The Browning of America Is Closer Than You Think. Are You Ready?

The face of America is changing one toddler at a time.

Don’t just take my word for it—although I’ve been saying it for quite some time.

For the first time, more than half of the children under age 2 in the U.S. are minorities, according to the latest preview of final 2010 Census data that will be released this summer.

The data is further proof that we are on the brink of a sweeping race change and only confirms what demographers have been saying for sometime: racial and ethnic majorities will become the U.S. majority by midcentury.

I hate to say I told you so. But I told you so.

In fact some states are already there. Twelve states and the District of Columbia already have white populations below 50 percent among children under age 5 — Hawaii, California, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Maryland, Georgia, New Jersey, New York and Mississippi. That’s up from six states and the District of Columbia in 2000.

At these rates, experts say seven more states could flip to “minority-majority” status among small children in the next decade: Illinois, North Carolina, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, South Carolina and Delaware.

With stats like these it’s clear that diversity and racial tolerance can’t just be corporate buzzwords or politically correct lingo for educators, academics and politicians.  It must be a social imperative for all Americans.

And this new generation of multi-ethnic brown and black youth will become a force to be reckoned with: an economic force, a political force and an intellectual force with major clout and new ideals. And you only need to ask any mom how quickly a child goes from 5 to 25 to see how close this reality is.

Are you ready? Are your children ready? Is your school ready? Is your neighborhood ready?