Melting Pot Bubbles in All Corners of County

Latinos make up the fastest growing ethnic group. Since the late 1990s, Montgomery's Latino population has grown annually by almost 8 percent, compared with Asians at 3.7 percent, blacks at 3.1 percent and non-Hispanic whites at a "negligible" 0.3 percent, according to the planning department.

Most Latinos in Montgomery -- 65 percent -- came from another country, with Salvadorans comprising the largest group at 19 percent, according to 2000 Census data. Many of them work hard to afford the county's high cost of living, said Barberis-Young, who is also director of mentoring and family support services for Community Ministry of Montgomery County, a private provider of social services.

"The expense of living in this county is tremendous," she said. "A lot of people are really struggling to make ends meet."

Between 1990 and 2000, the county's black population grew by 43 percent -- almost double the percentage growth in the rest of Maryland.

In the Washington region, the size of Montgomery's Asian community ranks second only to Fairfax County's. By 2000, it had more than quadrupled in the previous 20 years. Three out of four of the county's Asian residents were foreign-born. Most came from India, China, Korea and Vietnam, according to 2000 Census figures.

The county's changing makeup hasn't come without some problems and tensions. In January, police concluded that racial slurs and hate symbols spray-painted on two Gaithersburg schools, two predominantly African American churches and the historic Boyds Negro School stemmed from an organized effort. In Gaithersburg, some residents complained recently that a site chosen as an employment center for day laborers, many of them Latinos, was too close to their homes.

Some immigrants get shut out of English classes that have long waiting lists, activists say, and those seeking county services sometimes have trouble finding translators. Moreover, despite the fact that nearly half of the county's residents are members of racial minorities, the vast majority of elected decision makers are white. Still, county officials say they are taking steps to include more of Montgomery's diverse residents and to help them adjust to their new home.

Last summer, the county Department of Recreation offered a one-month tennis class for Latino youth in Wheaton and two bilingual summer camps, in Gaithersburg and Wheaton, with Spanish-speaking staff. The Gilchrist Center for Cultural Diversity in Wheaton, which opened five years ago, offers programs geared toward immigrants, including English classes and information on citizenship, basic legal aid and how to start a small business. The county also helps operate two day laborer centers, in Wheaton and Takoma Park, that assist many Latino workers.

The Montgomery police department also recently added a Spanish-speaking liaison to its media office to reach out more to the county's Latino population. Blanca Kling, who joined the office in October, said she does two programs on Spanish radio stations every month, trying to address concerns in the Latino community.

For example, Kling said, the department has worked with Spanish media to seek the public's help on runaways and suspects thought to be in the Latino community and to recruit more Latino officers and dispatchers. She said she also works to spread the word that officers will not press victims and witnesses, such as those in domestic violence cases, about their visa statuses if they turn to police for help.