Is the black-white paradigm still relevant in today's world? According to the Los Angeles Times, the Latino population topped 50 million people in 2008. Today, the United States has approximately 315 million people. According to Pew Research Group, if current trends continue, the population will rise to 438 million people in 2050 and 82 percent of the increase will be due to immigrants, and 50 million will be immigrants' children and grandchildren that were born in the United States. Nearly 20 percent of Americans will be an immigrant in 2050. Whites will become the minority (47 percent) by 2050.
There has been much talk about immigration issues in this country in recent years. Whatever your stance is on the topic, one has to admit that these times are a-changin'.
I wonder what the future will hold for the future generation of America. It will be a very different time as opposed to my parent's time and even my time growing up. What does this mean for our times? Are we realistically, as a nation, recognizing the growing divide that is occurring?
Not only is there a growing racial change taking place, there is also a generational gap that is growing. The median age for white Americans is 41 but is 32 for blacks, 31.6 for Asians and 27 for Latinos. Across the country, 80 percent of senior citizens are white, while nearly half of the nation's youth are non-white. Such significant age disparities, some experts on race relations say, may be having far-reaching implications on resources invested in programs and areas benefiting younger generations. With the Supreme Court hearing the case about race acceptance in college admissions, this issue will be far from settled. Perhaps time will tell what our national identity truly is.
Christopher Erdman
Muncy
Submitted by Virtual Newsroom
