By Helen Kull
I am pleased to say that the next two months’ columns will be contributed by local historian, author and Ewing resident Larry Kidder. He will offer a Ewing-based example of the NJ 350th anniversary theme of “Freedom” by writing about Ewing/Trenton Township residents who were militiamen in the 1770’s, and contributed to the success of the Battle of Trenton in 1776.
He has published a book and written articles about these men, and I am thrilled to have him as a guest columnist.
That leaves “Diversity” as the topic for this month. In what ways has Ewing contributed to “diversity” over the years of its existence? I’m sure there are ways in which it has done so — I just don’t know what they are! While Ewing has undoubtedly had examples of diversity in its past, a specific example of a unique contribution is difficult for me to pinpoint.
So, faced with a deadline and a self-imposed assignment, I will fall back on the tried-and-true theory of writing: write what you know.
I know that as a child of the late ’50s and ’60s, who was raised in a New York City suburb in Bergen County, my experience with “diversity” as a child and teen was essentially nil — something I’m not proud to confess. Mine was a very WASP-ish upbringing, and the most “diversity” I encountered — if I’d been keeping track — would have consisted of Catholics and Jews. But I wasn’t; I was fairly oblivious to such things. We played together, and paid no attention to societal boundaries.
My high school environment in a neighboring town was no different. Glancing at my yearbook, my classmates all look painfully, embarrassingly similar — even down to the long, straight hair with center part on practically every girl! (For the record, I had a side part!)
It wasn’t until college that I began to meet and know people of other backgrounds, races and cultures. I was fascinated by these new traditions, music, foods, habits, experiences. I vividly remember watching a good friend on my hall freshman year corn-braid her hair each night as we studied for biology tests together.
She could do it practically in her sleep, her nimble fingers moving swiftly and skillfully along until all was braided. I couldn’t even make one simple braid well!
But it has been living in Ewing for the past 35 years that has immersed me in a much more diverse environment, for which I am grateful. There are families of differing socioeconomic backgrounds, of different races, different ethnic backgrounds, and different religious affiliations.
My children’s experiences in Ewing schools were unlike mine — thankfully. They knew people outwardly different from them early on, but were also oblivious; and clearly learned that the similarities far outnumber any differences. We have all formed friendships, and worked, studied and lived side-by-side with a wide variety of people from many different backgrounds, and are all richer for it.
So just how diverse is Ewing today? Here is some information on Ewing from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, circa 2010:
With a population of just slightly under 36,000, we are 48.8 percent male and 51.2 percent female.
71.5 percent are 21 years of age or more; 17.6 percent are 62 years of age or more
Most of us (98.3 percent ) report being of one race. Of those,
61.2 percent are white
30.3 percent are black or African-American
4.5 percent are Asian
0.2 percent are American Indian
2.2 percent are “other”
6.5 percent (of any race) are Hispanic or Latino
Most of us (88.8 percent) are native to this country; 11.2 percent are foreign born. Of those foreign born, roughly 20 percent are from Europe, 22 percent from Asia, 17 percent from Africa, and 40 percent from Latin America.
Our households are composed of families with children 18 or under (22 percent), other family groupings (41 percent), and singles (31 percent).
There is far more information on housing, education, income, family, ancestry, and religious affiliation that can’t be summarized here, describing a wonderfully diverse community with many groups represented.
In human communities, as in ecological systems, diversity enriches and sustains the community. It’s something to celebrate, then, now and always!
