I stumbled on a phrase, Young Americans are far less white than older generation, in an article of today's New York Times titled In Census, Young Americans Increasingly Diverse.
I don’t think white refers to the color, of course. In a dictionary at hand, there is a definition of white as a slang meaning (1) fair and righteous, (2) credible, (3) generous, well-intentioned, (4) happy, well-off.
Does the phrase today’s young Americans are far less white here implies they are far less well-off (or happy) than old generation? Is the word ‘White’ used in this notion very often?
The text in question reads:
Demographers sifting through new population counts released on Thursday by the Census Bureau say the data bring a pattern into sharper focus: Young Americans are far less white than older generations, a shift that demographers say creates a culture gap with far-reaching political and social consequences.
Best Answer
The dominant race/culture/population of Americans has historically been white (sometimes called Caucasian). It is one of the racial categories listed on the census form, which all Americans were supposed to fill out in 2010 (and every ten years). A census is used to count a population.
Because the article talks about demographers, whose profession is to count populations and parse them into various groups, and says these professionals are "sifting through new population counts" we may infer that they mean this is changing. Children of other races are in the ascendancy, especially children of mixed race.
It does not mean what the adjectives in the list you mention mean.