America is a rapidly changing society. Approximately one-third of all Americans are of a racial or ethnic identity other than white. Gays and lesbians represent another 5-7% of the population. By almost any calculation, heterosexual whites are, today, only 61% of our population, and straight white males represent somewhat less than 30% of the national population.

I use this bit of information as a backdrop to welcome you to the website of the University of Washington's Institute for the Study or Ethnicity, Race, and Sexuality. The Institute, founded in April 2006, was created for the specific purpose of refocusing our research efforts on those segments of society who remain under-represented in the halls of power, in the boardrooms of American, and in the academy. Moreover, the inequalities in American life exist within a context of global inequality across nations, peoples and hemispheres, inequities that directly reflect those we observe at home. Faculty, staff, and graduate students participating in the Institute share a research emphasis on those under-represented or disadvantaged groups, the challenges they face, their histories and stories, and most importantly their futures.

The Institute provides a variety of public and academic programs which aim to raise our awareness and knowledge of these groups and celebrate their contributions to the fabric of human society. We invite you to come and join us.

Gary M. Segura

  Professor and Director