The following facts about the Charlotte community help inform and catalyze dialogue around issues of race, diversity, ethnicity and equity in the community – do you know how your community compares?

How can information like this help a community address racial and ethnic equity and inclusiveness?

The demographics of the population of Charlotte, according to updated 2006 Census Department figures are as follows:

African-American 34.4%
Latino/Hispanic* 11%
Asian* 3%
American Indian 0.5%
White/Caucasian 54.7%

*leaders of these communities point out that these population figures may be under-represented due to difficulty in counting actual numbers of residents from these populations.

• Mecklenburg County’s population has increased 58% in the past 16 years from 511,481 (1990) to 810,900 (2006).
  
  SOURCE: 2006 Census data for Mecklenburg County

• 42.4% of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ (CMS) students are African-American. African-Americans make up 34.4% of Charlotte’s population.
  
  SOURCES: 2006 Census data for Mecklenburg County, CMS website.

• 13.6% of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ students are Latino/Hispanic. 11% of Charlotte’s residents identify themselves as Latino/Hispanic.
  
  SOURCES: 2006 Census data for Mecklenburg County, CMS website

• More than 10,000 CMS students are enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. CMS students represent 152 countries and speak 97 native languages.
  
  SOURCE: CMS website

• 15.9% of the residents of Mecklenburg County speak a language other than English at home.
  
  SOURCE: 2006 Census data for Mecklenburg County

• 12.7% of Mecklenburg County residents are foreign born.
  
  SOURCE: 2006 Census data for Mecklenburg County

• The Charlotte region ranked 39th out of 40 in “interracial trust” among the 40 communities surveyed in the 2000 Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey. “Social Capital” is defined as the formal or informal networks that connect a community.
  
  SOURCE: 2000 Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey

• In research conducted during the CBI/26th Judicial District Resource Team project, African-American employees and Hispanic/Latinos view the system as less fair and equitable for defendants of color than for white defendants. Some whites agree.
  
  SOURCE: CBI/26th Judicial District Partnership Project research studies

• Research conducted during the CBI/26th Judicial District Partnership Project indicated that there is no statistically significant data from the perception and case review studies suggesting disparity of treatment based on race or ethnicity in traffic or drug cases. However, many defendants (approximately 32.7 %) do not understand how the court system works or what “happened” to them in court.
  
  SOURCE: CBI/26th Judicial District Partnership Project research studies