In citing census figures to support his assertion about Maine’s “remarkable inclusion of a more diverse population” over the past 10 years (“Cape diversity committee draws mixed welcome,” Aug. 20), Tom Dunham misses the mark by about 300%.
According to The Forecaster, Dunham stated that Maine’s white population had dropped from 95.2% in 2010 to 90.8% in 2021, a reduction of 4.4%. The most recent figures from the Census Bureau, however, show the actual change was from 95.4% in 2010 to 94.0% in 2020, or just 1.4% in all. So Dunham’s “remarkable” number is about triple the actual – not so remarkable – figure.
While the white population of the state increased by 15,646 over the past decade, the non-white population grew by 18,452, which means the total shift from white to non-white involved 2,806 individuals, roughly the population of the Penobscot County town of Corinth.
The bottom line is that Maine is still the whitest state in the nation. So maybe we whites can afford to be a bit more inclusive than the past decade’s figures have shown us to be.
Larry Glatz
Scarborough
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