Furthermore, as self-identified racial and ethnic groups emerge and become
large enough to organize, they will, as in any democracy, seek representation in our
political and social institutions. This is not to say that all racial or ethnic minorities
believe that their interests are only represented by a member of their racial group.
Instead, these trends, coupled with remarkable changes in Americans’ attitudes
toward race—arguably culminating in President Obama’s election—mean that
our political institutions will continue to see increased participation by nonwhite
Americans. In a special election in 2009, the first Vietnamese-American member of
Congress was elected from a district in Louisiana, a state to which many Vietnamese
emigrated after the Vietnam War. Clearly, demographic change is ongoing, and has
important policy implications.