Zack Mohamed, a native of Somalia, has lived in the Beaverton area since age 11. His family fled the county's civil war, immigrating to the United States and later moving to Beaverton in the early 2000s.
Now 24 and a program coordinator for the Center for Intercultural Organizing, a grassroots organization that focuses on immigrant and refugee interests, Mohamed said he's seen in his classrooms and among his neighbors how diverse Beaverton has become.
"I am really glad that my community can look like this, especially in Oregon," he said.
Mohamed is just one member of Beaverton's growing ethnic population. He's also an example of how the city's mission to better serve those residents is working.
In 2013, 63.2 percent of Beaverton residents were white, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. In 1990, that figure was 87.7 percent.
In 2010, every main demographic group listed on Census data had grown, at least slightly, over the past decade.
Based on figures compiled in a 2000 and 2010 Census Profile by the Portland State University Population Research Center, African Americans were 3.7 percent of the total population, American Indian and Alaska natives were 1.7 percent, Asians were 12.5 percent, native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders were .9 percent, the Hispanic or Latino population accounted for 16.3 percent.
Check out a map of Beaverton's diversity in comparison to other cities
In City Hall, finding the best ways to serve these residents has become a broad mission that's led to new city programs, goals and staff. The city has placed an increased focus on civic participation by ethnic groups and a new emphasis on making its own employee base more reflective of the community. This summer, the city reported that less than 10 percent of staff are people of color.
After participating in one new city program -- a leadership series geared at ethnic residents -- Mohamed said he's interested in being involved with city advisory boards. He also feels comfortable sharing his opinions about what his community needs.
It's important, city leaders say, that diverse perspectives are part of the conversation internally and externally -- now, not later.
"The world is changing and those who don't change will fail," said Beaverton Mayor Denny Doyle. "Learning how other people approach life and solve problems in different ways is the best education you can have."
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Doyle, who has lived in Beaverton since 1986, was involved in everything from youth sports to the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District board before becoming mayor in 2009. He began addressing diversity early in his first term, holding diversity forums with leaders of color to discuss cultural inclusion. The city also started diversity summits with the Beaverton School District and Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District and launched the Beaverton International Celebration.
The Beaverton Organizing and Leadership Development program, more commonly known as BOLD, started as a pilot program in 2012. Geared toward members of the immigrant and refugee community, it offers a series of seminars over the course of three months on topics such as community organizing, city services and public involvement. City leaders, including Library Director Abigail Elder and Chief of Police Geoff Spalding, gave presentations to this year's class.
The city's new Diversity Advisory Board, morphed from the former Diversity Task Force, started meeting in January. Its purpose, according to bylaws, is to help the city create and implement strategies to engage and serve ethnic community members. The board is currently working on completing a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Plan for the city, its first big task, according to Alexis Ball who oversees the board.
Beaverton's diversity in comparison
Beaverton is the state’s sixth largest city, following Portland, Salem, Eugene, Gresham, and Hillsboro. Based on the Population Research Center’s Census Profiles, in 2010 Beaverton had the second smallest percentage of white residents out of those cities, following Hillsboro.
Here is a break down of the percentage of city residents who listed white, not Hispanic on census data.
Hillsboro: 2000- 70 percent, 2010- 63 percent
Beaverton: 2000- 74 percent, 2010- 66 percent
Portland: 2000- 76 percent, 2010- 72 percent
Salem: 2000- 78 percent, 2010- 71 percent
Gresham: 2000- 79 percent, 2010-69 percent
Eugene: 2000- 86 percent, 2010- 82 percent
Ball works within the city's Cultural Inclusion Program as the full-time equity outreach coordinator, a position created in 2012. Ball currently makes $25 an hour, according to the city.
According to Ball, the city has placed a priority on engaging those of diverse backgrounds for several reasons. Overall, if the city doesn't "intentionally diversify and incorporate all sectors of our community", she said in an email, they risk losing what people can offer.
"Diversification is something we need, not just something that would be nice to have," Ball said.
The city also has an obligation and responsibility to address the barriers that people of color may face, Ball said.
In 2010, about 14,630 residents listed Hispanic or Latino on Census data, according to the Population Research Center's profile. Ball compiled research on racial disparities, and found that the unemployment rate was at 9.3 percent for the Latino community, compared to 8.3 percent for the white population, according to the 2010 American Community Survey data.
That same year, 16.6 percent of African American families were living in poverty, compared to 5.5 percent of white families, according to Ball's research. About 3,340 Black or African American residents lived in Beaverton in 2010.
When looking at adults of color in Beaverton, about 25 percent had less than a high school education, Ball's research states.
Crafting recommendations on how the city can support and provide opportunities for struggling populations is included in the Diversity Advisory Board's work. The Diversity Equity and Inclusion plan focuses on eight key areas: language access, economic opportunity, family support, public safety, infrastructure and livability, community center, health and wellness and city practices.
The board's plan will hopefully act as a road map for the future, according to Edward Kimmi, Diversity Advisory Board member. Kimmi was initially on the city's Diversity Task Force and works as a chiropractor in Central Beaverton. He is also the President of the Korean Society of Oregon, which runs out of a former church in Garden Home.
"Most of our diversity planning also includes somewhat of the community we want to see," he said.
Aside from working to increase participation among its ethnic residents, the city also has made it a priority to have diversity among city employees, Ball said.
