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| Mount Laurel black population 1990: 1,806 2000: 42,785 Change: +54.21 Source: U.S. Census Bureau | ||
| Mount Laurel Asian population 1990: 795 2000: 1,529 Change: +92.33 Source: U.S. Census Bureau | ||
| Mount Laurel Hispanic or Latino population 1990: 498 2000: 901 Change: +80.92 Source: U.S. Census Bureau |
By MIKE FRANOLICH
Courier-Post Staff
Senegal native William Diouf, 26, prays with white people and minority priests at St. John Neumann Church in Mount Laurel.
At work, with Cendant Mortgage, the Drexel University graduate rubs elbows constantly with minority co-workers in meetings. And, in his township home at The Lakes, he shares his sofa with a diverse group of 'Sixers fans on the weekends.
"I feel comfortable. I don't feel like I'm the minority. ... I feel that a fair amount of people are coming in to make it diverse," Diouf said.
"I feel very welcome here."
Diouf was part of a tremendous surge in minorities to arrive in Mount Laurel in the 1990s, adding to an already diverse group of residents.
In the decade past, Mount Laurel's minority population climbed from about 10 percent of all township residents to 13 percent, U.S. Census Bureau data shows.
While the township population grew 32 percent overall, the number of blacks climbed by 54 percent, the number of Asian residents grew by 92 percent and the Hispanic population climbed by 81 percent.
By category, those gains far outpace the county's overall growth rate for blacks, 13.31 percent, for Asians, 44 percent, and for Hispanics, 37.55 percent, according to census data.
For many, it was a job with promise that brought them to Mount Laurel, and a lifestyle that made them stay.
"When you have world headquarters of companies moving to the township, they need diversified workers," Mayor Peter McCaffrey said. "And a lot of people came with the companies and found out that life in Mount Laurel was pretty good, and they moved in."
Drawing the companies, township officials said, was the area's diverse and well-trained work force.
Among the larger companies drawing on and adding to the township's rich makeup, McCaffrey said, were Cendant, OkiData America, NFL Films and Roosevelt Paper.
At Cendant, almost 24 percent of its 4,822 employees are minorities. At company offices on Route 38 near Strawbridge Lake and in Bishop's Gate near Interstate 295, the corporate culture refers to every employee as a team player, a company spokeswoman said.
"Cendant Mortgage is a diverse family of 4,822 team players. This diversity makes us a strong, more productive company,'' Paris Couturiaux, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, said in a statement.
Black History Month, which ends today, included corporate events that fostered multiculturalism. On February 27, in the cafeteria of the Bishop's Gate One building, students from the Cooper's Poynt School were to stage an event called Black Living History Museum, said Cendant spokeswoman Jeannine Dooley.And throughout the month, the company sponsored black history vignettes on WJJZ-FM, 106.1, Dooley said.
Diouf moved to the township about four years ago from Philadelphia because "it just made sense to be closer to work," he said.
Since then, he said he has come to enjoy a quality lifestyle.
"Within the community, there are people involved. Anything that's a hot topic, it comes sometimes that we ask `Are you doing anything special?' It may not necessarily be something we do in Mount Laurel, but it comes out of the community," he said.
"My neighborhood is very quiet. I was attracted to it because it's in a remote area. But you're not too far from Phildelphia, New York or Washington D.C.
"People are laid back here, and that's what I enjoy about Mount Laurel."
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