Museums & Society 2034, this figure always makes museum folk sit up and take notice.
Changing composition of America (U.S. Census Bureau/Reach Advisors)
It dramatizes the growing disconnect between the population of the U.S., which is becoming increasingly diverse culturally and ethnically, and the core audience of museums, which continues to be mostly Caucasian. In only a few decades, our society will be “majority minority.” California, Texas, Hawaii, New Mexico and the District of Columbia have already achieved this status. What does this presage for museums? Can we continue to go about our business, hoping that new audiences will come to know and love us? Do we need to change the way we think, talk, hire and plan in order to establish our relevant to diverse audiences? Or are we evolving towards a post-racial America in which the major challenge will be reaching the tech-savvy, highly engaged “myCulture” generation, whatever their ethnic and cultural heritage?
On Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 LA Times columnist Gregory Rodriguez (author of Mongrels, Bastards, Orphans and Vagabonds: Mexican Immigration and the Future of Race in America) helped us explore these and other questions in the 2009 CFM lecture.
Watch Towards a New Mainstream.
