Minority Racial and Ethnic Mix of Utah

by Hon. Raymond S. Uno (Ret.)
Presented at the ABA's 2006 Spirit of Excellence Awards (February 2005)

Utah's population is about 2,469,230 people (estimated as of July 1, 2004). In the early 1970s, about 98% of the state's population was white. Since that time, however, the minority population has increased dramatically, particularly in the 1990s and continuing to the present. During the 1990s, the White non-Hispanic majority population grew by 21 percent while the minority population grew by 117 percent. Today, it is estimated Utah's minority population is approximately 17% of the total population.

Hispanics comprise the largest minority group in Utah. Two-thirds of Utah Hispanics identify themselves as having Mexican ancestry. The Spanish, and later Mexican, influence in Utah dates back to the mid-16th century when the explorers and traders crossed through what is now central and southern Utah. By 1821, independent Mexico's territories included Utah, which became part of the U.S. with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1948. During World War II, many Hispanics came to Utah from New Mexico and Colorado to find work in the burgeoning defense industries. The Hispanic population has more than doubled since 1990 and, in 2000, was estimated to be about 201,559 or 60 percent of the minority population.

Asians comprise the next largest minority group in Utah. There are an estiimated 48,000 Asians currently residing in Utah. The first Asians to arrive in Utah were the Chinese who worked on the railroads in the late 1860s. Later, ethnic Chinese were among the Vietnamese refugees who settled in Utah after 1975 as well as students from the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong. There are an estimated 10,700 Chinese living in Utah now.

The Japanese arrived in Utah soon after the Chinese, working on the railroads in the 1880s. During World War II, the Japanese population increased as evacuees from the West Coast settled in Utah. There were also 8,000 Japanese Americans interned in the Topaz War Relocation Camp (Concentration Camp), in Delta, Utah. A number of them later settled in Utah but eventually returned to the West Coast. Currently, over 10,000 people of Japanese ancestry call Utah home.

Other Asians arrived in Utah as early as the turn of the century. Koreans, Filipinos and Asian Indian were early arrivals. After the Vietnam War, many refugees came from southeast Asia, particularly Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian and Hmong; this migration peaked in the 1980s. The Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Korean communities account for nearly two-thirds of the total Asian population in Utah.

The American Indians, the next largest minority group in the state, lived in Utah long before immigrants from other countries set foot in the United States, at least 12,000 years before the first Europeans. There were some 20,000 American Indians living in what is now Utah before the Mormons arrived. As in many other parts of the United States, the American Indians have managed to survive, but only at a very high cost: loss of freedom, loss of life, loss of land, and loss of a way of life. They have lived on and off of the reservations and survived an urban migration in the 1960s. There are over 40,445 American Indians and Alaskan Natives in Utah now.

African Americans have long history in Utah. They arrived with the Mormon pioneers in 1847. In the 1890s and 1900s, they were soldiers stationed at Fort Douglas or Fort Duchesne or worked as coal miners or on the railroads. The federal defense sector employed many African Americans and today, two-thirds of the African American population resides in Salt Lake, Davis, and Weber counties.

The other large minority population group in Utah is the Pacific Islanders. With the help of the Latter Day Saints ("LDS") Church, the community of Iosepa was established in Skull Valley in 1889, where 50 to 75 Polynesians (predominantly Hawaiian) lived. Since that time the Polynesian community has grown. The largest group is the Tongans (one-half), followed by the Samoans (one-third), Hwaiians, Maoris and Tahitians. Their current population is estimated to be over 21,367.

There are many other ethnic and racial minority groups living in Utah. Because of the vast missionary program of the LDS Church, converts from throughout the world immigrate to Utah. As a result, Utah is seeing a positive movement to embrace diversity within local and state governmental leadership. For example, in 1967, the Japanese community's "Japan Town" was destroyed to make way for the Salt Palce Convention Center. Today, however, when a further Salt Palace expansion threatens the existence and safety of the Japanese Church of Christ and the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple, the last two vestiges of "Japan Town", governmental leaders are more concerned about the impact these projects may have upon minority communities. In this instance, with strong efforts from the Japanese American community, as well as committed leadership in the City and County, positive commitments to help restore what has been lost and affected by these expansions are being made. The Japanese American community is hopeful but continues to work towards the actual realization of these goals. And the minority community as a whole is happy to see progress being made in advancing diversity in Utah.

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Primary source of article (any errors, omissions or mischaracterizations should be attributed to the author of this article, Raymond Uno - 12/20/04):