In 1980, one-third of white people lived in neighborhoods that were almost exclusively white (census definition: over 97 percent).

That number has dropped to 5 percent.

Another data point that illustrates the coming majority-minority nation, you might say.

And yet, as Emma Green writes in The Atlantic, quoting from a PRRI report, “A significant minority of Americans … seldom or never meet people of another race. They dislike interacting with people who don’t share their political beliefs. And when they imagine the life they want for their children, they prize sameness not difference.”

Note, this is not just about racial diversity, but ideological diversity as well. Significant numbers of both Republicans and Democrats say they would be very disappointed if their children married someone from the other party.

Here’s the way I’ve come to understand diversity in America today: as our geographic communities grow more diverse, our social circles grow more homogeneous.