Reaching the Masses By Jannie Carter, PhD, Extension Assistant Director

How to reach the masses is an age old question often pondered by service providers. The question and more importantly, the answer, have even greater implications in a multicultural environment where communication distinctions, cultural differences, and racial barriers make some audiences harder to reach.

Since 1995, through a programming mandate, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System's Urban Affairs and New Nontraditional Programs Unit at Alabama A&M University has been charged with extending the outreach services of the state's land-grant institutions to audiences who do not fit the traditional profile of Extension clientele. For over a decade, the staff has worked to understand and embrace Alabama's mosaic population and is positioned to meet the challenge head-on, offering programs that value differences, engage technology and innovation, and employ strategic marketing designed to reach new and diverse audiences in both urban and rural environments where they live and work.

While there is still much to be learned about the dynamics and the needs of Alabama's citizens, service disparities can be curtailed and avoided when providers take heed to some basic lessons learned. Just as great philosophers have advised the wise man to "know thyself," so it is with your audiences. The inroad to resolving issues or concerns comes with knowing what's important to those with whom you are working and valuing their beliefs and differences.

It is evident that for some time now the face of Alabama is changing and becoming more diverse. A quick review of the 2000 Census data verifies this observation. Demographic changes have been more prevalent in some racial and ethnic groups than in others.

Statistics show the Hispanic/Latino population is the fastest growing population in the United States, increasing more than 60 percent over the past decade. The Office of Management and Budget defines Hispanic or Latino as "persons of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American or other Spanish origin, regardless of race." More than 14 groups comprise the Hispanic or Latino American distinction. These groups represent about 13 percent of the United States (US) population or 35 million people. Although they share a common language, most have distinct dialects, cultural beliefs, and values.

The next largest racial group is the black or African-American population, followed by Asians. Blacks or African Americans describe the 12.3 percent of American people with origins in Africa. Asians comprise a little less than 4 percent US population and are defined as those Americans whose origins trace back to the Far East, Southeast Asia, or Indian subcontinents.

Other racial groups are the American Indian and Alaska Natives that have origins in North, Central, and South America and comprise less than 1 percent of the US population.

A crucial consideration when targeting audiences is to take precautions to avoid common service delivery errors. Foremost, be careful not to mass or group diverse cultures, thereby disregarding the diversity within ethnic groups. Generally, best practices in today's educational environments are to promote multicultural outreach, with a focus on equity and the unique cultural needs and assets of each individual group.

References

Grieco, Elizabeth and Cassidy, Rachel. (March 2001). Overview of race and Hispanic origin. Census 2000 Brief. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2008.

Guion, Lisa and Kent, Heather. (September 2005). Ethnic marketing: a strategy for marketing programs to diverse audiences. University of Florida Extension. Retrieved March 31, 2008.

Nationalatlas.gov. (October 2, 2007). Profile of the people and land of the United States. Retrieved March 31, 2008.

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