Diversity and the future of our communities

Diversity and the Future of Our Communities

The election of Barrack Obama as President of the United States highlights how the country is shifting from the traditional White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP) society. To one that is becoming a mix of various races, nationalities and ethnic backgrounds. Where, it is estimated that by the year 2050, the WASP / Caucasian ethnic group will cease to be the majority in the country. Instead, it expected that Hispanics and mixes of different races / nationalities will become dominate at that time. With famous demographer William Frey saying, "One America will be white, middle-class and graying, and then you'll have this new kind of globalized America coming to the fore, a racial generation gap." (Krase, 2009) This is significant, because it shows how the overall racial mixture in America is going to be changing. As a result, this means that diversity must be utilized with in our communities, across the country. To achieve this objective you must examine: how diversity can benefit the community and what will be the impact. Together, these two elements will provide the greatest insights as to how diversity is vital part of every community in the future.

How Diversity Can Benefit the Community

The desert Southwest is leading the United States in cultural shift that is taking place. What is happening is the states of Nevada, Arizona and California are seeing a dramatic shift in the population. Where, larger numbers of Hispanics are relocating to the area from a variety of different countries to include: Mexico, Cuba and El Salvador just to name a few. (Arreola, 2004) in California there is also large groups of Asians including: Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese just to name a few. (Krase, 2009) This is significant, because it shows how some kind of diversity must be embraced by various communities.

Those communities that are embracing diversity are: helping to increase understanding between these different groups. This is because, when a community is mixed, the various races / nationalities will have a chance to interact with one another on a regular basis. Over the course of time, this helps to break down the common stereotypes and will improve individual understanding of different cultures. Once this takes place, is when you will see those who grew up in these communities become the face of new generation, who is looking beyond racial / ethnic generalities. Instead, they look at the individual's character, versus the racial group or nationality of a person.

The Impact of Diversity