Commentary:Minorities and America's Future

By all accounts,and especially that of the 2010 US Census,a dramatic demographic shift is underway in the United States.According to demographer William Frey,author of "Diversity Explosion:How New Racial Demographics Are Changing America,"the impact of rising minority groups will be similar in scope to the rise of the Baby Boomers.Couple surging Latino and Asian population growth with a declining white birth rate and you realize that these minorities will fill in and take the place of whites.Minorities were the largest component of newborns for the first time last year.
Pew Research projects that,by 2050,the three biggest minorities will together be the majority in America,with a 51% share of the population,and 47% of Americans being white.The breakdown of major minority percentages for 2050 is 29% Hispanic;13% African American;and 9% Asian.Native American/Native Alaskan was not quantified.
The 2010 Census was pivotal because of the number of white children being born.This is a bigger deal than I thought it was,Mr.Frey told noted talk show host Diane Rehm,together with the numbers of Hispanics and Asians being born.And 30% of suburbs are losing whites,either because they are dying and not being replaced,or moving to inner cities.The vibrancy of suburbs tomorrow depends on minorities moving into them,Mr.Frey points out.Witness the problem of fading suburban shopping malls.
Interracial marriage becoming more prevalent is an indication of greater diversity in the US population.Now 8% of all marriages and 15% of new marriages in America are interracial.Four in ten of Asian and Hispanic marriages are mixed marriages today.Who would have thought that Latinos would flock to Omaha,Nebraska 20 years ago?Yet that is just what is happening today.
What needs to be done?We need to educate minority youth so they will be able to fill the many jobs in fields such as medicine and technology,not shunt them off into a corner at the nation's peril.They need to be economically mainstreamed.Their aspirations are the same as their white compatriots'.The minority youth are a big part of the destiny of tomorrow's America.Embrace the change,because you cannot escape it even if you wanted to.As former President Bill Clinton says,make change your friend.