Political Science Discussion

Columbia University Political Science Discussion

Texas has been a culturally and ethnically diverse place since the first European and African people encountered Native Americans in the early 1500s. Up to the early 1800s Texans of Spanish heritage were outnumbered by Native Texans. By the mid 1800s, the Anglo (white) American population outnumbered the combined Hispanic, African American, and Native American populations and remained the largest demographic category to the modern era. Since the 1990s, however, Hispanic population growth has outpaced Anglo population growth and Anglos now number ~45% of the state, no longer the majority. A state that is ~40% Hispanic, ~12% African American, and ~4% Asian American and Native American now has a nonwhite majority.

So what? Why does this demographic shift matter for Texas in relation to cultural, economic, and political experiences? What does this more diverse Texas future mean for the state? For the history of the state, how will a more diverse body of students, readers, and historians re-assess and perhaps rewrite the state’s history relative to its changing population?