A NEW MAJORITY IN LAWRENCE
BY STUDENT
Over the past twenty years there have been dramatic shifts in ethnic populations across much of the metropolitan centers of Massachusetts. North of the city of Boston, sits the city of Lawrence, which has seen extensive demographic shifts over the past 150 years. Known as Massachusetts’s immigrant city, Lawrence has experienced wave after wave of immigrants from the Potato Famine Irish in the 1850s to the Hispanics today. From the 2010 US census report, the Hispanic population of Lawrence consisted of over 70% of the total population of the city (Fujiwara). In 1990 and 2000 comparatively, the percentage of population who designated themselves as Hispanic was just 41.6% and 59.7% respectively. What caused the large influx of Hispanics to flood into the small city? In relation to Boston, Lawrence is forty minutes from Boston by car, and upwards of an hour (or more) to reach the Hub by train. So what was it about Lawrence that drew so many Hispanics to it?
Nestled along the border of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, Lawrence is a small mill city, known for its textile industry, filling up with mostly Dominicans and Puerto Ricans immigrants (migrants in relation to the Puerto Ricans). According to Dr. Ramon Borges-Méndez an Assistant Professor at UMass Boston, much of the initial Hispanic incorporation in the Northeast US was based more on spatial segregation and social exclusion than a tendency towards assimilation into the existing community. Those of the same background (nationality, language etc.) would rather stick together than try and step out on their own in a foreign land. The spatial segregation led to an increased need for housing reform, as many of the old housing projects which at one point were occupied by many of the Anglo (Italian and Irish) immigrants prior to the period of ‘white flight’ – a mass exiting of Whites to the suburbs - were below standard and decrepit. In consequence, these newly filled complexes become the barrios stereotypically associated with the Hispanic population. Many of those Hispanics queried about their immigration find that they completely by-passed the big cities (in this case Boston) and went straight for these outer cities and suburbs, but they find themselves stuck in the same wide-spread poverty that the Hispanics in the bigger cities also experience. As Boston grew more to feature financial, high-tech, and bio-tech industries, most if not all industries requiring higher education college degrees, the job opportunities decreased in the Hub for Hispanics who typically worked the labor-intensive positions (like working on the wharfs along the waterfront). Immigrating Hispanics instead flocked to the smaller cities and towns surrounding the Hub for work and employment – many of whom flocked to the mill town of Lawrence (Santiago). Though mistakenly, the immigrants were rushing to a city where jobs were few and far between.
The large influx of people led to some serious problems for the community. Lawrence is the poorest city in Massachusetts, and one of the poorest in the nation. In 2000, the percentage of people living below the poverty line was 24.3%. In 2010, this number jumped to 28.5% of the population of Lawrence living below the poverty line (“US Census Bureau QuickFacts”). A family of four with an annual income below $22,314 is considered below the poverty line. It’s not coincidental that the influx of Hispanics people and the percentage of population below the poverty line increase at the same time. Much of the Hispanic population in Lawrence are not bilingual, nor do they have the necessary qualifications to find a job (Santiago). As the population continues to grow, changes must be made to the city in order to better the lives all of who live there. If changes are not made, the living situation for all residents will continue to suffer, and will only get worse.
Works Cited
Conti, Katheleen. “New Poverty Numbers Grim for Largest
Cities North of Boston.” Boston.com.
The Boston Globe, 6 Oct. 2011. Web. 9 Apr. 2016. <https://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/10/06/new_poverty_numbers_grim_for_largest_cities_north_of_boston/?page=full>
Fujiwara, Daigo, and Thomas Giratikanon. “Massachusetts
Population and Racial and Ethnic Proportion.” Boston.com. The Boston Globe, 22 Mar. 2011. Web. 9 Apr. 2016 <http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/graphics/03_22_11_2010_census_town_population/>
Jones, Charles. “Latinos
in Lawrence, Massachusetts.” University
of Massachusetts, Boston. Gastón Institute Publications, 2003. Web. 9 Apr.
2016. <http://scolarworks.umb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1084&context=gaston_pubs>
Santiago, Jorge, and James Jennings, eds. “The Making of
Community: Latinos in Lawrence, Massachusetts.” North Essex Community College,
2005. Web. 9 Apr. 2016 <http://www.necc.mass.edu/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Inst-Comm-MakeComm-Lat.pdf>
“United States Census Bureau QuickFacts.” United States Census Bureau. US Department
of Commerce. Web. 9 Apr. 2016. <http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/chart/IPE451547/2534550>
Interesting point about the barrier to entry to the growing local economy for this Latino community (the requirement of higher education/not being bilingual). What do you think the best solution is for getting more accessibility for Latinos in these growing sectors of Boston? Or do you think they should focus on different careers?
ReplyDeleteVery interesting to focus on a town outside of Boston as it hasn't been discussed in class. Do you think that there are ways to implement change in order to decrease the poverty in the community? If there are changes that can be made, how long do you think it would take for the effects to be seen in a community such as Lawrence?
ReplyDeleteI thought this post was very thought-provoking as it introduces the class to an area we have not discussed before. Usually we think of large Latino populations around cities such as New York and Los Angeles, but not in Boston. I think its great that you write about an area that is in desperate need of reform, as it is one of the poorest cities in America. With the idea of revitalizing this ailing area again, do you think an appropriate measure would be to have middle-class or affluent people move into this area in order to supply this community with cash flows from their disposable incomes(i.e. support community shops/ open shops and hire residents)?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how you choose Lawrence, MA as your focus, seeing as we haven't looked at Boston and its surrounding towns in class. What can the town of Lawrence do to drop their poverty rate? Should they look at towns on the south coast with a similar racial make-up and concentrations to solve these problems?
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job introducing your topic, and the questions you asked in your introduction were very comprehensive and intriguing. I also liked how you expanded your research past the usual cities like New York, because it presented the idea that migration of different ethnic groups effects the entire country, not simply a select area. My question is, what would you say to someone who uses the deterioration of Lawrence as evidence to why the government should prevent immigrants from coming into the United States?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your blog post, it is great how you decided to write about an area that we have not discussed in class. My question is what kinds of changes do you think need to be made in order to improve the city of Lawrence and the people living there?
ReplyDeleteHello! I liked reading your blog post and it was very interesting. I liked how you focused on a smaller area and examined the impacts on the small town of Lawrence. You mentioned changes need to be made, what changes specifically did you have in mind? If these changes improve life in Lawrence, do you think they could be applied on a larger scale throughout the country?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post as it covered a space that we have not discussed in class. I think you raise a lot of interesting points and issues, and it makes me wonder if there are solutions. What changes could be made to help this community? Would the government have to step in and make a difference or could the community itself come together and create a solution?
ReplyDeleteI liked how you discussed Lawrence in relation to Boston because it is interesting to see how different factors in both areas then affect migration between the two.
ReplyDeleteDo you think there are any type of benefits of the ghettoization of the area? Does anything good come out of living in a Latino concentrated area? What do you think can be done to improve Latinos' situation in Lawrence?
ReplyDelete