, and 50.2 percent in Texas, the Census report said based on 2004 population estimates. (See the Census data.)

In years ahead as the Latino population rises in the South, more Southern states will face the prospect of a majority of their population being minorities, which will provide some great challenges for the region and fantastic opportunities for progressives. That's why, for example, the Center for a Better South plans to work on increasing minority participation in the political process across the region in the months ahead.