Congolese Americans

Last updated
Congolese Americans
Total population
5,488+ (2000 US Census) [1]
11,009 (2006–2009 US Census Bureau est.) [2]
Regions with significant populations
Texas (especially the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex followed by The Houston area,) North Carolina (epecially in the Charlotte area followed by the Raleigh area,) the Buffalo, NY Metropolitan Area, Iowa, Kentucky, [3] Wichita, Kansas, [4] Other communities to be found in New York City, Washington, D.C.–Baltimore area, Atlanta, [5] Tennessee, [6] Arizona, [7] Wisconsin
Languages
American English, French, Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba [8]
Religion
Christianity
Related ethnic groups
African Americans

Congolese Americans are Americans descended from the peoples of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo, which consist of hundreds of ethnic groups.

Contents

In the 2000 U.S. Census, 3,886 people reported Congolese descent. Another 1,602 reported originating from Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Zaire, and less than 300 people reported originating from the Republic of Congo. [1] Rose Mapendo, who suffered as a result of the war, helped 2,000 refugees to emigrate into the U.S. through the organization Mapendo International. [9] So, thousands of refugees from the DRC have been able to come to the United States. [10] In 2013, roughly 10,000 refugees from the DRC were living in the U.S. [11]

History

Like other Central/West African groups in the United States, the first Congolese arrived as enslaved people in the modern-day United States as part of the Atlantic slave trade. Congolese were most likely sold in Cabinda in modern-day Angola and were then imported to places such as Louisiana and South Carolina. [12] However, due to the difficulty of tracing specific ancestry through the Atlantic slave trade and the lack of records on specific geographic origins of slaves, very few descendants of enslaved Congolese today identify specifically as Congolese Americans.

In the 1960s, Congolese gradually began to voluntarily migrate to the U.S. for educational reasons. However, in the 1980s, the first large wave of Congolese immigrants came to the U.S. for educational purposes. Initially, most of them decided to return home when they finished their studies in the U.S. However, many of them chose to stay in the U.S. due to the worsening political and economic situation in the DRC. The First Congo War (1996-97) in the DRC drove many Congolese to leave their families at home to seek asylum in the U.S. as war refugees. Only a few families migrated to the U.S. together. Some refugees were Tutsi who sought refuge from the Rwandan genocide in the DRC before arriving in the U.S. [13]

Demography

The modern-day Republic of the Congo and the DRC were both colonized by Francophone powers, the former by France and the latter by Belgium. Thus, many Congolese speak French in addition to English and several Bantu languages. Immigrants from the DRC speak Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, Bembe, and Tshiluba. [8] However, recent immigrants are less likely to speak English than the better-educated Congolese migrants before them, and thus, have more difficulty adjusting to daily living in the U.S. Still, U.S. employers do not always accept the professional expertise and education that immigrants received in the Congo. Thus, many educated Congolese have been forced to work in unskilled and low-paying jobs such as dishwashing and taxi cab driving. Most Congolese are Christians.

A significant number of Congolese Americans reside in the Charlotte and Raleigh areas of North Carolina, [14] in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in Texas (mainly in Arlington, Bedford, Dallas, Euless, Grand Prairie, Hurst, and Irving); [8] in the Cleveland and Columbus areas of Ohio; and in Iowa, where the Congolese community of DRC this growing due to sending refugees (although quantitatively reduced in the last years.) [15] There is also a growing population of Congolese in Portland, Maine [16] (with 1,379 self reporting as Congolese alone in Cumberland County as of 2020.) [17] Additionally, most of the refugees in Tallahassee, Florida, are from the Democratic Republic of Congo. [18]

Since 2001, many refugees from the DRC have resettled in the United States. In 2013, it was estimated that more than 10,000 refugees from the DRC live in the U.S., [11] of which more than 3,000 arrived in the U.S. in 2010. [10] The U.S. had hoped to resettle tens of thousands more from the DRC over the next five years. [11] There is a growing Congolese refugee population in Memphis, Tennessee, and other cities in the state. [19] In Kentucky, thousands of Congolese have settled in Louisville and other cities. [20] In Bowling Green, Kentucky, Congolese refugees already compose a sizable proportion of the city. [21]

Texas has the highest number of immigrants from the Republic of the Congo at 6,230. [22] Immigrants from the Republic of Congo took up the largest share of a state's population in Kentucky at 0.041%. [23] As of 2023, the Top 10 cities with the most immigrants from the Republic of the Congo were as follows: [24]

CityStateImmigrants

from Congo

% of Immigrants

from Congo

Charlotte North Carolina1,7930.207%
Louisville Kentucky9420.149%
Raleigh North Carolina9100.197%
Dallas Texas8540.066%
Irving Texas7270.286%
Amarillo Texas7140.356%
Fort Worth Texas6930.076%
Houston Texas6550.029%
Abilene Texas6510.519%
Lexington Kentucky6320.197%

