In 2020, The United States of America conducted their once-in-a-decade census. The findings, while not too surprising, speak volumes: The US is becoming more and more of a melting pot… and it’s beautiful!
Despite miles of red tape and barriers to entry the foreign-born population residing in the U.S. reached a record 44.8 million, or 13.7 of the U.S. population, in ,2018.
Over the decade’s first nine years, racial and ethnic minorities accounted for all of the nation’s population growth, and were responsible for population gains in many states, metropolitan areas, and counties that would have otherwise registered losses due to declines in their white populations. This fact amazes and encourages me.
Right or wrong, I remember growing up and being told that while I will be paying into Social Security from the moment I begin working, there probably won’t be any left when I am old enough to collect on it. This stuck with me and I never understood how this was possible. The decline in fertility rates shown in the most recent census explains a lot. As the Boomers retire, their children are having fewer kids at a later age.
In 2019, for the first time, more than half of the nation’s population under age 16 identified as a racial or ethnic minority. Growth in population is fastest among minorities as a whole, and according to the Census Bureau’s estimation for 2020, 50{8740f9968766012d0df9c3d2abc715b5514c9aab97eef1bb9ea1de6b70811f4b} of U.S. children under the age of 18 are members of ethnic minority groups.
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RACE-ETHNIC MINORITIES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL NATIONAL GROWTH.
Immigrant Heritage Month lets us celebrate the stories of how we all got to be here. Hearing their stories of what it took to “take the leap” can help us understand and appreciate their accomplishments and struggles and ultimately better prepare to make their journeys worthwhile and the American Dream become achievable.
We would love to hear your or your families experiences with getting to America (by choice or otherwise) – they all matter.
Please, submit your stories here and let us know if we can feature you (with or without your name) during Immigrant Heritage Month.
