Why I stayed in Boston

21.05.12

Has Boston moved beyond its racially turbulent past? We asked five minority leaders why they decided to build their lives here. They offered reflections that took on more urgency following last week’s racist tweets directed at a black hockey player.

The numbers on race, Boston and business

The Commonwealth Compact surveyed its 125 corporate and institutional signers in 2008 and found that 13 percent of African-Americans, 10 percent of Asians, and 9 percent of Latinos were in midlevel to senior executive jobs, compared to 17 percent of whites. Among the executive committees of boards of directors, whites held 81 percent of seats, compared to 10 percent for blacks, 7 percent for Hispanics, and 1 percent for Asians. Another survey about national perceptions of Boston found that only 38 percent of African-Americans rate Boston as good to excellent in welcoming people of color. 62 percent rate the city fair to poor.

Source: Boston Globe