Same as it ever was
By Emily Sweeney
Globe Staff January 9, 2011
The latest population estimates from the US Census Bureau confirm what many people south of Boston know
about the communities they call home: While the more urban municipalities of Brockton, Quincy, and Randolph
have grown more racially diverse over the past two decades, most area suburbs remain predominantly white.
Overall, the racial and ethnic composition in this southeastern part of the state has held steady since 1990.
According to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey for 2005-2009, the vast majority of
communities in the region remain more than 90 percent white. (See full chart on Page 7.)
This area is still the most Irish in the state: The 16 communities in Massachusetts with the highest percentages
of people of Irish descent are all here. Indeed, the South Shore’s “Irish Riviera’’ hasn’t changed much since the
1990 Census — and neither have many of its neighbors south of Boston.
Quincy, Brockton, and Randolph are the exceptions.
In Quincy, the Asian community has blossomed — and continues to grow. Census figures for the city show that
its Asian population has nearly quadrupled, from 5,450 in 1990, to 13,956 in 2000, and, according to the most
recent estimates at the start of last year, to 19,124 — 21.2 percent of the city’s total population.
This demographic shift began in the 1980s, according to John Brothers, executive director of Quincy Asian
Resources Inc., a local nonprofit advocacy agency. Chinese immigrants began buying homes in Wollaston and
North Quincy in the 1980s, drawn by the proximity to Boston, easy access to Chinatown via the MBTA Red
Line, and affordable home prices.
“It’s been a continuous flow of new immigrants ever since,’’ said Brothers.
The change can be seen in the Quincy Public Schools. In 1994, Asian students made up 15 percent of the
district; Asians now make up 32 percent of the district enrollment. In some schools, it’s even higher — Francis
W. Parker Elementary School is 69 percent Asian; Wollaston Elementary School is 55.9 percent.
Long a center of manufacturing, Brockton has been an urban melting pot and is home to a large Cape Verdean
community. Of the 93,000 residents in Brockton between 2005 and 2009, 24 percent were foreign-born, and 34
percent spoke a language other than English at home. The latest survey shows that just over half (52 percent)
of Brockton’s population is non-white.
The town of Randolph has also become more racially diverse in recent years. Of its residents in 2005-2009, an
estimated 29 percent were foreign-born and 33 percent spoke a language other than English at home.
Randolph is also home to a sizeable black community that has been growing steadily since the 1980s.
Census data show that Randolph’s black population grew from 2,452 in 1990 to 7,171 in 2000. The latest
estimates from the American Community Survey put Randolph’s black population at 10,822, or about 36
percent of the total population. And in just two decades, the white population in Randolph decreased by more
than 10,000 — from 25,742 in 1990 to 19,914 in 2000; the number of whites living in Randolph is now
estimated to be 14,851 — less than half of the town’s population.
And while total population has held steady around 31,000, enrollment in the Randolph public school system
has dropped significantly: In 1994, the Randolph Public Schools had nearly 4,000 students, 65 percent of
whom were white. By 2009, the student population had dropped to 2,851, and whites only made up 20 percent
of the enrollment (51 percent were African-Americans; 16.5 percent were Asian, and 8.5 percent were
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