Demographic Changes

I have just read “California Is Most Racially Diverse State” (by Sam Fulwood III, Part A, June 13). As a Filipino-American and someone who has followed U.S. demographic changes for over two decades, I was pleased to be interviewed regarding the latest racial/ethnic Census Bureau statistics.

But I was startled to read that I am “a member of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission.” I had told Fulwood that, if cited at all, I should not be cited in my capacity as commission staff since the commission has not studied the subject or issued any statement or report. I certainly should not have been described in the terms used, because they could very erroneously be read to mean that I am one of the eight commissioners of the agency.

I was further disappointed to note that the “tremendous change” I referred to was written up as only changes in the new locations of Asian-Americans around the nation. During the interview, I briefly discussed the new ethnic communities--such as the Hmong and the Cambodians--now located in such diverse places as the Carolinas, St. Paul, Minn., and Des Moines, Iowa.

Nonetheless, your general efforts to spotlight the dynamic growth of Asian-Americans and other minorities are much to be commended. Such efforts serve as a continual reminder of the need to appreciate the racial and cultural diversity flourishing in the United States today.

TINO CALABIA

Civil Rights Analyst

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

Washington, D.C.