`Home is here`: Northeast Wisconsin`s surge in diversity forged by opportunities, grit and an inclusive vision


`Home is here`: Northeast Wisconsin`s surge in diversity forged by opportunities, grit and an inclusive vision


Fox Valley Jan. 18, 2022: Our region`s Hispanic, Black, Asian and Indigenous communities boomed in a decade. Yearlong series debuts with the stories behind the numbers.

Long Vue remembers eggs being splattered over his parents` car after he and his family arrived in Kaukauna in 1980. He recalls the vitriolic shouts from white residents telling them to go back to their homeland.

There was no homeland to return to for Hmong refugees. Vue`s family fled Laos after his father and uncle were active in protecting communication towers used to direct U.S. planes dropping bombs on North Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

After 42 years of living in the Fox Valley, he said the eggs returned with renewed fury. Now 54 and executive director of NEW Hmong Professionals, Vue said former President Donald Trump`s repeated use of the term "China virus" for the coronavirus fueled a rise of Asian American and Pacific Islander hate and scapegoating...

....A more detailed breakdown of the 2020 U.S. census data shows the key changes among each group:

  • Hispanic residents now make up 7% of the region`s population.
  • The region`s Black population increased 63% between 2010 and 2020.
  • The number of Asian American residents grew 30%.
  • The Native American population is also growing, albeit at a slower rate of 12%.
  • People who represent two or more races are, by far, the fastest growing group in the region, having more than tripled in number in the past decade.

   ...more

Ken Notes: This is true across the State and we need to work with our communities to embrace the new diversity.

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- - Volume: 10 - WEEK: 4 Date: 1/19/2022 11:49:35 AM -