Greater racial diversity is good news for America's future. Race is once again a contentious topic in America, as shown by the divisive rise of Donald Trump and the activism of groups like Black Lives Matter. Yet Diversity Explosion argues that the current period of profound racial change will lead to a less-divided nation than today's older whites or younger minorities fear. Prominent demographer William Frey sees America's emerging diversity boom as good news for a country that would otherwise face declining growth and rapid aging for many years to come. In the new edition of this popular Brookings Press offering, Frey draws from the lessons of the 2016 presidential election and new statistics to paint an illuminating picture of where America's racial demography is headed-and what that means for the nation's future. Using the U.S. Census, national surveys, and related sources, Frey tells how the rapidly growing ""new minorities""-Hispanics, Asians, and multiracial Americans-along with blacks and other groups, are transforming and reinvigorating the nation's demographic landscape. He discusses their impact on generational change, regional shifts of major racial groups, neighborhood segregation, interracial marriage, and presidential politics. Diversity Explosion is an accessible, richly illustrated overview of how unprecedented racial change is remaking the United States once again. It is an essential guide for political strategists, marketers, investors, educators, policymakers, and anyone who wants to understand the magnitude, potential, and promise of the new national melting pot in the twenty-first century.
William H. Frey is a senior fellow with the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution and Research Professor in Population Studies at the University of Michigan. Frey is an internationally regarded demographer with expertise in U.S. demographics and American political demographics whose work has been written about in the Economist, the New Yorker, and New York Times Magazine. He is also a frequent commentator on broadcast media.
Preface 1. A Pivotal Period for Race in America 2. Old versus Young: The Cultural Generation Gap 3. America's New Racial Map 4. Hispanics Fan Out: Who Goes Where? 5. Asians in America: The Newest Minority Surge 6. The Great Migration of Blacks, In Reverse 7. White Population Shifts: A Zero-Sum Game 8. Melting Pot Cities and Suburbs 9. Neighborhood Segregation: Toward a New Racial Paradigm 10. Multiracial Marriages and Multiracial America 11. Race and Politics: The Cultural Generation Gap in Presidential Elections 12. America on the Cusp Acknowledgments Notes Index
No one understands the tectonic shifts in American society at the root of today's political turmoil better than Bill Frey. His work remains indispensable to understanding the powerful forces of demographic change creating a new America-and the resistance those changes have ignited in parts of the electorate. At a moment of intense national division, this new edition of Diversity Explosion offers a path toward recognizing our undiminished common interests."- Ronald Brownstein, senior editor at The Atlantic and senior political analysts at CNN; "Bill Frey's updated book is a must-read guide to understanding the tectonic political and cultural shifts in America, particularly in this post-Trump election era. It's an important and useful work for anyone who wants to understand the demographic forces that will frame elections in years to come."- Asma Khalid, political correspondent, NPR; "Though not all readers may share Frey's optimistic outlook, this study offers valuable insights, with a clear, straightforward presentation enhanced by informative graphs, maps, and tables."- Robin Tatu, ASEE Prism; "Bill Frey has a message: A powerful, multiracial, and younger America is emerging. In both cities and suburbs, the young and the nonwhite are forming new communities and bringing progressive attitudes, modern institutions, and dynamic ideas about American politics and government. Diversity Explosion is an engrossing tour of this new, richer America and what it will mean for the future of our nation."- Carolyn Dewitt, president and executive director, Rock the Vote
