2043: The Future Face of America

By: Taylor Pineda

Earlier this month, National Geographic created quite the buzz over images of the face of the average American in the near future. As part of the October 125^th anniversary issue, the magazine depicted less homogenous representations of Americans.

The images accompanied by the “self ID” of the individual in the photograph showed a mixture of diverse people that are representing more exotic characteristics than what is commonly seen today.

The 2000 U.S. Census presented the question of race differently, allowing respondents the option of selecting more than one racial category. With nearly 7 million Americans identifying as members of two or more races, the data revealed that by 2043, caucasians would no longer be the majority in the United States.

So what does this all mean for Latino and Chicano Americans? A clearer understanding of Hispanic ethnicities not being a race, as well as more Latino and Chicano Americans being bi-racial. The ethnic images taken by photographer Martin, capture “the changing face of America,” a trend that is picking up speed with the increase of both interracial marriages and the births of biracial babies.