S. Supreme Court decisions on the issue, such as its judgment upon the University of Michigan's undergraduate admissions policy. Even stereotypes such as the idea that "Blacks are strongly associated with criminality," still have a pervasive hold as was denoted in one recent study where "when exposed to crime-relevant objects," perceivers visually attended more "to Black faces more so than White faces. Alternatively, the mere presence of a Black face enhances perceivers' ability to detect degraded images of crime-relevant objects." (Eberhardt, 2006)
As America changes, all aspects of its society must change. Schools must become more inclusive as to whose history, and whose literature is considered canonical or necessary for educated persons to know. There must be greater attempts to redress the continuing, lingering poverty of specific groups, and also a greater attempt to understand the diverse and complex needs of the different nationalities that make up 'Asian' or 'Latino' Americans. Even the approach to institutionalized medicine may need to change, according to the American Association Academy of Pediatrics, as socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity all influence what constitutes appropriate health care -- different groups may have different needs.
The future of a more pluralistic America...
For as America grows more inclusive, the demand for a fairer as well as a more diverse society will likely increase. Diversity may not mean greater unity amongst Americans, even American minorities, but the ensuing national discussion stimulated by such diversity is likely to be a fruitful one.
Works Cited
American Academy of Pediatrics. (2000). "Race/Ethnicity, Gender, Socioeconomic
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/math/12pt/Large/mdash.gif
Research Exploring Their Effects on Child Health." Pediatrics. Vol. 105 No. 6. June 2000. Pp. 1349-1351. Retrieved 8 Jan 2007 at http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/105/6/1349
Darden Edwin C. "The Race Challenge." American School Board Journal. 2003 Special
Report. Retrieved 8 Jan 2007 at http://www.asbj.com/specialreports/1203Special%20Reports/S1.html
Eberhardt, Jennifer. (2006). "Can the link between race and crime influence visual processing? Is this link bi-directional?" Stanford University Faculty Webpage. Retrieved 8 Jan 2007 at http://www.stanford.edu/~eberhard/
O'Neil, Dennis "American Diversity Patterns." Page last updated on 7 July 2006. Retrieved 8 Jan 2007 at http://anthro.palomar.edu/ethnicity/ethnic_6.htm
