Mapping ethnic diversity

[Haruo]

- we're in census tract 261, look at it, 28% white, 28% black, 30% asian...

[KeithE]

Interesting DATA. Our town is deeply segregated. Compare census tract 10901 (zip code 35802) which is 93% white, 1% black with census tract 301 (zip code 35816) which is 69% black, 22% white.

[Dave Roberts]

Most interesting for my area. The tract in which I live is 38% white, 60% black, and 1% other. The adjoining tract to the east is 51% white, and 49% black. The next tract is 19% white, 73% black, 7% Hispanic, and 1% other. We live in far more diversity than most people ever imagine here.

[Mrs Haruo]

Are you in more of a Navy town, Dave??? Working at close quarters on board ship sure breaks down barriers.

[Dave Roberts]

I am in a traditional old southern area with a dominant black majority, a shrinking white population, and evidence of a growing Hispanic population, much of which was probably not registered in the census for fear of deportation.

[Haruo]

Yeah, I have a feeling that the Hispanic population in Skyway is higher than the what, 9%?, my tract shows. But the census does make an effort (or did in 1990 anyhow, when I worked for them) to count those who do not report themselves, and to fill in as much info as the neighbors can supply. My guess is there are four or five Hispanics living next door to us, but I don't actually know how many there are, just that they're Hispanic/Mexican/mestizo and at least some of them hail from Oaxaca. A couple with at least one minor child and also at least one or two young men. That's all the privacy-busting I'd be able to supply the Treasury Department if I were asked. Incidentally, I don't know what they do with people who are reported but refused/unknown as to race. Do they count "don't know/refused" under "Other" (which was 6% here) or do they just pad each race proportionally (so 28% of the DK/Ref are labeled "White", another 28% "Black", 9% "Hispanic", 30% "Asian", and 6% "Other") or what? Anecdotally I'd say Hispanics are more likely to be mislabeled if unreported.

[Ed Edwards]

Where I live there are 8% other (most after white/non-hispanic = 79%). Strangly, 'other' includes Native Americans. Where I live most of the "others" are Native Americans -- you know offspring of the people who lived here about 1800 or so.

Actually the most diversity of color of skin exists among the "white/non-hispanic": Middle Easterners, Jews, Mediteranians, North India persons. Seems "Asian" only refers to darker Asians who cannot pass as 'white' or 'pleasantly brown". I want to be an 'other' I have speckled skin (from my Scotch ancestors). I have my own diversity of skin color. In fact, with the black pre-cancerous spots - I have every earth tone that is present on the earth -- right on my upper fore-arm (especailly the left side, which stays in the car window more than any otherr part of my body. In fact, my symbol on FaceBook (F/B) is an Oatmeal/Rasain(SP? dried grape) cookie -- all the earth colors of people. I feel so cosmopoloiton