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As the percentage of minorities rise in America, communities that welcome diversity will have greater economic and business advantages, speakers said.
Summit on Racism speakers describe changing American demographics
Wed, May 21, 2008
BY PETER DAININGHOLLAND — National and local leaders discussed plenty of issues at the sixth Summit on Racism on Tuesday at Hope College, but one theme linked much of the conversation: Like it or not, change is on the way.
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As the percentage of minorities rise in America, communities that welcome diversity will have greater economic and business advantages, speakers said.
By 2050, business leader and entrepreneur George Herrera said the percentage of Americans who claim mixed ancestry will triple to 25 percent.
"The question isn't 'Will it happen?,' it's 'What are we going to do about it?,'" said Brian Walker, CEO of Herman Miller.
The speakers agreed areas without a lot of diversity — whether the Tri-Cities or Muskegon Heights — will have an increasingly difficult time attracting an educated, vibrant workforce.
Featured speaker David Rusk, an urban studies expert and author, highlighted several reasons why Michigan is already behind the eight ball.
He said black and white elementary school students in Michigan are more segregated than any other state. The state is also home to five of the most segregated cities — Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, Muskegon and Benton Harbor.
One reason for the segregation, he argued, is the highly fragmented local government, which allows small, wealthy communities to horde resources rather than sharing with the larger region.
Another pervasive problem in Michigan is disparity in the tax base between cities and suburbs, which often leaves urban centers like Holland and Muskegon ailing while the surrounding communities take in as much as two to three times more taxes per resident, Rusk said.
In Albuquerque, N.M., where Rusk was once mayor, the city limits expanded as the metropolitan area grew, so the wealth didn't commute to the suburbs with the people.
He urged the Michigan Legislator to create a special act that would allow voters to force local governments to share tax revenues and school funding.
Herrera, an imposing Puerto Rican-American businessman from the Bronx, asked participants to work within the business world to create change.
Herrera once convinced Ford it needs a program to cultivate Hispanic-owned car dealerships.
"We said to them, 'If I'm good enough to buy your cars, then I'm good enough to sell them,'" Herrera said.
Herrera challenged the estimated 500 summit participants to take matters into their own hands in the same way — by confronting the system head-on.
At the end of the conference, participants brainstormed strategies to bring out of the conference to make sure diversity isn't a one-day-a-year issue.
Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance Director Gail Harrison highlighted some of the benefits of the previous five summits, including the first Fair Housing Center in Ottawa County.
She asked participants to sign a "Statement of Inclusion" in support of equal opportunities and mutual respect.
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