June 2013 Census—Numbers We "Know"

On June 13, 2013, the Census Bureau released an article that was eye-opening, but not necessarily shocking. For the past few years many of us have understood that the make-up of our nation is changing and shifting. Publishing professionals have followed the many news articles published in the last year that raise the subject of the evolving population of our country and observed that children's books don't reflect that evolution. As industry professionals, we read and  we are listening. These issues are the very reason that CBC Diversity was formed. The CBC Diversity initiative was organized before the first controversial article with the tone of "wake up and see all the white kids on covers--not OK" in 2012 was written. The publishing industry gets it. But seeing change takes time (it takes about a year + to make a book) and it requires widespread collaboration from everyone involved in children's books (librarians, teachers, booksellers, agents, parents, writers, illustrators, etc.) to solve the problem.

That being said, sitting around Diversity Dialogue sessions where industry professionals come together in a safe environment to discuss how to "solve the problem" can be frustrating at times. We all "know" that there are a whole lot of, say, Latinos who need good mirror books, but reaching that audience is easier said than done. We "know" the market is there, but is it really? Stupid question, right? Of course it's there, but just so everyone is on the same page, here are some interesting tidbits directly from the June 13, 2013 Census Bureau report to really think deeply about.

By Growth

Asians—

• The nation's fastest-growing race or ethnic group in 2012
• Population rose by 530,000, or 2.9 percent, in the preceding year, to 18.9 million
• More than 60 percent of this growth in the Asian population came from international migration

Hispanics—

• Population grew by 2.2 percent, or more than 1.1 million, to just over 53 million in 2012
• Population growth was fueled primarily by natural increase (births minus deaths), which accounted for 76 percent of Hispanic population change
• Hispanics remain our nation's second largest race or ethnic group (behind non-Hispanic whites), representing about 17 percent of the total population

Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders—

• Population growth climbing 2.2 percent to about 1.4 million

American Indians and Alaska Native—

• Population growth rising 1.5 percent to a little over 6.3 million

Black or African Americans—

• Population growth increased 1.3 percent to 44.5 million

Non-Hispanic White Alone (Caucasians)—

• The non-Hispanic white population is projected to peak in 2024, at 199.6 million, up from 197.8 million in December 2012. Unlike other race or ethnic groups, however, its population is projected to slowly decrease, falling by nearly 20.6 million from 2024 to 2060

By State/County

Hispanics—

• California had the largest Hispanic population of any state on July 1, 2012 (14.5 million)
• New Mexico had the highest percentage of Hispanics at 47.0 percent
• Los Angeles County had the largest Hispanic population of any county (4.8 million) in 2012
• Starr County -- on the Mexican border in Texas -- had the highest share of Hispanics (95.6 percent)

Black or African Americans—

• New York had the largest black or African-American population of any state or equivalent as of July 1, 2012 (3.7 million)
• Texas had the largest numeric increase since 2011 (87,000)
• The District of Columbia had the highest percentage of blacks (51.6 percent), followed by Mississippi (38.0 percent)
• Cook, Ill. (Chicago) had the largest black or African-American population of any county in 2012 (1.3 million)
• Holmes, Miss., was the county with the highest percentage of blacks or African-Americans in the nation (83.1 percent)

Asians—

• California had both the largest Asian population of any state (6.0 million) in July 2012 and the largest numeric increase of Asians since July 1, 2011 (136,000)
• Hawaii is our nation's only majority-Asian state, with people of this group comprising 56.9 percent of the total population
• Los Angeles had the largest Asian population of any county (1.6 million) in 2012
• At 60.9 percent, Honolulu County had the highest percentage of Asians in the nation

American Indians and Alaska Natives—

• California had the largest American Indian and Alaska Native population of any state in 2012 (1,057,000) and the largest numeric increase since 2011 (13,000)
• Alaska had the highest percentage (19.5 percent)
• Los Angeles County had the largest American Indian and Alaska Native population of any county in 2012 (232,000)
• Shannon County, S.D. -- on the Nebraska border and located entirely within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation -- had the highest percentage (93.5 percent)

Non-Hispanic White Alone (Caucasians)—

• California had the largest non-Hispanic white alone population of any state in 2012 (15.0 million out of 197.8 million)
• Maine had the highest percentage of the non-Hispanic white population (94.1 percent)
• Los Angeles had the largest non-Hispanic white alone population of any county (2.7 million) in 2012.
• Leslie County, Ky., comprised the highest percentage (98.4 percent) of non-Hispanic whites

Minorities—

Majority-minority is popularly known as a term identifying a state or district that has racial or ethnic groups that are a numerical minority of the national population form a majority of the state or district’s population.

Five states or equivalents were "majority-minority" in 2012.

• Hawaii (77.2 percent minority)
• the District of Columbia (64.5 percent)
• California (60.6 percent)
• New Mexico (60.2 percent)
• Texas (55.5 percent)
• Maverick, Texas, had the largest share (96.8 percent) of its population in minority groups of any county, followed by Webb, Texas (96.4 percent) and Starr, Texas (96.1 percent)

There are some very interesting age and gender breakdowns as well, like there are 20 million kids under the age of 5 years old in the US, 37 million between 5 and 13 years old, and only 10 states where the majority of the population is male.

What do you see in these numbers? Probably more important—from what you see, how can you as parents; librarians; teachers; independent bookstores; after school program coordinators; bloggers help the publishing community reach all of these kids that need books about them as well as books about people they will most certainly come into contact with throughout their lives? It’s about discoverability and getting the books that are being published into the hands of readers so that more can be produced. 

What are some ways that the publishing industry can do a better job of facilitating discoverability?