California's Diversity Is It's Strength

As California opens a new chapter as one of the nation’s first majority-minority states, there is an encouraging level of satisfaction and consensus among its major racial and ethnic groups, according to a new report by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). At the same time, strong disagreements about racially oriented policies and differing levels of political participation and economic attainment among these groups present a profound challenge for Californians and their elected leaders. In Finding Common Ground: Racial and Ethnic Attitudes in California, authors Zoltan Hajnal and Mark Baldassare analyze 10 statewide public opinion surveys conducted by PPIC between April 1998 and May 2000 – including interviews with over 20,000 adult residents. They find that whites, Latinos, Asians, and blacks are all keenly aware of the demographic shift that is under way in California. Overall, 70 percent of Californians say the racial and ethnic makeup of their region has changed a lot or somewhat in the past few years. Whites (73%), blacks (70%), Asians (65%), and Latinos (63%) all report noticing these changes. Large majorities of each group also say they think that the immigrant population in California has been increasing.

Thanks to Chris Steins