1092 ★ CHAPTER 27 From Triumph to Tragedy
of Mexican immigrants. In 1930, 90 percent of the Mexican population of the
United States lived in states that had once been part of Mexico. Today, there is
a significant Mexican- American presence in almost every state, including such
places as Kansas, Minnesota, and Georgia, with very little experience, until
recently, with ethnic diversity.
Numbering around 50 million in 2010, Latinos had become the largest
minority group in the United States. Between 1990 and 2010, 30 million His-
panics were added to the American population, half its total growth. Latinos
were highly visible in entertainment, sports, and politics. Indeed, the Hispanic
presence transformed American life. José was now the most common name for
baby boys in Texas and the third most popular in California. Smith remained
the most common American surname, but Garcia, Rodriguez, Gonzales, and
other Hispanic names were all in the top fifty.
Latino communities remained far poorer than the rest of the country. A
flourishing middle class developed in Los Angeles, Miami, and other cities with
large Spanish- speaking populations. But most immigrants from Mexico and
Central America competed at the lowest levels of the job market. The influx
of legal and illegal immigrants swelled the ranks of low- wage urban workers
and agricultural laborers. Latinos lagged far behind other Americans in edu-
cation. In 2010, their poverty rate stood at nearly double the national figure of
15 percent. Living and working conditions among predominantly Latino farm
workers in the West fell back to levels as dire as when César Chavez established
the United Farm Workers union in the 1960s.
Asian- Americans also became increasingly visible. There had long been a
small population of Asian ancestry in California and New York City, but only
after 1965 did immigration from Asia assume large proportions. Like Latinos,
Asian- Americans were a highly diverse population, including well- educated
Koreans, Indians, and Japanese, as well as poor refugees from Cambodia, Viet-
nam, and China. Growing up in tight- knit communities that placed great
emphasis on education, young Asian- Americans poured into American colleges
and universities. Once subjected to harsh discrimination, Asian- Americans
now achieved remarkable success. White Americans hailed them as a “model
minority.” By 2007, the median family income of Asian- Americans, $66,000,
surpassed that of whites. But more than any other group, Asian- Americans
clustered at opposite ends of the income spectrum. Large numbers earned
either more than $75,000 per year (doctors, engineers, and entrepreneurs) or
under $5,000 (unskilled laborers in sweatshops and restaurants).
The United States, of course, had long been a multiracial society. But for centu-
ries race relations had been shaped by the black- white divide and the experience
of slavery and segregation. The growing visibility of Latinos and Asians suggested
that a two- race system no longer adequately described American life. Multiracial