McMusing: Who We Are Becoming
Why the understanding the American majority of the future matters to all of us.
When I was a child, every relative I knew was white. Most of my friends were also white until I attended a high school that was probably 75% Hispanic. I was a rare natural blonde. Over the years, I have watched my family and friends begin to look more like America. Now my extended family includes Hispanic, Black, Cambodian, Filipino, and Indian.
What this means genetically is that my very white skin that sunburns at the mention of the sun is thankfully no longer visible in my grandchildren. While I completely embrace these changes, I feel the racial tension that sometimes raises its ugly head against my family members who are not White. Know that there are a vast number of grandmothers like myself who find the increasingly inflammatory rhetoric toward people of color and immigrants extremely concerning.
This isn’t about the others; this is about our families.
To not be concerned about where this is headed is a privilege. My biggest wake-up call to my own privilege was when our family had the “If you get pulled over by the police” conversation with a grandchild. All the ways that I—as a White person—never had to think about that came crashing in around me.
We need protections and systems in place to assist those whose skin is darker because their skin color places them at a disadvantage and often in danger. It is not because they are less capable. It is because we as a nation are not very good at giving every person a fair shake at living the “American Dream.”
I have thought a lot about the concept of race—which is completely different from culture. I have come to believe that race is a human construct based on nothing but the need for humans to feel superior to another. It is also a tool used by the powerful to divide people.
Imagine a different version of the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life. In this version, everything that has been created by non-white immigrants, slaves/descendants of slaves, and citizens of color simply vanish. Much like the movie, I do not believe we can comprehend the impact.
Since this is Black History Month,* I will focus on those contributions. The month is not only a time to remember the harm done by slavery but to highlight the remarkable contributions of this diverse group. The following quote is the introduction to an article that is well worth reading: Everyday Things Created by Black Inventors.
“From the three-light traffic signal, refrigerated trucks, automatic elevator doors, color monitors for desktop computers, to the shape of the modern ironing board, the clothes wringer, blood banks, laser treatment for cataracts, home security systems and the super-soaker children’s toy, many objects and services Americans use every day were invented by Black men and women.” (Source)
Inventions are only one aspect. Our nation would not be what it is without the impact of those who excel despite the challenges they face. Why are we so afraid of the very people who have brought so much good to our nation?
Is the fear of the current White majority the result of the fact that the United States is slowly changing—much like my family? In two more years (if predictions hold) the White population will be a minority for those under the age of 30. If you visit elementary schools across America, you will know this is true. This is not the result of illegal immigration. It is who we are.
The current White majority is concerned about the future and is making the very worst choices to secure that future—not because of political reasons, but because they are literally “cutting off their nose to spite their face.” We cannot change this tide—we must embrace it and pave the way for the current minorities to be successful.
“Minorities will be the source of all of the growth in the nation’s youth and working age population, most of the growth in its voters, and much of the growth in its consumers and tax base as far into the future as we can see. Hence, the more rapidly growing, largely white senior population will be increasingly dependent on their contributions to the economy and to government programs such as Medicare and Social Security. This suggests the necessity for continued investments in the nation’s diverse youth and young adults as the population continues to age.” (Source)
Scott and I currently depend on Social Security and have certainly needed Medicare over the past month. We both worked full-time our entire lives and the money we paid into Social Security helped to care for the elderly—now it is our turn. I refuse to have catastrophic thinking over my livelihood. Yet, I do wonder what impact the current decisions will have on future generations when the aging white population is dependent on the new majority that had supports removed that were put in place to foster their success.
* See the resources for Black History Month here
”The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.”