<p> <i>50.4 -- </i>That was the percentage of babies born in 2011 in the United States who were minorities -- the first time, the <a href="/topics/Census_Bureau">Census Bureau</a> says, that they outnumbered white newborns. Demographers call this a big deal, but the American population has always been a melting pot; consider it a source of hybrid vigor. Even the definition of "white" has evolved over time. Absent higher minority birthrates, moreover, we'd be short of young workers. Rather than an "aha!" moment, this news is more ho hum.</p>

50.4 -- That was the percentage of babies born in 2011 in the United States who were minorities -- the first time, the Census Bureau says, that they outnumbered white newborns. Demographers call this a big deal, but the American population has always been a melting pot; consider it a source of hybrid vigor. Even the definition of "white" has evolved over time. Absent higher minority birthrates, moreover, we'd be short of young workers. Rather than an "aha!" moment, this news is more ho hum.

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Editorial: Merely a blip in the population

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