Garifuna Americans

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Garifuna Americans
Flag of Garifuna.svg Flag of United States.svg
Total population
c. 200,000 (2011) [1]
Regions with significant populations
Languages
American English, Garifuna, Spanish language
Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholic
Minority Protestantism
Related ethnic groups
Garifuna
Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Honduran, Afro-Guatemalans, Afro-Nicaraguans, Caribbean American, West Indian

Garifuna Americans or Black Carib Americans are Americans of Garifuna ancestry, who are descendants of Arawak, Kalinago (Island Carib), and Afro-Caribbean people living in Saint Vincent. [2] [3] Many Garifuna were exiled from St. Vincent to the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and Nicaragua before moving to the United States.

Contents

Cultural events

As of 2012, Abrazo Garifuna in New York, an event celebrating the contributions of Garifuna Americans to New York City is in its second year. [4] Abrazo Garifuna in New York continues to be held annually as of 2014. [5]

Notable people

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalinago</span> Group of people who live in Venezuela and the Lesser Antilles

The Kalinago, formerly known as Island Caribs or simply Caribs, are an Indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. They may have been related to the Mainland Caribs (Kalina) of South America, but they spoke an unrelated language known as Island Carib. They also spoke a pidgin language associated with the Mainland Caribs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)</span> Island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean. It is the largest island of the country Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains. Its largest volcano and the country's highest peak, La Soufrière, is active, with the latest episode of volcanic activity having begun in December 2020 and intensifying in April 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dangriga</span> Town in Stann Creek, Belize

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The Garifuna people are a people of mixed free African and Amerindian ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language, and Vincentian Creole.

Afro–Latin Americans or Black Latin Americans are Latin Americans of full or mainly sub-Saharan African ancestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punta</span> Traditional music and dance performed by Garifuna people

Punta is an Afro-indigenous dance and cultural music of the Garifuna originating prior to their exile to Roatan from the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent And The Grenadines. Which is also known as Yurumei. It has African and Arawak elements which are also the characteristics of the Garifuna language. Punta is the best-known traditional dance belonging to the Garifuna community. It is also known as banguity or bunda.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethnic groups in Central America</span>

Central America is a subregion of the Americas formed by six Latin American countries and one (officially) Anglo-American country, Belize. As an isthmus it connects South America with the remainder of mainland North America, and comprises the following countries : Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hondurans</span> Citizens or natives of Honduras

Hondurans are the citizens of Honduras. Most Hondurans live in Honduras, although there is also a significant Honduran diaspora, particularly in the United States, Spain, and many smaller communities in other countries around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belizeans</span> People associated with the country of Belize through citizenship or descent

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aurelio Martínez</span> Honduran musician and politician

Aurelio Martínez, professionally known as Aurelio, is a Honduran musician and politician. He is a singer, percussionist, and guitarist known for his Garifuna music and is considered a Cultural Ambassador of the Garifuna people. According to the Guardian, he became the leading Garifuna performer after the death of musician Andy Palacio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Vincent Ramos</span> Belizean activist (1887–1955)

Thomas Vincent Ramos, commonly known as T. V. Ramos, was a Belizean civil rights activist who promoted the interests of the Garifuna people, and is now considered a national hero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afro-Guatemalans</span> Ethnic group

An Afro-Guatemalan person is a person who lives in Guatemala, but has African decency in their historical and cultural roots. This term intertwines the conquest of America by the Spanish. The Afro-Guatemalan population is not numerous today. Although it is difficult to determine specific figures, it is reported that Afro-Guatemalans represent only between 1% and 2% of the country's population. According to the Council on Hemispheric Affairs. They are of mainly English-speaking West Indian (Antillean) and Garifuna origin. They are found in the Caribbean coast, in Livingston, Puerto Barrios and Santo Tomas. In the 17th century, many enslaved blacks were able to secure for themselves or at least their future children through marriage to free people. Many of these marriages were with Mayans or Europeans, which created a mix between blacks, Mayans and Europeans. This resulted in a significant mestizo population that, over the years, has continued to dilute traces of African ancestry in many cases. Today this can be referred to as Afro-mestizos due to miscegenation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afro-Nicaraguans</span> Nicaraguans of African descent

