New Orleans Grows More Latino

The racial makeup of New Orleans is changing, as more Latinos move into the city due to the city’s post-Katrina rebuilding efforts. New Orleans is a traditionally insular town, with 75 percent of city dwellers having been born in Louisiana, a high percentage in an era when people are increasingly mobile. The shift began just days after the disaster, as a big slice of the black population was evacuated to new places like Baton Rouge and Houston. The changing face of New Orleans is an emotionally charged issue: Former mayor Ray Nagin, when asked about the influx of Mexican workers, infamously said New Orleans was a “chocolate city” and that he’d keep it that way, But the black population has fallen from 37.1 percent to 34.5 percent, with a steeper decline in the city limits, while the percentage of Hispanics in greater New Orleans went from 4.4 percent a decade ago to 6.6 percent. Some groups say it’s closer to 10 percent.