“Little kids don’t see color. That would be nice if big kids didn’t see it either.”

Sharing her experiences growing up in diverse Brooklyn, Anne says Long Island is diverse, but this diversity is “pocketed in certain neighborhoods.” She expresses a lot of hope for the future and says “the younger people are the clue.”

As a follow-up to nextLI’s 2019 survey of the next generation of Long Islanders, nextLI conducted two focus groups to look at the future of diversity and housing on Long Island.

Discussions centered on the changing demographics of Long Island, perceptions of Long Island’s multicultural climate, the racial and ethnic diversity in our communities, the role of school districts in diversity and reactions to Newsday’s Long Island Divided series.