Afro-Nicaraguans are Nicaraguans of Sub-Saharan African descent. Five main distinct ethnic groups exist: The Creoles who descend from Anglo-Caribbean countries and many of whom still speak Nicaragua English Creole, the Miskito Sambus descendants of Spanish slaves and indigenous Central Americans who still speak Miskito and/or Miskito Coast Creole, the Garifunas descendants of Zambos expelled from St. Vincent who speak Garifuna, the Rama Cay zambos a subset of the Miskito who speak Rama Cay Creole, and the descendants of those enslaved by the Spanish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afro-Hondurans</span> Ethnic group

Afro-Hondurans or Black Hondurans are Hondurans of Sub-Saharan African descent. Research by Henry Louis Gates and other sources regards their population to be around 1-2%. They descended from: enslaved Africans by the Spanish, as well as those who were enslaved from the West Indies and identify as Creole peoples, and the Garifuna who descend from exiled zambo Maroons from Saint Vincent. The Creole people were originally from Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, while the Garifuna people were originally from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Garifunas arrived in the late seventeen hundreds and the Creole peoples arrived during the eighteen hundreds. About 600,000 Hondurans are of Garífuna descent that are a mix of African and indigenous as of Afro Latin Americans. Honduras has one of the largest African community in Latin America.

<i>Garifuna in Peril</i> 2012 American film

Garifuna in Peril is a low-budget independent fiction docufiction feature film directed, written, and produced by Alí Allié and Rubén Reyes. The film depicts historical and contemporary issues within the Garinagu Afro-Honduran indigenous community and features a cast of actors from Honduras and Belize.

Teofilo Colon Jr. is a Garifuna-American photographer, filmmaker, writer and journalist. Colon has created an online archive of information about the Garifuna culture, an Afro-Caribbean population made up of formerly African, Island Caribs, Arawak people exiled by the British from Saint Vincent Island to Roatán, an island off the coast of Honduras, who eventually emigrated to the Caribbean coasts of the Central American countries of Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua - with its biggest concentration outside that area in New York City, found most intensively in the Bronx.

Mirtha Colón is a Honduran-born Garifuna activist and social worker who assists Caribbean migrants in The Bronx and travels widely supporting the issues of HIV prevention, sex education and cultural preservation. In 2012, she was recognized by the New York State Legislature for her service to the African diaspora in the state.

Nelcia Robinson-Hazell is a Black Carib poet, community organizer and activist. She has spearheaded the development of policy initiatives throughout the Caribbean on issues regarding gender and indigenous identity. Serving as the president of the National Council of Women of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, she began in the 1980s to change the organization toward political action. Recognizing a need to establish research on the needs of women, she was involved in the creation of both local and regional organizations to analyze and develop information about the socio-economic and political inequalities women faced. She created similar initiatives for indigenous peoples, beginning first in Saint Vincent and then expanding them regionally. Robinson has been involved in international directives including the World Summit for Social Development and the 1995 World Conference on Women, as well as follow-up conferences discussing such issues as poverty, economic empowerment and violence against women. She has served as a civil society representative on the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commissions and as chair of the Commonwealth Women's Network.

References

  1. Agudelo, Carlos (2011). "Los garifunas, identidades y reivindicaciones de un pueblo afrodescendiente de América Central". Afrodescendencia: Aproximaciones contemporáneas desde América Latina y el Caribe (PDF) (in Spanish). pp. 59–66. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  2. Turin, Mark (16 December 2012). "New York, a graveyard for languages". BBC News . British Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  3. Crawford, MH; Gonzalez, NL; Schanfield, MS; Dykes, DD; Skradski, K; Polesky, HF (February 1981). "The Black Caribs (Garifuna) of Livingston, Guatemala: Genetic Markers and Admixture Estimates". Human Biology. 53 (1): 87–103. JSTOR   414645961. PMID   7239494.
  4. "Senator Ruben Diaz to celebrate the 2nd "Abrazo Garifuna in New York"". New York State Senate. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  5. "Senator Ruben Diaz to celebrate the 3rd "Abrazo Garifuna in New York"". New York State Senate . 20 March 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2014.

Further reading