the missing students

june-- the time of graduation and celebrating-- but this commencement speech by aries hines of mills college reminds us that the choice of going to college and succeeding there is not a dream within everyone's grasp. this video and her speech are a reality check for me... i struggle to pay my school loans while doing public interest work, but never did i struggle to get into college or law school. i saw this on the applied research center's website: for the students who aren't supposed to graduate. listen to and read her powerful speech.

New Jersey Diversity

One of the reasons I love living in New Jersey is the diversity. The tremendous diversity. I saw an article today from a couple of days ago on North Jersey that has released census data on the Garden State. That data endes at July 1, 2007. It also groups all of Asian people which I find ridiculous. Chinese, Korean, Indian, Pakistani are all fully represented in New Jersey, but under the rubric of Asian. That is an awfully big continent. The same can be said for Hispanic I guess which by the way Latino is much more inclusive. Here is the data:

* Hispanics remained the largest minority group in both New Jersey and the nation. At 1.4 million, they made up 15.9 percent of the state population. Nationwide, Hispanics numbered 45.5 million, making up 15.1 percent of the population. Since 2000, the Hispanic population in New Jersey grew by 22.6 percent, and nationwide by 28.9.

* Blacks were the second-largest minority group in New Jersey and the nation. In New Jersey, they numbered 1.3 million, comprising 14.5 percent of the population. That marked an increase of 3.7 percent since 2000. Across the United States, they totaled 38.8 million, making up 12.8 percent of the population. Their numbers grew 8.5 percent since 2000.

* About 650,000 New Jersey residents listed their race as Asian, making them 7.5 percent of the state population, which constitutes a 30.6 percent increase since 2000. At the national level, they were 13.4 million, or 4.4 percent of the population, reflecting a growth of 25 percent since 2000.

* Young children, ages 10 and below, and adults between 30 and 60 years of age were the major forces behind the growth in New Jersey's Hispanic population since 2000. The adults fueled 51 percent of the increase, and young children fueled 17 percent.

* For Asians, the biggest drivers of change – accounting for 60 percent — were adults ages 30 to 60. Children 10 and under were less of a factor for Asians than for Hispanics, accounting for 10 percent of the growth.

Note: Census analysis did not include people who reported more than one race.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau

how diverse is the garden state?

(see more jersey people flickr pix here.)

well, according to a new report, "New Jersey: A Statewide View of Diversity", we are indeed diverse:

"More than 140 ethnic groups live in New Jersey, third in the nation behind New York and California..." but the authors suggest that New Jersey "remains highly segregated in schools and housing patterns..."

herald news reporter suzanne travers recently summarized more in the report that show both positive and negative:

• Findings in the report noted that 52 percent of New Jerseyans said they live in communities where most or all of the residents were the same race as themselves, a drop from 61 percent in 1996. Attitudes of whites have changed since 1996, with more residents believing diversity is good.


• Views on immigration are nearly the reverse of those of the rest of the nation, with 57 percent of New Jersey residents saying immigrants are a source of strength rather than a burden.
  
• New Jerseyans of all backgrounds reported seeing less discrimination than in the past, but believe Muslims, and to a lesser extent, blacks, Hispanics, and gays and lesbians, still face substantial bias.


• Black females were found to be most dissatisfied [with the quality of life in New Jersey], while white females and Latino men were most satisfied. Similarly, 11 percent of blacks rated their local schools as "excellent," versus 24 percent of whites.

well, we got some work to do.

The Garden State's Ethnic Diversity

In an article on May 17, 2007 by Elizabeth Llorente for North Jersey.com, she writes about the growing ethnic diversity in our state.

It reports that minorities make up 37 percent of New Jersey's population, outpacing the national minority percentage of 33 percent, according to estimates released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. New Jersey ranks 13th in the nation in minority percentage, said Census officials, continuing a years-long trend toward a diversity that has brought benefits and challenges to communities and public institutions. The demographic picture of New Jersey was part of a report that showed that the nation's minority population had topped 100.7 million. "To put this into perspective, there are more minorities in this country today than there were people in the United States in 1910," said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon.

To read about the struggles of diversity, check out "A Tale of Two Cultures", an article by Elizabeth Llorente, that explores the division of race in suburban/urban New Jersey at The Authentic Voice.