#4: Valley reflects exploding diversity: Flood of immigrants stirs profound changes
BY BEN STOCKING
Mercury News Staff Writer
If Norman Rockwell were alive and well and working in
Santa Clara County, the freckle-faced white kids who
dominated his classic scenes of American life would have
to make room for a new cast of characters.
Here in the quintessential melting pot, where America is
reinventing itself before our very eyes, the painter could fill
his canvas with images such as these: a turbaned Sikh
driving an ice cream truck through a Latino neighborhood;
an 80-member Boy Scout troop where every face is
Asian-American; a Mexican-American chef working
culinary wonders in an Italian restaurant.
Of all the local developments of the 20th century, the
region's exploding diversity is surely one of the most
dramatic. At the dawn of the new millennium, Santa Clara
County has already reached a demographic milestone that
the nation as a whole isn't expected to achieve for at least
another 50 years:
Sometime in 1999 -- nobody knows the precise moment --
the white population here dipped below 50 percent for the
first time, making every racial and ethnic group in the
county a minority.
For most of the century, whites of European descent
dominated Santa Clara County's population; as recently as
1970, they accounted for 80 percent. And the demographic
shift is already having profound consequences in virtually
every realm of public life.
In schools, curricula are being rewritten to acknowledge the contributions
of different ethnic
groups. In the high-tech world, Asian- and Asian-American-owned start-ups
are strengthening
the valley's ties to the Pacific Rim. In politics, leaders such as Ron
Gonzales -- San Jose's first
Latino mayor -- are putting their stamp on civic life.
In a century marked by dramatic change, one thing has remained constant:
People keep coming to
Santa Clara County in search of opportunity. They are drawn by the region's
natural beauty,
inviting climate and, above all, the promise of jobs.
From the beginning, long before European settlers flocked to the state
to seek their fortune in the
gold rush, Latinos have had deep roots in San Jose. They continued to arrive
in waves
throughout the 20th century: fleeing the Mexican Revolution in 1910; taking
agricultural jobs
during World War II; participating in the bracero program, which brought
hundreds of thousands
of Mexican farmworkers to the United States during the '50s and '60s.
During the latter decade, the nation's most prominent Latino
activist emerged from the barrio of East San Jose. From there,
Cesar Chavez laid the groundwork for the United Farm Workers
of America, and galvanized the local Latino community in the
process.
Today, the flow of immigrants also is driven by economic forces.
Computer engineers from China, Taiwan and India stream into
``Silicon Valley'' seeking work in the hub of a global
technological revolution.
Political developments have hastened the demographic changes as
well. In 1965, revisions in national immigration law, which until
then had favored Europeans, made it much easier for Asians and
Latinos to come to the United States.
In 1975, with the fall of Saigon, hundreds of thousands of
Vietnamese sought refuge in the United States. During the 1970s
and '80s, tens of thousands of Southeast Asians made their way to
Santa Clara County, adding another strand to the rich mix already
here.
It is no coincidence that all this change is taking place in Santa Clara
County, said Connie Young
Yu, a Chinese-American historian who served on the panel that helped the
Mercury News select
the 10 events that shaped the valley.
``This is a very progressive place,'' she said. ``There is a lot of newness
here. People aren't
locked into prejudices and stodgy ideas.''
For the most part, newcomers from all corners of the globe are receiving
a warm welcome from
longtime residents. Nonetheless, the dramatic pace of demographic change
has caused some
inevitable tensions and culture clashes, as longtime residents struggle
to adapt to a cultural
landscape that is changing with breathtaking speed.
In Cupertino, protests arose a few years ago when a group of Chinese dragon
dancers performed
in a Fourth of July parade. Last year, parents in the same community objected
vehemently to the
idea of starting a two-way, English-Mandarin immersion program at a local
elementary school.
As the region forges ahead into its multiracial future, Asians, Latinos
and blacks -- fewer in
numbers because the valley historically lacked an industrial base -- sing
the praises of diversity.
While many whites join the chorus, others are feeling threatened and left
out. A few have even
begun forming ``European American'' associations and pushing for civil
rights on behalf of
whites.
How the county ultimately adapts to all this demographic change will be
one of the great stories
of the 21st century. Ron Takaki, a professor of ethnic studies at the University
of
California-Berkeley, sees two possibilities.
If the economy sours, he says, a backlash could set in, inspiring more
measures like
Propositions 187 and 209, the statewide ballot initiatives that sought
to curtail benefits for illegal
immigrants and outlawed affirmative action in public institutions. On the
other hand, if the good
times continue, people might grow comfortable with diversity and focus
on their common
interests.
This much is certain: A thousand years ago, the different racial and ethnic
groups that flourish
here didn't even know of one another's existence. Now they are intermarrying
and melting away
racial barriers at an astonishing rate. In 1997, the last year for which
statistics are available, one
in seven babies born in Santa Clara County had parents of two different
races.
In the year 2000, for the first time, the federal government will allow
people to check off more
than one race on the U.S. Census forms, which will include a dizzying array
of 63 racial
combinations. In large swaths of America, there will be no marks in most
of those multiracial
boxes.
That won't be the case here.
©1999 Mercury Center.
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