by Geoffrey Bennett

Expect to hear more about this in the coming days ... according to the Associated Press, "white people will no longer make up a majority of Americans by 2042, according to new government projections. That's eight years sooner than previous estimates, made in 2004."

Here's more:

"The U.S. has nearly 305 million people today. The population is projected to hit 400 million in 2039 and 439 million in 2050.

That's like adding all the people from France and Britain, said Steve A. Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington group that advocates tighter immigration policies.

White non-Hispanics make up about two-thirds of the population, but only 55 percent of those younger than 5.

By 2050, whites will make up 46 percent of the population and blacks will make up 15 percent, a relatively small increase from today.

Asians, which make up about 5 percent of the population, are projected to increase to 9 percent by 2050.

Hispanics, who make up about 15 percent of the population today, will account for 30 percent in 2050, according to the new projections."

I knew I should have payed better attention in Spanish class.

But what are the implications of the country's changing racial composition? And to what would you attribute the "relatively small increase" expected among blacks?