Seattle's minority population The city's minority population took off after World War II, beginning with a 313% increase in African Americans during the 1940s. The Asian population has more than tripled since 1970 with Chinese, Filipino and Vietnamese leading the way. More recently, the Hispanic numbers jumped sharply during the 1990s. • Hispanic can be of any race. • The census questionnaire did not ask about Hispanic origin until 1970. • Prior to 1970, the Asian/Pacific Islander category included only Japanese, Chinese and Filipino. • The 2000 figures for black, Asian/Pacific Islander and Native American include people who check more than one race. • For 1980 non-Hispanic blacks were counted. For 1990 and 2000 non-Hispanic blacks, non-Hispanic. Sources: Seattle Times analysis of census by Justin Mayo, database specialist; Quintard Taylor, "The Forging of a Black Community," 1994.

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