Over the past 10 years, the diversity of Harvard’s residents has increased. The change has been modest but noteworthy, as our report this week on the 2020 census makes clear. The Harvard of April 1, 2020, the nominal date of the latest count, was home to more residents who self-identify racially as Black or Asian, or ethnically as Hispanic or Latino. These changes reflect national trends, mirrored to a greater or lesser degree by Harvard’s neighbors.
And yet, Harvard remains one of the least diverse towns in its region, still majority white with only 15% of its population identifying with one or more nonwhite racial categories. While the increase in the diversity of Harvard’s residents is encouraging, is it enough?
As our nation’s population grows more diverse—as new generations arrive in Harvard and others depart—the town’s future resilience arguably depends on its ability to attract and weave people of differing racial and ethnic backgrounds into its community. And as these demographic changes unfold, the efforts of schools, town boards, and civic organizations such as Arm in Arm to engage new residents in the civic life of Harvard will become even more crucial to its future.
