A Message from Our Founder, Gloria Johnson-Powell, MD
The Urgency of Our Mission
 An overwhelming question facing the United States during the 21st century is how this country will accommodate increasing cultural diversity.
By the year 2050, it is expected that:- Enrollment in the K-8 grades will expand to 54 million by 2050, representing a 17 million increase from 1995
- The non-Hispanic white population will decrease from 75 percent to 50 percent of the total population
- The Hispanic population will increase from 9 percent to 25 percent
- The Asian population will increase from 3 percent to 8 percent
- The African American population will increase from 12 percent to 14 percent
- Inter-marriage rates will continue to increase so that the social meaning of ethnic and racial delineation will become increasingly blurred
The "new demography" of America challenges this country, its citizens and its institutions to accommodate the new plurality of residents who now represent every corner of the world, as well as every language, culture, and religious belief. The new demography must also take into account the and history of persecution, natural disasters, wars, and social change.
Designing and implementing cultural and linguistic practices in healthcare that are appropriate for the increasingly diverse populations of Wisconsin and the nation will necessitate many changes in resource allocation and will require innovative frameworks in healthcare service systems.
America can no longer claim to be a "melting pot," where all newcomers may lay claim to the institutions that will "melt" them into the singular homogeneous mass. We are now a society in which diversity in language and culture is becoming the norm.
At the same time, institutions that previously ignored issues of diversity are called upon to be more inclusive and to accommodate these differences in all ways. The clarion call for cultural competence in health and human services delivery has only begun.
—Gloria Johnson-Powell, MD, CDH Founder, Summer, 2007 retiree
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