Old traditions die hard in the North End

The 10,000 residents of the North End, Boston’s Little Italy, are 91 percent white, according to the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Hispanics make up nearly 4 percent; Asians less than 3 percent; and blacks just over 1 percent. Those who study census data and racial shifts in Boston say a combination of the North End’s large Italian population, low resident turnover, and high cost and low availability of housing have kept the neighborhood predominately white over the years .

The North End is more diverse than it was two decades ago, when the population was about 98 percent white. But it continues to lag behind Boston as a whole, where minorities make up 53 percent of residents, up from 37 percent in 1990. It is estimated that only about a third of North End residents are of Italian origin now, but that ethnic identity remains firmly entrenched in the neighborhood’s restaurants, shops, and community groups.

Several residents interviewed recently stressed that everyone is welcome in their neighborhood. But many said they don’t see a need for special efforts to bring in more people of color.

“I think the North End population evolves on its own,’’ said Stephanie Hogue, president of the North End/Waterfront Residents’ Association, who is white. “I don’t think there’s a need to force it.’’

Through the years, the North End — one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods — has been home to a number of different ethnic groups.

The first black community in Boston lived in the North End in the 1600s, and waves of immigrants followed — Irish, Jewish, Portuguese, and Italian. When the federal government clamped down on immigration in the 1920s, the majority of the 40,000 residents were Italian, and they slowly rebuilt the neighborhood and made it their own, cleaning up the streets and renovating old tenement buildings.

“Had the doors not been shut, it’s very likely that some other immigrant group might have moved in,’’ said Alex Goldfeld, president of the North End Historical Society.