Changing Face of America - Diversity Maps

Changing Face of America

People of color are gaining in numbers. If we want a strong America - attn young men... Get an education, learn grammar and pull your pants up! Hip hop will not unite us or make us stronger - it makes us look like Buffoons! The "white man" is not keep you down... You are YOUR OWN worst enemy!

Diversity Map - Darker = Most Diverse / Lighter = LEAST Diverse


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Today the U.S. Census released new
data showing that Whites now make up less than half of births in the
United States, with Hispanics, blacks, Asians and those of mixed race
representing a majority for the first time in the country’s history (at 50.4 percent). The following is a statement from PolicyLink Founder and CEO Angela Glover Blackwell in response to this news:

“Today’s news from the U.S. Census that whites now
account for less than half of U.S. births underscores what PolicyLink
has been saying for some time: the face of America is changing and the
nation’s fate hinges on how we react to and invest in those changes. At a
time when other countries are beginning to see their youth populations dwindle,
the U.S. is experiencing a boom not seen since post-World War II. We
must recognize this as a tremendous opportunity to develop a national
policy agenda that leads with equity and makes it possible for this
growing youth population to fully participate and prosper in our
nation’s economic revival.

“It is a shocking and unacceptable fact that today 45 percent of Black middle-class children
are expected to end up poor by the time they reach adulthood. According
to the Brookings Institution, a mere 13 percent of Latinos and 18
percent of African Americans have a college degree, compared with 31
percent of whites. Such statistics, when viewed within the context of
these rapidly changing demographics, reinforce the urgency for making
targeted investments that will prepare today’s youth of color and help
them to reach their full potential. This means supporting quality early
childhood education programs so that young children are well-equipped to
perform and succeed in the classroom. And investing in our community
colleges so that young workers get the training and skills critical to
compete in the global economy.

“The only way to achieve true, sustainable economic recovery is by
influencing public policy and making equity the superior growth model
for our future. Today’s developments represent a prime opportunity to do
just that. Let’s start now.”

Check out these maps below for a visual of this changing face of
America. What do you think these rapid changes mean for America’s
future? Share with us in the comments.




One hundred years ago, progressive thinkers and activists who called for
women’s suffrage, laws protecting the environment, an end to lynching,
the right of workers to form unions, a progressive income tax, a federal
minimum wage, old-age insurance, the eight-hour workday, and
government-subsidized health care were considered impractical idealists,
utopian dreamers, or dangerous socialists. Now we take these ideas for
granted. The radical ideas of one generation have become the common
sense of the next.


The major idea of America’s Tomorrow – that a policy agenda
centered on growth-with-equity is the best way forward – is hardly
radical. The entire report is full of practical, common sense remedies
to the current economic crisis. It should be a no-brainer. But it isn’t,
because there are political forces in our country that demonize the
very idea of equality, who stigmatize government as inherently
inefficient, who think that if families struggle to find jobs, earn a
living wage, and pay the mortgage it is their own fault, and who believe
that there is no such thing as the common good or the public interest.
In recent years, these forces have gained ground in the political world
and in the battle of ideas.

But recently these forces, including the Tea Party and its allies in
business and politics, have been in retreat. The Occupy Wall Street
movement helped change the national conversation. At kitchen tables, in
coffee shops, in offices and factories, and in newsrooms, Americans are
now talking about economic inequality, corporate greed, and how
America’s super-rich have damaged our economy and our democracy. The
wide gulf between the richest one percent and the rest of Americans
hasn’t changed during the past year, but Occupy Wall Street has made it a
major topic of discussion across the nation.


The question now is whether a coalition of conscience can take
advantage of the new mood in the country, which has created openings for
unions, community organizations, faith-groups, and fair-minded elected
officials to promote the “growth-with-equity” agenda. What’s need now is
a broad movement that can translate the ideas in America’s Tomorrow
into the world of politics and policy. Expanding much-needed public
infrastructure, creating good, green jobs that pay a living wage, and
advocating a progressive fair tax system should be the rallying cry of
grassroots activists and the litmus test issues in the upcoming 2012
elections. The urgent ideas in America’s Tomorrow offer a blueprint for the next New Deal. Can we seize the opportunity to make it happen?

In the new PolicyLink multimedia series “America’s Tomorrow: Equity in a Changing Nation,”
we have been exploring both the challenges and opportunities facing
America, highlighting the leaders and innovations that are paving the
way towards a truly equitable future for the nation.

In the previous installment, we looked at America’s changing demographics in a video interview with Manuel Pastor, director of USC’s Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE).

Now, in the third part of the series released today, PolicyLink
Founder and CEO Angela Glover Blackwell addresses the country’s growing
racial and generational divide – and what we must do to stop it. Here’s
an excerpt:

We know that by 2042, people of color will be the
majority in America. Already nearly half (46.5 percent) of our nation’s
young people are of color, while more than 80 percent of seniors
nationwide are white.

It seems that this dramatic gap has transformed our nation’s unaddressed racial divide into a generational divide.

For the first time, America’s seniors, business leaders, and elected
officials simply do not see themselves in the faces of today’s young.
For many, this signals less obligation and commitment to the kinds of
programs and resources that would help provide a boost for the next
generation.

The 2010
Census is making headlines again this week, as newly revealed data
shows that, for the first time, children of color make up the majority
of kids under the age of two in the U.S.

PolicyLink has long cited that, by 2042, people of color will be the
nation’s majority; already nearly half (45 percent) of young people in
America are of color. As these new statistics clearly illustrate – and
as we’ve been exploring in our new multimedia series “America’s Tomorrow: Equity in a Changing Nation,” - the face of our nation is changing more rapidly than ever before.

Here’s PolicyLink Founder & CEO Angela Glover Blackwell in Colorlines Magazine on what these stark demographic shifts mean for America’s future:

“In the global economy, our remarkable diversity will be
our calling card- and it can be our most competitive asset…In a diverse
and interconnected world, America could be the most connected of all.
The breadth and depth of our talent could once again be unrivaled – if
we tap into the vast resource that is the next generation.”

We all know that America’s demographics are rapidly shifting.

But when you see this amazing time-lapse map showing just how dramatically the face of America is changing, there’s no doubt we have to invest in America’s tomorrow.

Please view the map, share it, and tell us what you think it means for our nation’s future.

–Angela Glover Blackwell

PS – Many thanks to our partners at the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity for developing this map with us.

Percentage Black By County






Hispanic Concentration By County 2010