Thursday, December 12, 2013

Out of Many, One: Uniting the Changing Faces of America

by Donna Butts, co-authored with Hilary Pennington, director of the Generations Initiative & Vice President of the Ford Foundation.

Nelson Mandela was a great man who embodied the African concept of Ubuntu. Originally a Zulu term meaning unity, Ubuntu closely mirrors our country's powerful founding narrative: E Pluribus Unum, "out of many, one."

Today that narrative is in danger as the United States experiences a demographic transformation unlike any we've experienced before.

What are these demographic changes?

First we're living longer and healthier lives. By 2043, one in five U.S. residents will be age 65 or older. If embraced, this increase in human capital asset could have tremendous value to our communities. Think about Mandela's accomplishments in later life. He was in his mid-70's when he was president of South Africa and 89 when he co-founded The Elders, a group of statesmen on a mission to tackle the world's toughest problems.

read the full article at the Huffington Post

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