Three reasons to celebrate Multiculturalism.

Be concerned if you don’t know what bling-bling means. That is a red flag that you are failing to keep up with the new America. The growing number of African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians has dramatically shifted the demographic and the cultural makeup of the United States population, and the once Caucasian majority called the American mainstream is being outpaced by the multiethnic, multicolored “new mainstream”.

Multicultural immigrants are expected to reach 50% of the US population by 2050 (p.04). Moreover, in this new-born, emergent America, the top five last names of homebuyers in the U.S. include three Hispanic surnames; the Cinco de Mayo celebration has grown bigger than some American holidays; and, of course, bling-bling has become an official word in the Oxford English dictionary.

The impact of such transformations is endless and hard to calculate. In the book The New Mainstream, journalist Guy Garcia analyzes and discusses the presence of multiculturalism in diverse spheres of society and attempts to measure its importance and impact in the overall makeup of America. The author takes you on a fascinating time-travel journey to compare the past, present, and future impact of multiculturalism on different segments of society (such as commerce and businesses, media, government, education, communication, arts, politics, economics, technology, etc) to reinforce his strong, yet simple, statement that a new mainstream has been born. This paper attempts to further discuss Garcia’s most interesting arguments of why the new mainstream is so important and why it can no longer be overlooked by society.

The biggest evidence of this revolution is visible. The America that was once known for the Anglocentric characteristics of its population no longer can be recognized by the skin color of its citizens. Americans are now black, white, brown, yellow, and many other shades. The white-blue-eyed-America seems to be dissolving and slowly replaced by what the author calls the “multicolored tribe”. Furthermore, the new mainstream that has been formed reconfirms the very idealism of American’s founding fathers: that the United States is the land of freedom, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal (p.202). If that is not an argument that justifies the major changes of multiculturalism, it is at least the tangible reinforcement of Garcia’s statement that “multicultural consumer and the American consumer are one and the same” (p.264).

Another important argument of Garcia’s explains how the multicultural transformation has conquered its social space (and deserves to!). The author suggests that the embracing of multiculturalism from the creative class was crucial in making the transformation possible. The mutual appreciation of cultural diversity shared both by the lower class and creative class was a key booster of the new mainstream movement. While immigrants have grown their representation in America (in numbers and economic power), in parallel, the creative class – constituted by artists, scientists, novelists, designers, architects – have made available to the mainstream pieces of all these cultures through their work. Combined, the immigrant masses and the creative class have empowered and added value to cultural diversity (what once was a marginal characteristic).

Furthermore, the creative class in United States has another reason (other than the creative inspiration) to embrace multiculturalism: immigrants largely compose the creative class. The United States is known for attracting the best talents from all over the world to their projects and programs. The advanced research programs (such as NASA) and scholarships incentives make the United States the literal land of opportunity for artists, scientists, scholars, and talents from all over the world that otherwise would have fewer – or no – resources available to develop their projects in their home-countries. Immigrants play an important role in America’s intellectual arena. In a way, they are responsible for maintaining the United States’ status of a world’s hub of knowledge. This is probably one of the biggest impacts of multiculturalism in America, and maybe the least recognized. In bilateral partnership, the freedom to research and to develop ideas makes these immigrants the pioneer producers and developers of new technology, ideas and inventions (which perpetuates U.S. power and leadership status over all nations). This is a crucial contribution of the multiethnic population that cannot be dismissed.

If the fact that the diverse new mainstream contributes to America’s intellectual power is not convincing enough that multiculturalism is the way to the future, there is another important attribute that truly makes this group a gold mine: the shift of economic power from whites to the new mainstreamers. According to the book, “it is predicted that by 2008 the combined purchase power of African Americans, Hispanics and Asians will come close to 15% of the nation’s total, or $10.6 trillion”(p.05). But aside from the monetary value of this segment, there are distinct characteristics that set this segment apart from the general market. One characteristic is their search for self-identity through consumerism. They look for products that mean more than their monetary value; they look for products that represent them. They are more brand loyal and will purchase products that speak to them and that establish emotional connection. In a way, their material aspirations help them to construct and shape their identities. Thus, their consumer behavior reflects who they are, who they want to be and what their aspirations in life are. As Garcia states “for the new multicultural consumer, making and spending money is nothing less than a sacred, life-affirming act”(p. 282). That explains, for example, African Americans relation with bling-bling, as well as why the new mainstream tops the list of homebuyers, and leads other purchases categories such as home entertainment.

To ignore the power and importance of such a group is a tremendous mistake. Naturally, many companies and organizations have already embraced the new America and are adjusting their business strategies to cater to the new mainstream. However, for those who are hesitant, this is a wake up call. Cues of the multicultural revolution are everywhere, and it is triggering major changes in businesses, advertising agencies, government, media and organizations of all kinds. As a chain reaction one affects the other, and whoever dares to dismiss the new America, will be left in the margins.

By Rose Carbonell

MMC6920 Multicultural Marketing Communication
Student
Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication
Florida State University

Reference:
Garcia, Guy. The New Mainstream: How Multicultural Consumer is Transforming American Business. New York, NY: Raio, 2004