Texas has the highest number of immigrants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), formerly known as Zaire, at 5,580. [25] Immigrants from the DRC took up the largest share of a state's population in Iowa at 0.12%. [26] As of 2023, the Top 10 cities with the most immigrants from the DRC were as follows:

CityStateImmigrants

from DRC

% of Immigrants

from DRC

Charlotte North Carolina1,8470.214%
Lexington Kentucky1,3730.427%
Nashville North Carolina1,1540.169%
Houston Texas1,0200.044%
Louisville Kentucky9970.158%
Waterloo Iowa9751.440%
Portland Maine9671.421%
Buffalo New York8740.317%
Phoenix Arizona8180.051%
Irving Texas7570.298%

Organizations

Congolese Community of Chicago aims to facilitate the integration of people of Congolese descent into the American tapestry while running programs to educate others about Congolese culture. [27]

Congolese Community of North Carolina-Raleigh (COCOM-NC-Raleigh) provides educational opportunities for Congolese children and their families in North Carolina's Research Triangle. [28]

Congolese Women Association of New England provides immigration counseling, job training, ESL classes, and cultural practice workshops to Congolese women in New England. [29]

Other organizations include the Salem Gospel Ministries in the DC area, Congolese Community of Houston, [30] and Congolese Community of Northern California. [31]

Notable people

Democratic Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo

See also

Related Research Articles

The earliest known human settlements in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been dated back to the Middle Stone Age, approximately 90,000 years ago. The first real states, such as the Kongo, the Lunda, the Luba and Kuba, appeared south of the equatorial forest on the savannah from the 14th century onwards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo</span>

Demographic features of the population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo include ethnicity, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Republic of the Congo</span> Country in Central Africa

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country in Central Africa. By land area, the DRC is the second-largest country in Africa and the 11th-largest in the world. With a population of around 112 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous Francophone country in the world. The national capital and largest city is Kinshasa, which is also the economic center. The country is bordered by the Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, the Cabinda exclave of Angola, and the South Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bukavu</span> Provincial capital and city in South Kivu, DR Congo

Bukavu is a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), lying at the extreme south-western edge of Lake Kivu, west of Cyangugu in Rwanda, and separated from it by the outlet of the Ruzizi River. It is the capital of the South Kivu Province and as of 2012 it had an estimated population of 806,940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burmese Americans</span> Americans of Burmese birth or descent

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Army for the Liberation of Rwanda</span> Rebel group from the Second Congo War

The Army for the Liberation of Rwanda was a rebel group largely composed of members of the Interahamwe and Armed Forces of Rwanda. Operating mostly in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo along the border with Rwanda, it carried out attacks throughout the Second Congo War against forces aligned with Rwanda and Uganda. In 2000, the ALiR agreed to merge with the Hutu resistance movement based in Kinshasa into the new Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). ALiR was largely supplanted by the FDLR by 2001.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masisi Territory</span> Territory in North Kivu, DR Congo

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Republic of the Congo–United States relations</span> Bilateral relations

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Republic of the Congo–Russia relations</span> Bilateral relations

Democratic Republic of the Congo–Russia relations are the bilateral foreign relations between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Russia. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has an embassy in Moscow and an honorary consulate in Yekaterinburg. Russia has an embassy in Kinshasa. The relations between the two countries were established on July 7, 1960, and restored since November 30, 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minembwe</span> Village in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Congolese in the United Kingdom consist of immigrants from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) living in the United Kingdom as well as their British-born descendants. The demonym Congolese can also refer to people from the Republic of Congo, of whom there are fewer living in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canada–Democratic Republic of the Congo relations</span> Bilateral relations

Canada–Democratic Republic of the Congo relations are the bilateral relations between Canada and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Canada has an embassy in Kinshasa and D.R. Congo has an embassy in Ottawa.

The DRC Mapping Exercise Report, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1993-2003 UN Mapping Report, was a report by the United Nations within the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the wake of the armed aggressions and war which took place between March 1993 and June 2003. Its aim was to map the most serious violations of human rights, together with violations of international humanitarian law, committed within the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In doing this it was to assess the capacities within the national justice system to deal appropriately with such human rights violations and to formulate a series of options aimed at assisting the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in identifying appropriate transitional justice mechanisms to deal with the legacy of these violations. It contained 550 pages and contained descriptions of 617 alleged violent incidents.

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Congolese Australians are a people who were either born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or the Republic of the Congo, or are of Congolese heritage, who have since settled in Australia. The Congolese Australian population has seen a marked increase since the end of the 20th century, growing from 21 individuals in 1996, to 5,522 by the 2016 Census. The influx of Congolese immigrants in the 1990s were initially the result of the First Congo War, a civil war in the country of Zaire, as well as the effects of the Rwandan genocide on the eastern border of the country, which created rebel militia groups, completely destabilizing state authority at the time. According to the 2016 Census, approximately 80% (3,228) of all Congolese-born Australians arrived in Australia between 2006 and 2016, this sudden increase in Congolese immigration was the result of a conflict between the Democratic Republic of the Congo's conflict against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, an ongoing conflict beginning in 2004. The Congolese Australian population have settled evenly across the country's states and territories, with the largest populations being located in Queensland, Western Australia, and Victoria. Like most African Australians, it is not uncommon for Congolese Australians to experience racism, and research on their experience has been ongoing following their arrival in the early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massacres of Hutus during the First Congo War</span> Genocidal massacres

During the First Congo War, Rwandan, Congolese, and Burundian Hutu men, women, and children in villages and refugee camps were hunted down and became victims of mass killings in eastern Zaire.

