How a diverse county like Gwinnett can thrive.
History is against diverse communities, but I believe we have a chance to defy the odds.
In the summer of 1976, my Dad got a job at Bell Labs in Norcross, GA and we moved to Gwinnett County. Gwinnett is northeast of Atlanta, up I-85 about 30 miles or so. When we moved here, the population of Gwinnett was about 90% white, and with a much smaller population than it has today (166,903 residents, according to the 1980 census).
I still remember downtown Lawrenceville shutting down at noon on Wednesdays so that that folks had time to get ready for Wednesday night church. On Saturday’s it was not uncommon to see tractors riding into town to purchase supplies at Cooper Feed and Seed just down the street from the Square.
My how things have changed. For many years in the 1980s and 1990s, Gwinnett was the fastest growing county in the country, and with that came tremendous demographic changes. The 2021 census estimate says there are 964,546 people living in Gwinnett County. Of those, only 33.2% are white. Meanwhile, African-Americans make up 30.8% of the population, Hispanics 22.2%, and Asians 13.2%. No longer essentially a one race community, we are now one of the most diverse counties in America.
When we moved here, Gwinnett was governed almost exclusively by Democrats. In fact, Georgia was ruled by very large Democratic majorities. In fact, until former Democratic State Senator turned Republican Sonny Perdue won a surprise victory in 2002, Benjamin Conley in 1872 was the last Republican Governor of our state. Gwinnett had flipped during the Reagan years, becoming a GOP stronghold during his second term.
The demographic changes Gwinnett has experienced are now reflected in its political leadership. Nicole Love Hendrickson became our first African-American Chair of the Board of Commissioners when she was elected in 2020. In fact 2020 was essentially the inverse of the GOP wave of 1984, with Democrats capturing the entire Board of Commissioners, a majority of the Board of Education, Sheriff, and District Attorney and several Legislative seats. Gwinnett appears poised to continue to grow, and to continue to be a demographically diverse county run by Democrats.
Even though I’m a conservative Republican, I love living in Gwinnett. Most of my life I’ve called it home and consider myself a full fledged Gwinnettian. I met my wife here, and have raised my three daughters here. While some aspects of the changes we’ve undergone make me uncomfortable, on the whole, I still love my home and want to see our people thrive.
I recently read the book “The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure.” The author, Yascha Mounk makes the case that history is not on the side of diverse communities. Folks may celebrate diversity, but often times that diversity devolves into tribalism, rivalry, and division - sometimes with very tragic consequences. You can listen to Mounk’s conversation with Jonah Goldberg back in May.
Thankfully, Mounk does not leave us hopeless. Many nations and communities are experiencing growing ethnic and religious diversity for the first time in their histories. And while no county is doing everything right, in his estimation, many are doing a pretty good job dealing with this new situation. He goes on to examine different possible solutions diverse communities might consider. Some of the possible solutions, he dismisses, such as formal power sharing governments that have been attempted in some places. He then offers several approaches that might help a community avoid the failures so many others have experienced. I’d like to focus on three things I think that, if implement in Gwinnett County, would help keep us a vibrant, welcoming, and thriving place.
The former majority group must acknowledge and accept that their dominant position is gone. To state it more bluntly, white folks like me must accept that we are not the dominant group anymore. The days of working with, going to Church with, shopping with, living next door to people who have the same culture and ethnicity as I do are over. Honestly, my people haven’t always dealt with this kind of change well. Our tendency is to pick up and move to places where more folks look like us. This “white flight” is happening to a certain extent in Gwinnett right now. I hope that trend doesn’t continue.
While this new reality creates discomfort and opens the door to potentially embarrassing misunderstandings, it also opens the door to wonderful new experiences and relationships. My church is home to people from over 140 nations. We have our differences and sometimes those differences cause sparks to fly, but because we are all committed to serving God to the best of our ability, it has produced something beautiful and I believe pleasing to our Creator.
Instead of demanding unity, work on empathy and understanding instead. We must allow people to be fully a member of their ethnic or religious community, while also being fully a Gwinnettian.
In her book “ Political Tribes” Amy Chau talks about the need we all have to belong to groups. Some groups are groups we choose to be in such as our favorite sports team, while some are deeply held like our religion. Other groups are groups we didn’t choose, but have an extremely strong hold on our psyche such as our ethnic group or nationality. Chau concludes that for America to work well, we must respects people’s tribes and help them feel invested in the larger “super tribe” called America.
It is extremely important in a place as diverse as Gwinnett that we treat all people with respect. We must seek to understand their views and beliefs, and have empathy for them. If there is one thing our political system lacks these days it is empathy. Too many of us have surrounded ourselves with likeminded people and have forgotten not everyone thinks like we do nor holds the same political or religious beliefs we do. This has allowed far too many people to lose all understanding of others and in many cases, come to despise others. In reality we make assumptions about people based on superficial things like their skin color or their choice of Presidential candidate. Instead of casting aspersions on others, take a moment to get to know them, and put yourself in their shoes. It’s amazing how your perspective can change when you do.
In government, all groups must feel like they have a voice and that their ideas and beliefs are respected. Political parties are all about obtaining and holding power. From the 1870’s until 1984, Gwinnett was run by white Southern Democrats. Then in 1984, Gwinnett was taken over by white Republicans. Democrats have regained the upper hand in recent years. The temptation would be for Democrats to consolidate power at the expense of Republicans and freeze them out of government all together. However, as Yascha Mounk points out, leaving people with no voice can lead to friction, especially in a diverse ethnic and religious community like ours.
What’s needed is a county government that seeks to give everyone in our community a seat at the table, without requiring them to give up their deeply help beliefs. I’m not talking about some sort of power sharing arrangement, as power sharing arrangements often drive people deeper into the arms of their political tribe. What I’m talking about is setting aside our partisan banners for the greater good when need be. Both sides need to acknowledge that the other side has some pretty good ideas sometimes. And both sides need to understand that when it comes to local government, a pothole don’t care if the car it damages is a Republican car or a Democratic car. We should reject the extreme partisanship we see all across our nation and work together locally, to address our communities issues together.
I hope these suggestions will be received in the spirit in which they are offered. Gwinnett is a wonderful community and I’m committed to doing my part to see that it stays that way. I’m self-aware enough to know I’m an idealist. But I truly believe if we can deal with our diversity successfully here in Gwinnett, we can become a model for diverse communities across our nation and the world.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. Feel free to provide your thoughts in the comment section.