For much of the 20th century, Boston was known for its high-stakes politics, warfare, tight ethnic enclaves and racial divisiveness. In the 1970s, in response to the searing experience on all sides of school desegregation and the devastating effects of racial violence, something began to change. Three decades of intense community development in Boston’s neighborhoods, a shift to New Economy jobs, a wave of immigrants from all corners of the world and new civic and political leadership merged in the 1990s to create a more harmonious and hopeful city.

OVERVIEW

Boston entered the 21st century with a new spirit, and the 2000 US Census reflected a changed city. Boston today is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse cities in the nation by any number of measures.

More than 100 ethnicities are represented in Boston’s neighborhoods and 140 languages are spoken in Boston’s homes. Boston is more than 50% people of color overall. Almost 75% of its teenagers are of color, as are 86% of the children and youth in Boston’s public schools.

Empty nesters and baby boomers are among Boston’s fastest-growing population segments — as are seniors over 85. The city has a large gay and lesbian population. And about 125,000 students, many of them from other nations, are enrolled in Boston’s colleges and universities, adding their youth, diversity and dynamism to Boston’s cultural mosaic.

While residents of Irish and Italian ancestry are still the city’s largest ethnic groups, the next are English and German, then Puerto Rican and West Indian, and then Bostonians who describe themselves as of Sub-Saharan African and Chinese descent.  So Boston’s population today truly represents the descendants of people from every continent and corner of the world.

In 2000, for the first time in more than 60 years — three generations — Boston’s population was more than 25% foreign born. In fact, if it had not been for new immigrants, Boston would have lost population between 1990 and 2000.

All told, Boston’s population today represents a great array of ethnicities, ages, races, cultures and traditions. As Mayor Thomas M. Menino has said:  “Boston represents America’s past and future. We’re the birthplace of American democracy, and we’re growing into a city rich in diversity. We have resolved to make that diversity our greatest strength.”  Mayor Menino’s call to make Boston’s newfound racial, ethnic and cultural diversity its greatest strength is also arguably the city’s greatest challenge — a challenge increasingly shared by every American city and every nation. 

The capacity of a community to build its future on common ground is best measured by a quality that has come to be called “social capital.”  Although old in practice, the term was first used by researchers in the 1980s and popularized in the 1990s through the work of Harvard Professor Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. 

Social capital refers to networks built on trust, respect, cooperation, and the capacity for collaboration and mobilization that either do or do not exist in a family or community – rendering them either resilient or brittle in the face of pressure. It is the invisible “civic glue” that holds people, families, communities and nations together. With it, all things can seem possible – and often are. Without it, a community can fail to respond to key challenges or become mired in conflict or stagnation.

This is important today, because, since 2001, the residents of Boston, the region and the Commonwealth — and in fact, people the world over — have entered a difficult period. A stalled economy and a state fiscal crisis following in  the wake of the tragic events of 9/11 are presenting Bostonians with unexpected and daunting challenges. Deep state budget cuts threaten recent gains in education and public health. Homelessness and hunger are increasing. And the city is still vulnerable to both terrorist attack and continuing economic contraction.

Boston’s future lies in its capacity to draw strength from its diversity. In order to thrive, it must nurture, attract and retain the creative innovators and entrepreneurs — social as well as commercial — who will set the agenda in the 21st century.  In this context, the city’s civic health is more important than ever. It will determine how well Bostonians — old and new, young and old — can work together to turn the city’s greatest challenges into its most innovative, exciting and effective solutions. 

WHAT HAS CHANGED SINCE 2000?

The successful bid to bring the Democratic National Convention to Boston in 2004 required collaboration across all sectors and racial/ethnic communities. Following an intense campaign by Mayor Thomas M. Menino and US Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the Democratic National Committee announced its decision to come to Boston in 2004. The convention is expected to attract 35,000 people to the city for a week and an estimated $150 million to the local economy. It also will provide opportunities to highlight the beauties of the region and Boston’s many attractions — downtown as well as in its neighborhoods — to national and international audiences. In assessing Boston as a site, DNC members questioned whether Boston’s civic culture was sufficiently diverse. The answer from many leaders of color in Boston was a strong yes, but the city must now plan to highlight its recent progress. A number of corporations and foundations also contributed to the collaborative effort.

A "perfect storm" for non-profit organizations. The confluence of a deepening recession with the tragic events of 9/11 created a “perfect storm” of cuts in funding and increases in need. Local donations were already declining in 2001 in response to the recession. After 9/11, donations were redirected to the tragedy centered in New York. Subsequently, the state’s tax revenues fell precipitously in fiscal 2001 and 2002, and even further in 2003. The severe drop in tax revenues, even after a delay in a planned tax cut, has led in turn to deep cuts in state-funded programs and lay-offs of state workers. Unanticipated reductions have been hitting non-profit organizations hard as they work to offer support to people already affected by the economic slowdown. With rising fuel and housing costs in a still-anemic economic recovery, the level of need is rising while local non-profit organizations struggle to stay afloat in a gathering storm.

The 2002 general election marked a small, but important, revolution in Greater Boston’s communities of color. A collaborative effort to increase voter registration and voter participation, the Civic Engagement Initiative, was initiated by groups such as Boston Vote, Dunk the Vote and the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, and funded by a consortium of local foundations, with the Boston Foundation in the lead. In addit