I was munching on yucca fries at Cholita Linda one evening, and I couldn’t help but marvel at the cornucopia of diversity gathered within. A panoply of differentness evenly distributed throughout the restaurant.
“Wow … I think Cholita Linda is, like, the most diverse place ever,” I noted sarcastically.
But often there’s an element of truth hiding behind one’s own sarcasm — and after returning many times for delicious pressed toasty Cuban sandwiches and being regaled with similar scenes of multicultural harmony, I started to ponder, Am I merely flattering my liberal sensibilities, or is there something special going on here? Cholita Linda feels different from any other place I’ve ever been to. What if a confluence of societal dynamics has created a salsa-splattered locus of peak diversity? What if in the history of the world there’s never been such a mix of all different peoples in one place? What would that even mean? And if not Cholita Linda, where would the most diverse spot in the history of the world be?
Diversity is embedded in the body, the brain, the history and the heart. It resides in the pocket, the bed, the bank and the bookshelf. It is imprinted on our genes and proteins and cells and mutated cells. There’s diversity that is readily perceived, categorized and judged. There are the sorts that can be hidden away for years, lifetimes and generations.
Measures of diversity are subjective, and it’s difficult to agree upon what to measure and how to measure it. Surface diversity can easily become a smoke screen for who isn’t included in what seems like an otherwise “vibrant” mix of cultures and peoples.
For starters, I dig this definition, via the University of Oregon, which lists “dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs or other ideologies” as metrics. That’s as good and inclusive a start as any. Measuring any sense of “true” diversity is surely a fool’s errand. But nevertheless, sociologists, economists and bigots try their darndest.
A search for the “most diverse place in the world” results in a lot of hits for Toronto. Toronto LOVES to talk up their diversity game. It’s a major point of pride. And on the basis of the stats, Toronto is culturally diverse for sure. Look a bit closer, though, and you’ll notice that within that rainbow of cultures, there are barely ANY black people.
If everyone fits into your society except for the people with the darkest skin, then I’m calling bullshit on your claims of diversity.
A Harvard study (among others) claims that the world’s most ethnically diverse countries are in Africa, particularly Uganda. But the sort of ethnic-diversity density charted here doesn’t speak to the greater vision of diversity. Given that Uganda is a predominantly black and Catholic country — plus, add in an ethos of intolerance that puts the kibosh on sexual-orientation-sorts of differentnesses — that doesn’t seem to jive with my intuitive sense of diversity. The sort of outward diversity that I see at Cholita Linda — including but not limited to race — seems more vital and relevant. Nerds and jocks. Preppies and punks. Trans and cis. Programmers and brogrammers. One-percenters and the rest of us poor schlubs! So on and so forth, spanning all(?) the divisions that people have been separating themselves by and beating each other up over for eons, not so patiently queuing up together in one line, united by a mutual love of high-grade tacos.
In the melting pot that is the USA, there are many diverse cities but far fewer integrated cities.
Not coincidentally, our cities that have substantial black populations tend to be more segregated. Only a few cities have the following: 1) greater-than-average ethnic diversity; 2) a substantial black population; AND 3) a not notoriously segregated population.
I’m gleaning this census data from Brown University’s American Communities Project, as rendered by uberstatmeister Nate Silver. Check out the breakdowns for the top 100 cities (by population), and see how your favorite city rates.
(These numbers are based on outdated 2010 census data. Our rapidly gentrifying Oakland of 2016 is less black than in 2010 and getting whiter by the minute. A freeze frame of the city at any moment tells a story — but certainly not the whole story.)
The US city that comes up most often when searching for “most diverse” is Sacramento. The Sac scores at the top of Nate Silver’s metrics. But again, where are the black folks? At least there’s a higher percentage in the Sac than Toronto, but still markedly underrepresented.
The most notably diverse, black and integrated city in America is Oakland.
Oakland is far from perfect. But since nowhere is perfect, the overall picture is better than anywhere else. By default, does this make Oakland the most diverse city in the US? In the world? Also, when you factor in sexual/gender diversity, political diversity and all sorts of other labels that have long met with intolerance (and still do meet with intolerance in most places), then you start to get a sense of Oakland’s unique position in the overall span of diversity history. When and where has one city been so welcoming and even celebrated so many different kinds of people? Could the most diverse place ever exist at any time in history but right now?
If Oakland is, indeed, the most diverse city in the world, then I’d posit that the epicenter of that diversity is Cholita Linda.
Oakland is rapidly changing. But in the flow of the good and the bad that comes with gentrification, there’s probably going to be a demographic sweet spot — a balance of old and new community members forming an apex of peak diversity and integration. It’s possible we’re just now teetering at the top of Diversity Hill or perhaps already starting to roll down the other side.
Nowhere is the gilded finger of gentrification more evident than in the Temescal neighborhood, along Telegraph, including the predominantly white and upwardly-mobile-frequented establishments of Pizzaiolo, Flying Studios, various cute boutiques, etc.
Perhaps this vibe is where new, whitewashed Oakland is headed.
Across the street, however, is the where old and new Oakland intermingle, the non-homogeneous masses huddled around the unifying power of cheap and delicious fish tacos. And all sorts of tasty offerings that are at once utilitarian, hipster and upscale, and also just cheap-ass good food.
Cholita Linda is at a crossroad between neighborhoods full of longtime Oakland families, immigrants and priced-out SF castaways.
I believe that for all these reasons, Cholita Linda is uniquely situated — geographically, temporally, economically — to be the locus of peak diversity in the known universe. Perhaps not for long, once Uber headquarters sets up shop next year not far down the street.
Of course, there are plenty of places I haven’t been to in the Bay Area and the rest of the world as well. If you can think of another spot that rivals Choita Linda, I’d love to hear about it. If you have some data/rationale to back up your assertion, then all the better!
Additional resources:
Wikipedia and other sources call Queens the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world. Here’s an article about it. Since Queens isn’t its own city, there’s a lack of data separating it from NYC that would let us compare it in and of itself to Oakland.
These folks said that Oakland was the most diverse city in America on the basis of 2013 data.
This is a good article from 2015 about how Oakland’s racial, age and economic diversity are in decline.
NPR’s Code Switch has an interesting piece that leads with a picture captioned with “Ten years ago, you wouldn’t have seen a sight like this — three white guys playing old-timey music — on the streets of downtown Oakland on a Friday night.” Which is soooo not true. There was way more of that 10 years ago than there is now. Many of those musicians have been pushed out of Oakland and are now living in Albany and Grass Valley.
And, of course, The Bold Italic has had its say about the matter.
