Strategically Building Relationships With Communities of Color

In 2000, the Census Bureau projected that whites and groups of color overall would be roughly equal in size by the year 2050. Already, in New York City, nearly half the people ages 5 and older -- 48 percent -- speak a language other than English at home.

Author Paul Kivel addresses an issue he terms "the culture of power," which he asserts evolves when a large group creates an environment that places its members as the "norm." Although the group might not intentionally make others uneasy, it's a human reaction. When we are inside a culture of power, we expect to have things our way, the way with which we are most comfortable.