The Impact of Immigration on Twenty-First Century America - Black Immigrants From Africa Differfrom American Black Population

According to the New York Times (Sam Roberts, "More Africans Enter U.S. Than in Days of Slavery," February 21, 2005), more people of African descent arrived in the United States voluntarily from 1990 to 2000 than the total who came as slaves prior to 1807 when the country outlawed the slave trade. In 1800 about 20% of the 5 million people in the United States were black compared to 13% of the nearly 300 million people in the country as of 2000. While the American-born black population increased 18% from 1990 to 2000 (28,034,275 to 33,048,095), the African-born population more than doubled from 229,488 to 612,548. By 2000 about 50,000 black legal immigrants were arriving each year. According to the New York Times article, New York state attracted the greatest number of immigrants from African nations. Nigeria and Ghana were among the top twenty sources of immigrants to the state. In the United States, Nigeria was the leading source of African immigrants, followed by Ghana, Ethiopia, Liberia, Somalia, and Kenya.

By 2000, one-in-three black persons living in New York City had been born in foreign countries. They began to come as refugees and students; more recently, they have come through family reunification and diversity visas. The Newest New Yorkers found that recent immigrants often segregated from other blacks. Large community clusters of Nigerians, Canarsie, and Ghanaians were identified within the city. "As with European ethnics at the turn of the century, ethnicity has been a powerful force in shaping black residential settlement in New York," explained Joseph J. Salvo, director of the Population Division of the Department of City Planning, as quoted in the New York Times article.

The New York Times reported that immigrants from Africa have been "redefining what it means to be African-American." Immigrants from Africa lack the perspective of American history that drove affirmative action and diversity programs aimed at "redress[ing] the legacy of history." Many speak English, have been raised in large cities with capitalist economies, live in families headed by married couples, and are generally more highly educated than American-born blacks. They also tend to have higher paying jobs.

Although New York City had a significant African immigrant population, as of 2000 Washington, D.C., had the largest black African-born population. In Minneapolis/St. Paul, the black African-born population grew 628% between 1990 and 2000, moving the twin cities into the top five list of metropolitan areas with the largest black populations: Washington, D.C.; New York City; Atlanta; Minneapolis/St. Paul; and Los Angeles.