Growing U.S. Ethnoracial Diversity: A Positive or Negative Societal Dynamic?

Abstract

Solving problems of race relations in the United States requires avoiding binary ethnoracial classifications and understanding the nature, extent, and consequences of today’s diversity resulting from immigration. Recent demographic change has involved not only growth in the size of the nonwhite U.S. population but also increases in the number of new ethnoracial groups. Modest socioeconomic improvements have recently occurred among most nonwhite groups, and the rise in the number of different groups has led to some positive changes (i.e., boosting intermarriage and multiracial identification, blurring color lines among ethnoracial groups, and fostering creativity and economic growth) without diminishing social cohesion and solidarity. However, the benefits of multigroup diversity appear not to have reached many Americans who have less felt the social and economic benefits of free trade, globalization, and immigration. This underscores the need for universal policies that transcend identity- and grievance-based politics and provide security and benefits for all Americans.