Illustration of diverse faces, nationalities and religions together looking at the world.
April is one month, among many, for celebrating diversity. The month of April, specifically, was initiated in 2004 to recognize and honor the diversity of the world around us. The dedication of the month of April to “diversity” serves as an opportunity to educate and initiate conversations, as well as to recognize contributions of diverse individuals and thoughts that have made us to be the great nation we are and continue to build our collective national identity.
Since we are celebrating the diversity month, let’s look at what the 2020 data says about diversity in Michigan.
- 10 million people call Michigan home: 74.5% are White, 13.5% African American, and 3.16% Asian.
- 9.74% (not including multilingual households) speak a non-English primary language.
- The top four languages are: Spanish (2.9% or 275,000 households), Arabic (1.6% or 150,000 households), Indian Subcontinent Languages (1.3% or 75,000 households), and Chinese (0.5% or 50,000 households).
- 6.88% of Michigan residents were born outside of the country; that is 687,000 people! The most common birthplace being Mexico, followed by India and then Iraq.
So yes, we Michiganders are pretty diverse which gives us amazing opportunities to enjoy this diversity. Some options are:
- Play music from around the world. My suggestion: *Watch the song Natu Natu. It is the first Indian song to win an Oscar.
- Host a multicultural movie night with your family. My suggestion: RRR on Netflix. (Prime and Disney Hotstar also have options).
- Attend a virtual cultural art exhibit.
- Have a discussion with someone from another culture about their cultural values.
- Explore local ethnic restaurants and try food from a different culture.
Some helpful links:
