The need for diversity in children’s books caught publishers flat-footed. Prior to about 2010 children’s books featured almost exclusively white characters. What the industry did not seem to be aware of was the nation was becoming more diverse.  

It’s not hard to imagine why this happened if you look at the demographics of the United States at the time publishing professionals were born. A 35 year old adult in 2015 would have been born in 1980. At that time 80% of the United States population was white. Only 6% of the population was Hispanic and the Asian population was a very small percentage. (The black population of the United States has consistently hovered around 12-13%. The ignoring of blacks in literature is an issue deserving of its own blogs. I have decided to not discuss that issue in this blog.) When they went to school, 80% of the children around them were white. When they went to college, 80% of the students their age were white. As they entered the workforce, 80% of the workers their age were white. It was easy to assume the population was that way everywhere since that demographic represented everyone in their circles. 

However, since 1980 immigration has been dramatically changing the demographics. The percentage of black Americans has continued to hold steady but the Hispanic and Asian population was rising. By 2020 the Hispanic population had risen to 19% and the Asian population to 6%. The Non-Hispanic White population is now 60%.  

The change is not evenly distributed among all age groups. There is a disproportionately large number of children from non-white and Hispanic groups as compared to adults from the same groups. In fact, as of 2019 there were as many non-white and Hispanic children in the United States under the age of sixteen years as there were white children.  This has left a situation where children’s writers, schoolteachers, social workers and other professionals who cater to children are mostly white while they serve a population that is at least 50% Hispanic or non-white. The challenge of white authors, teachers, social workers etc. is to familiarize themselves with other cultures and become more sensitive to their needs. This will be necessary to meet the needs of the exploding population of children of color.