The United States is moving inexorably toward a future of greater diversity.  Latest Census figures show that minorities make up 34 percent of the total U.S. population, numbering 102.5 million people.

Latinos especially gained ground in 2007 remaining the largest minority group at 45.5 million people. African Americans are close behind at 40.7 million.  Minority groups are pushing statewide demographic trends.  Four states and the District of Columbia have a larger share of minorities than non-minorities:  Hawaii (75 percent), District of Columbia (68 percent), New Mexico (58 percent), California (57 percent) and Texas (52 percent).  Close behind are Nevada, Maryland, and Georgia at 42 percent each.

Is America prepared to reap the benefits of diversity and embrace a bright future?

One issue that remains a stumbling block is the rate of incarceration for drug-related offenses.  A May 10 editorial in The New York Times highlights two new reports by The Sentencing Project and Human Rights Watch  which show “large disparities in the rate at which blacks and whites are arrested and imprisoned for drug offenses, despite roughly equal rates of illegal drug use.”

The editorial concludes that “all is not gloomy,” pointing to an emerging shift in policy toward drug treatment as an alternative to prison and to a change in federal sentencing guidelines.

Last month, there was also positive news with the signing of the Second Chance Act, a bipartisan solution that authorizes $165 million in spending per year to help released prisoners reintegrate into society.

At a time when one in nine black men aged 20 to 34 are serving time, along with 1 in 36 adult Hispanic men, we need to take stock of what can be done to tap the abilities and potential of all Americans. We’re starting to move in the right direction but it will take all of our efforts to ensure continued progress toward that bright future.

A new study in the journal Health Affairs says black and Latino children are more than 12 times as likely as white children to live in “double jeopardy”—to be poor and to live in neighborhoods with limited opportunity. The study argues that public health policies should:

“improve access to opportunity-rich neighborhoods through enhanced housing mobility, and increase the opportunities for healthy living in disadvantaged neighborhoods.”

The article is included in the March/April 2008 issue that focuses on health disparities and is based on results from studies of neighborhood opportunity in 100 metropolitan areas.

Some facts from the article:

• Nearly 17 percent of African-American children and 20.5 percent of Latino children live in “double jeopardy,” compared to 1.4 percent of white children
• The typical poor white child lives in a neighborhood where the poverty rate is 13.6 percent; for the African-American and Latino child, the rate is nearly 30 and 26 percent respectively
• Differences between African-American and white children were most pronounced in Detroit, Memphis, New Orleans, Chicago, and Birmingham, Alabama
• Disparities between Latino and white children were most blatant in the communities of McEllen, El Paso, and San Antonio, Texas; and Los Angeles and Fresno, California

Problems and solutions to issues related to neighborhood opportunity and health were just some of the hot topics discussed at Regional Equity 08. We heard about the New Orleans Food and Farm Network and other efforts across the country that are helping low-income community residents find good food close to home. Can anyone recommend other articles or organizations focused on this work?