Demographics - BSA vs Community

[Engineer61 19]

I've made some interesting observations between my boy's CS and BS groups.

 

In CS, there was a fairly balanced mix of boys from all races and religions, matching closely to the demographics of the local school.

 

In BS, it's no even close, out of 50 boys at any given meeting, there is maybe 1 non-Caucasian individual. It's not even close to the local demographic.

 

Is this typical?

[Oak Tree 15]

I'd say the trend goes that way, but not to the extreme that you're noticing.

 

Demographics: Ethnic involvement: 75% White, 11% Black, 10% Hispanic, 3% Asian, Other 1%. (http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/whatwe_engage.htm)

 

That's quite close to overall U.S. demographics (census via wikipedia)

 

Race Percentage Number

White alone 75.0% 228.2 million

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, of any race 15.4% 46.9 million

Black or African American alone 12.4% 37.6 million

Some other race alone 4.9% 15.0 million

Asian alone 4.4% 13.4 million

Two or more races 2.3% 7.0 million

American Indian or Alaska Native alone 0.8% 2.4 million

Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander alone 0.14% 0.43 million

 

As kids grow older, I do observe a trend toward more self-segregation. I think in the younger grades the parents tend to just pick a local pack, but as the kids get older, they are more likely to pick a troop where the Scout feels more comfortable. That's the way adults appear to pick the neighborhoods they live in, too, at least as a statistical observation.