CURRENT DATA SHOW FUTURE REALITY

Robert E. Manley, Manley & Burke

Current population data tells us that the future is very different from the past. Black, Hispanic, and Asian populations in the United States are rapidly growing. The growth of the non-Hispanic white population has slowed and by the year 2030, the non-Hispanic white population will be declining in size.

As a practical matter for the Greek world, the population data tells us that if there is to be a future for Greek organizations, they must start attracting their fair share of minorities now.

In 1990, the non-Hispanic white population in the United States was 75.7% of the population. By the year 2050, it will be 52.5% of the United States population. In the same time frame, the black population will increase from 12.3% to 16%, the Asian and Pacific Islanders’ population will increase from 3% to 10.3% and the Hispanic origin population will jump from 9% to 22.5%.

By the year 2000, the Hispanic origin population is expected to increase to 31,000,000, doubling in its size from 1990. The Hispanic origin population will be contributing 32% of the nation’s population growth from 1990 to 2000 and 60% of the population growth from the year 2030 to the year 2050.

Another interesting trend is the percentage of the population that is foreign-born. In 1995, 8.8% of the population in the United States was foreign-born. That amounted to 23,000,000 people. In 1995, nearly l in 11 persons was foreign–born. In 1970, only 4.8% of the United States population was foreign–born.

Current information tells us a lot about the future. Greek organizations that survive will be the ones that make use of this information and find ways to attract their fair share of minorities.