Gary Iacocca remembers that his grandfather’s hotdog shop in downtown Allentown, Pennsylvania hosted non-stop crowds. That was until a changing neighborhood made it impossible for the family to continue operating.
Iacocca shared the following with Tony Dokoupil, “CBS Mornings” cohost. “I will tell ya, the original Yocco’s opened at 6 a.m. and closed at 1:30 at night. We were busy all day,” he said. “Well, this was a blue collar town. They would go to Yocco’s for a few hot dogs and a beer before they headed home.
Iacocca said that the area was becoming more competitive as more restaurants offering different cuisines opened. Yocco’s The Hot Dog King closed in 1980, but there are still other locations in the region.
Ed Frack, a friend of Iacocca, says he grew up in an Allentown where “just a different culture” was the norm. He said, “People talked.” “People said hello, shook hands, and it’s now a little different.”
Allentown’s racial makeup is a key factor in its uniqueness. The city’s population was 97% White in the 1970s U.S. Census, but it had plummeted to 31% by 2020.
This city is one of many across the country that has seen changing demographics. Census data has shown that White Americans have declined in 35 states and 3 of 4 counties over the past decade. According to the U.S. Census projections, America will have no White majority population by 2044.
Frack and Iacocca both say they are happy for the new residents, and that they are not different from the Germans or Italians who arrived earlier in the generations. Frack claims that there are White residents in Allentown who think the city’s problems can be attributed to the increased number of non-White residents.
He said, “Those people are here.”
According to University of Chicago surveys, similar thoughts were found in people who are likely to be part of the so-called “insurrectionist movement.”
Researchers found that “insurrectionists” were driven by three distinct studies using different methods.
A statistical analysis revealed that for every one percent decline in non-Hispanic White populations, a county was six times more likely than others to send at most one “insurrectionist.”
Another study showed that those who believe the rights of Hispanics and Black people are more important than white people increase their chances of joining the “insurrectionist movements” three times. A third study revealed that people who fear that Hispanic or Black people will have greater rights than Whites increase their chances of joining the movement by twofold.
Michele Norris, journalist and founder of the Race Card Project, told Dokoupil that sometimes people feel like they are being taken from them. “The irony is that many immigrant families who arrived in the country were already saying the exact same thing when they arrived.
Emely Minaya is a resident of Allentown and was born in the Dominican Republic. She believes that Allentown is a model for America’s future when it comes diversifying communities.
She stated that even in states with no Hispanics or Blacks, there will be a lot of it within the next few years.
When asked what she would tell those affected by the potential demographic shift she replied, “suck it up.” She said, “It’s going be happen.” “That’s it.”
Norris believes that these shifting demographics won’t be the end of the road. “The country is changing. Norris said that people are in some ways afraid of the change that has already come. It’s already here.
She warned that it may not be an easy adjustment for all people or the entire country.
Norris stated, “Put your seatbelt down.” It’s going be very bumpy.
