Baldwin: taking pride in its diversity

For the people of Baldwin, diversity is both a fact of life and a point of pride. When you ask Baldwinites about their hamlet, “diversity” is almost always one of the first 20 words you hear.

With a racial diversity index that’s nearly double the national average — 190 for Baldwin versus 100 nationally — the area is achieving an effective mingling of races, ethnicities and cultures that so many other localities strive for. And although a substantial chunk of the gains in diversity can be attributed to “white flight,” which saw the departure of some 8,000 people over the past two decades, the community that remains is not only more diverse, but in many respects, more unified than ever.

The 2010 census showed overall population growth as well as increases across all racial groups other than whites (see chart, page 3). The total population has risen by 5.8 percent in the last 20 years, from 22,719 in 1990 to 23,455 in 2000 and to 24,033 in 2010. People who identify themselves as white are still in the majority — 11,717 — but that number has declined dramatically since 1990.

As whites have left, other races have replaced them. African-Americans are now the second-largest group, with 8,306 residents, 34.6 percent of the total population. A total of 4,862 people identified themselves as Hispanic, 1,003 as Asian and 2,076 as “other.”

The biracial population has also grown, from 710 in 2000 to 931 in 2010 (the group was not measured in 1990). While an increase of a little over 200 people of mixed race may not seem large, the number puts Baldwin, at least percentage-wise, ahead of most Long Island communities.

While the results of the census are not unexpected — just look around Baldwin and you’ll find a diversity unequaled in many parts of the U.S. — they confirm that Baldwin’s sense of pride in its status as a melting pot is backed by hard numbers. Dr. Eric Shoenfeld, a family practitioner who serves as school doctor in three districts — and is also the Herald’s reigning Person of the Year — says he believes Baldwin could serve as a model for other communities.