Читать книгу The Communication Playbook - Teri Kwal Gamble - Страница 60

Demographers tell us that diversity will shape our country’s future. According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, the five largest ethnic groups currently are composed of people who identify themselves as White (223.6 million), African American (38.9 million), Hispanic (50.5 million), Asian American (14.7 million), and Native American (American Indian and Alaska Native) (3.8 million).¹⁰ Hispanics are now the largest minority group. Within one generation, minorities are forecast to become the majority (Figure 2.1). Recent projections, however, assert that Asian immigration will make Asians the largest immigrant group by 2065 at 38%, surpassing Hispanics who are estimated to then comprise 31% of the population.¹¹

Additionally, acknowledging the blurring of racial lines and the evolution of racial identity, the 2010 U.S. Census let the nation’s more than 308 million people define their racial makeup as one race or more. Results revealed that multiracial Americans are among the fastest growing demographic groups.¹²

The United States is the most demographically diverse country in the world, making it very probable that the number of contacts we have with people of other cultures will continue to increase in the future. This alone makes it important for us to be able to understand and communicate with those whose backgrounds, nationalities, and lifestyles differ from our own.

Figure 2.1 Projected U.S. Population by Race and Hispanic Origins

Source: Pew Research Center, “Modern Immigration Wave Brings 59 Million to the U.S., Driving Population Growth and Change Through 2065,” September 28, 2015, http://www.pewhispanic.org/2015/09/28/modern-immigration-wave-brings-59-million-to-u-s-driving-population-growth-and-change-through-2065.