By Ruth Morris and Alva James-Johnson Sun-Sentinel Posted May 17 2007
Linda Wunder, a white nurse anesthetist, ran down the list of minorities she works with at her Pembroke Pines hospital: colleagues from Haiti, the Philippines and India.
"I feel I'm a minority, but I'm comfortable with it," said Wunder, 43. "I don't see color or races. As long as they are good people, it doesn't bother me."
Across the nation, white Americans increasingly are watching their communities being transformed by minorities. New data released today by the Census Bureau show that the nation's minority population has reached a milestone, surpassing 100 million, and accounting for one in three U.S. residents. The news mirrors shifts already well under way in Broward County, where non-Hispanic whites made up 49.9 percent of the population in 2005, according to census data.
But others in South Florida are uncomfortable with the surge in minority population. They see their neighborhoods rapidly changing and worry that they less frequently hear English in visits to supermarkets, banks and hair salons.
"I just don't want to lose my country," said Wunder's mother, Donna Leech, 65. When Leech moved to Broward from Pennsylvania 17 years ago, everyone in the local shops spoke English, she said. Today, she often hears Spanish and sometimes feels excluded.
"It's getting to be all Hispanic," she said.
In South Florida, some whites said they largely associate minorities with recent immigrants from overseas, rather than blacks or American Indians. Most were aware that Florida, where blacks and Hispanics comprise more than 6.3 million of the state's 18 million residents, is one of the states leading the way in minority growth.
According to census data, Florida has 3.6 million Hispanic residents, up from 2.7 million in 2000. The state has 2.7 million black residents, up from 2.3 million. Others were positive about Broward's broad ethnic and racial mix. Florida Atlantic University sociologist Howard Housen, who is black and lives in Lauderdale Lakes, gave the county high marks for diversity and said it may serve as a good example for other parts of the nation just beginning to experience "the salad bowl." Cultural and ethnic diversity already define South Florida, and by some accounts has done so for 20 years.
"What would be better is to get beyond pluralism and deliberately go out of my way to interact with people who are different from me, to enhance myself," Housen said.
For Rob Cook, a white United Parcel Service employee in Broward, younger whites are more likely to have favorable opinions about minorities.
He said his grandmother grew up in the South and comes from a generation that doesn't like the changes.
"Me, growing up in this environment, everybody's equal," said Cook, 32. Of the common complaint that Spanish is elbowing out English here, he said, "Sometimes there's a language barrier, but that's a small hurdle in the scheme of things."
Some Hispanics say the demographic shifts don't necessarily mean they are close to gaining political clout.
"My question is, `When are we going to feel the power of these numbers?'" asked Colombian-born Michelle Acuña, 27, of Hollywood. She said the Hispanic vote has yet to secure an immigration-law overhaul or legalization for undocumented immigrants, a majority of them from Latin America.
Activists on the other side of the debate have taken issue with what they perceive as resistance to assimilation by newcomers. Some Hispanics also cited the nationalistic pride many Latin American immigrants have for their homelands as a factor that has prevented them from forming a solid voting bloc.
"It's easy for politicians to deliver a Hispanic message. It's a rallying point. But we're too large a group for someone to say, `You're Hispanic, therefore you think like all Hispanics,'" said Mike Rodriguez, a Cuban-American and executive director of the Palm Beach Hispanic Democratic Caucus.
Rodriguez said he expects minority growth to change South Florida's political landscape as more young Hispanic voters, who tend to favor Democrats, reach the polls. Hispanics accounted for almost half the national population growth for the year ending July 2006. About a third of the Hispanic population was younger than 18, compared with one-fourth of the total population in that age range.
Others credited South Florida's diversity with bolstering the arts, adding top cuisine and creating new business opportunities.
Phillip Fife, of Davie, said he and his partners decided to open a spa and beauty salon in Coral Gables because they sensed growth potential in the Hispanic community. After researching further, he scrapped plans to inject the place with Old World charm and opted instead for modern furniture and bright lights.
"We found out that Latin people are attracted to a certain ambience," said Fife, who is white.
He enrolled in Spanish classes and studied up on different hair types, hoping to attract Caribbean and African-American clients, too.
"Now I've come to South Florida and I have to develop my skills to serve people I'm not used to. ... I just had to redefine my skills," he said.
Some immigrants said they wanted to immerse themselves in the larger society.
Nicaraguan-born Marianela Leon said she was leaving Miami Lakes and moving to Broward . She said she wanted to escape the high concentration of Latinos, and also the congestion.
"It would better if we spread out a little bit," she said. "It's good to have diversity, not just to be around one group of people."
Staff Writers Gregory Lewis and Tal Abbady contributed to this report.
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