"There is recognition that we need to move toward diversifying staff," Ball said, as the lack of employee diversity can make it harder for the city to effectively communicate with and serve its residents.
The city's population of people of color has grown to make up more than 30 percent of the community, but the percentage of city employees that are people of color has changed little in recent years.
As of July 1, 9.8 percent of the city's 513 staff members were American Indian, Asian, African American or Hispanic, according to city spokesman Bill LaMarche. It's a small gain from 2007- then, 8.3 percent of the city's 465 employees were people of color.
The city has started to discuss a possible equity committee to evaluate how to diversify personnel, according to Ball, and is a member of the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber and the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon and Southwest Washington. This fall, the city joined with Partners in Diversity, a Portland-based nonprofit that works with employers to attract and retain professionals of color.
The city also sends job listings to multiple organizations that cater to different race and ethnic populations, including the Russian Oregon Social Services and the Oregon Council for Hispanic Advancement, LaMarche said.
Changes to diversify the work force are slower to come, given the city's low degree of turnover, Doyle said, but still essential.
"We have to carefully make sure we know how to recruit people of color to positions as they open up," he said.
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Doyle's own family history speaks to his hope that people from different races and ethnicities will feel comfortable in his city. His father's parents were French and Irish. His mother's parents immigrated to the United States from what is now the Czech Republic and found a safe community in Alabama, Doyle said.
"They definitely lived the experience," he said. "I want the interaction between the different ethnic groups to become normal. It will happen."
Since launching BOLD and the Diversity Advisory Board, city data shows an increase in participation by the groups it had aimed to reach.
In 2012, about 16 percent of all applications for all city boards and commissions came from people of color, Ball said. In 2013, when the city first accepted applications for the Diversity Advisory Board, that number rose to 43 percent.
The city took a specific approach to recruit people for the Diversity Advisory Board, according to Ball. The city focused on direct outreach to community organizations and leaders, setting up individual meetings and sending follow-up emails.
To be on the board, applicants must live, work or own a business or property in Beaverton. Doyle and the city council appointed the 13 board members.
Board member Mari Watanabe, 56, said her grandparents immigrated to the United States in the late 1800s. Growing up, she remembers eating with chopsticks every day and joining a Japanese American ski club at school in Seattle. Now, she's the executive director for Partners in Diversity and the director of Leadership Portland, a program run by the Portland Business Alliance.
Diversity in suburbs
According to Charles Rynerson, demographer with Portland State University’s Population Research Center, suburban areas are becoming more diverse in metro areas across the country, a trend that is likely to continue in Beaverton.
Job and housing options could be contributing factors, Rynerson said. Beaverton’s diversity became especially prevalent following job growth in Washington County during the 1990s.
“People that are entering the work force, or are coming here from other places to get jobs, are likely to be younger and more ethnically diverse than the population that was already here,” Rynerson said. “Beaverton is likely to get more diverse simply because the non-white population is younger than the white population.”
The Diversity Advisory Board got started right out of the gate, Watanabe said. The board presented a draft of the plan to city council on Sept. 9 and is now working on gathering feedback through meetings with the community leaders, city staff and the general public, Ball said. The goal is to present a final draft by the end of the year.
"Our meetings (are) meaningful and productive," Watanabe said. "That's what has made this a really good experience for me."
Aside from the Diversity Advisory Board, the city has noted overwhelming interest in BOLD. This year the city received 56 applications, filling the program with 22 people representing 11 nationalities. The program operates with a $12,500 annual budget.
Jeffery Chang, 36, moved to Beaverton this year and participated in BOLD. Chang works for Nike, and said he started with the company 10 years ago.
Chang said he appreciated time with elected city officials, including City Councilor Mark Fagin. The program helped the city have more personality, instead of just being a government entity, he said.
"As a minority community, we got to see what the city has to offer," he said.
BOLD operates through partnership with the Center for Intercultural Organizing, which expanded its work to Beaverton five years ago because of the area's increasing diversity, according to Carmen Madrid, Washington County organizing director.
Now, some results of that work are becoming apparent in civic engagement, Madrid said.
"We want the community to lead and I think that's the shift you're starting to see," she said.
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Doyle said he also plans to keep encouraging people of all backgrounds to run for City Council and elected office, another important step in connecting with the community.
Alton Harvey Sr., who is African American, ran for current City Councilor Ian King's seat this year. In the May primary election, Harvey lost to Lacey Beaty, who received more than 50 percent of the vote. Beaty will be the only name listed on the November ballot.
Harvey, originally from Georgia, worked as a commercial truck driver, a job that took him all over the country, he said.
"There is no place I've ever resided in like the city of Beaverton," he said. " It is the most welcoming place I have ever seen in my entire life."
Harvey, who's served on Beaverton's Human Rights Advisory Commission and has been the chair of the Neighbors Southwest Neighborhood Association Committee for about the past decade, agrees that the city should do more to encourage diversity. Part of the challenge is fear -- the city is afraid of offending ethnic community members, and those community members are afraid of being shut out, he said.
But it's a two-way street, Harvey said. While the city needs to make sure everyone is invited to be present and vocal, community members need to accept that invitation.
"We want Beaverton to be represented in all different ethnic backgrounds," he said. "It's not the city's responsibility to pull me in. It is the city's responsibility to let me know what you have in here, then I can find a seat at the table."
--Laura Frazier | Facebook and Twitter
Note: Some figures used in the graphic below include over count, which may affect overall percentages.