Shades of the Future

Will race provide the midcentury crisis?

The millennium is almost upon us. In fact, it's been almost upon us for so long that it will be a relief when it arrives. But there's another date in America's future that may hold far more significance. The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that by the middle of the next century, race in America will be turned upside down. In 2050 whites will be a minority, and present-day minorities will be in the majority.

One group of Americans already exemplifies that future. The Millennium Generation, today's 15-to-25-year-olds, is the most racially mixed generation this country has ever seen. Its members are...

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