10.6% of the population and constituted by far the largest racial minority. American Indians and Asian Americans together totaled less than 1% of the U.S. population. 2 In 1900, life expectancy was 48.2 years for white males and 51.1 years for white females. 1 Segregation, discrimination, poverty, inadequate medical facilities and medical personnel, poor housing, and malnutrition all wreaked havoc on the health of black communities. The average life expectancy for blacks was 32.5 years for males and 35.0 years for females. 1 There were high rates of mortality from infectious diseases such as typhoid fever and tuberculosis. Moreover, inequalities in the U.S. education system in the early 20th century were prominent because of legal segregation in the South and de facto segregation in the North. By the beginning of the 21st century, the United States had evolved into one of the most diverse nations in the world, receiving more immigrants than all other nations combined, predominantly from Asia and Latin America. Census data from 2005 show that more than a third of the U.S. population (34%) are ethnic or racial minorities, and more than 50 million Americans speak languages other than English at home, either alone or alongside English. 3,4 Furthermore, U.S. Census projections show that there will no longer be a white majority in the United States by 2042. 5 Diversity is especially pronounced among school-age persons. Today, minorities account for 43% of Americans under 20 years of age, and it is projected that over the next two