The Kasika massacre took place on August 24, 1998, in the villages of Kasika, Kilungutwe, Kalama, and Zokwe, located in the Luindi Chiefdom of the Mwenga Territory in the South Kivu Province, situated in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Troops from the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) and Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), primarily composed of Tutsi armed forces, killed over 1,000 civilians, predominantly belonging to the Nyindu community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Republic of the Congo–Israel relations</span> Bilateral relations

Formal diplomatic relations between Israel and the Democratic Republic of Congo have existed since 1962. Both countries are members of the United Nations. In 1973, like the majority of African countries that previously recognized Israel, Zaire decided to break its relations with Israel after the Yom Kippur War, but reestablished them, unlike other African countries, in the early 1980s.

References

  1. 1 2 "Table 1. First, Second, and Total Responses to the Ancestry Question by Detailed Ancestry Code: 2000". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  2. ↑ "CITIZENSHIP STATUS IN THE UNITED STATES: Total population in the United States. 2006-2010 American Community Survey Selected Population Tables". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2020-02-12. Retrieved 2013-12-06.
  3. ↑ "Population Movements | Congolese Refugee Health Profile | Immigrant and Refugee Health | CDC". www.cdc.gov. February 26, 2019.
  4. ↑ Wenzl, Polly (April 24, 2023). "Refugee from the Congo escapes violence to build life anew: 'Wichita is my home'". Wichita Beacon.
  5. ↑ "Yearbook 2017 | Homeland Security". www.dhs.gov. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  6. ↑ Butler, Chris (December 23, 2019). "Refugee Arrivals in Tennessee Increased 46 Percent Under Gov. Bill Lee in 2019, the Majority from High TB Burden Countries".
  7. ↑ "As Fewer Refugees Come To Arizona, The Congolese Community Grows". Fronteras. July 10, 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 CONGOLESE COMMUNITY IN NORTH TEXAS - Texas Baptists.
  9. ↑ "CNN Living heroes". 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
  10. 1 2 Fronteras: The changing America Desk. Congolese Immigrants Search For A Voice. Posted by Nick Blumberg in Tuesday, October 25, 201. Retrieved October 24, 2:55pm.
  11. 1 2 3 Refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  12. ↑ Africans and Their Descendants in the Americas: Restoring the Links Using Historical Documents and Databases. Retrieved October 14, 2012, to 20:20 pm.
  13. ↑ Encyclopedia of Chicago: Congolese in Chicago. Posted by Tracy Steffes. Retrieved September 4, 2012, to 2:06 pm.
  14. ↑ "Immigrants from Congo in the United States by City | 2023 | Zip Atlas". zipatlas.com. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  15. ↑ Durrie Bouscaren (16 August 2013). "Congolese refugee community to grow in Iowa" . Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  16. ↑ Taylor, Kate (23 June 2019). "Maine Needed New, Young Residents. African Migrants Began Arriving by the Dozens". The New York Times.
  17. ↑ Bureau, US Census. "Detailed Races and Ethnicities in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2020 Census". Census.gov. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  18. ↑ Hassanein, Nada. "In 2018, Tallahassee resettled the highest number of refugees in Florida". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  19. ↑ In the Courts and in the Capitol, #RefugeesWelcome tnimmigrant.org
  20. ↑ [url=https://www.kentuckyrefugees.org/refugees-in-kentucky/louisville/]
  21. ↑ [url=https://www.kentuckyrefugees.org/refugees-in-kentucky/bowling-green/]
  22. ↑ "Top 10 States | Immigrants from Congo | 2023 | Zip Atlas". zipatlas.com. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  23. ↑ "Top 10 States | Percentage of Immigrants from Congo | 2023 | Zip Atlas". zipatlas.com. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  24. ↑ "Immigrants from Congo in the United States by City | 2023 | Zip Atlas". zipatlas.com. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  25. ↑ "Top 10 States | Immigrants from Zaire | 2023 | Zip Atlas". zipatlas.com. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  26. ↑ "Top 10 States | Percentage of Immigrants from Zaire | 2023 | Zip Atlas". zipatlas.com. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  27. ↑ "Congolese community of Chicago". Archived from the original on 7 June 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  28. ↑ "Congolese Community of North Carolina-Raleigh Association".
  29. ↑ "Congolese Americans: Finding a Home in New England" . Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  30. ↑ "THE CONGOLESE COMMUNITY OF HOUSTON (CCH), INC. Houston, TX Wysk Company Profile". Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  31. ↑ Congolese Community of Northern California.

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