Kenyan Americans

Kenyan Americans
**Wamarekani wa Kenya**
Total population
	estimated 92,638
Regions with significant populations
	Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Washington, D.C., Boston, Seattle, New York, Minneapolis. Maryland, North Carolina, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Texas, and Southern United States
Languages
	Swahili, English (Kenyan dialect)
Religion
	Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Islam
Related ethnic groups
	Luo ; Ugandan Americans ; Tanzanian Americans ; African Americans ;

Last updated December 06, 2024

Kenyan Americans are an ethnic group of Americans of Kenyan descent and ancestry. As of the 2021 census, there were an estimated 94,623 Kenyan-born persons living in the United States. Most Kenyan Americans are concentrated in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Seattle, Texas, Maryland, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, and the greater Washington, D.C. area.^[3]

History

Restrictions against immigration from Asia and Africa led to little voluntary immigration from Kenya until the latter half of the 20th century and low a number of slaves bringing to the Americas in late 18th century and early 19th century at the Atlantic slave trade. Kenyan emigration to the United States then noted a large increase, nearly doubling from the decades before.

This increase was caused by several factors; political instability and a downturn in the economy in the 1980s in Kenya coupled with a high rate of unemployment (over 35 percent) led to a greater desire to immigrate. Some immigrants were also attracted to technology-oriented careers in the United States that boomed in availability in the 1990s and early 2000s.^[3]

Demographics

Kenyan Americans come from ethnic groups such as the Kikuyu, Kisii, Luhya,Maasai people[Maasai] Kamba, Kalenjin, Meru or Luo people.

The largest populations of Kenyans in the United States are found in Texas, Minnesota, Washington, Southern California, Massachusetts, and Maryland (including the greater Washington, D.C. area.) Many Kenyans are also established in Georgia and North Carolina, states with important health care centers.

According to the 2010 census, approximately one-third of persons born in Kenya who are living in the US have become naturalized citizens.^[1]^[3]

African immigrants are among the most educated groups in the United States. Like their recent immigrant counterparts Kenyan Americans give a high value to education.^[3]

According to estimates from the Migration Policy Institute for 2015 to 2019, the total number of immigrants from Kenya in the United States was 141,800.^[4] The top counties of settlement were as follows:

1) Hennepin County, MN – 6,900

2) King County, WA – 4,500

3) Tarrant County, TX – 4,400

4) Dallas County, TX – 3,700

5) Baltimore County, MD – 3,000

6) Harris County, TX – 2,900

7) Los Angeles County, CA – 2,500

8) Franklin County, OH – 2,500

9) Middlesex County, Mass.– 2,400

10) Collin County, TX – 2,400

11) Pierce County, WA – 2,200

12) Montgomery County, MD – 2,000

13) Cobb County, GA – 2,000

14) Ramsey County, MN – 1,900

15) New Castle County, DE – 1,900

16) Maricopa County, AZ – 1,800

17) Johnson County, KS – 1,800

From the same source for 2017-2021, there was a total of 150,900 Kenyan immigrants nationally, the top counties of settlement being:

1) King County, WA. – 6,800 – 1)

2) Hennepin, MN – 6,800 – (Down 1)

3) Tarrant County, TX – 5,100 – (Same)

4) Dallas County, TX – 3,700 – (Same)

5) Middlesex County, MA – 3,100 – (Up 4)

6) Franklin County, OH – 3,000 – (Up 2)

7) Pierce County, WA – 2,900 – (Up 4)

8) Los Angeles County, CA – 2,800 – (Down 1)

9) Harris County, TX – 2,800 – (Down 3)

10) Baltimore County, MD – 2,700 – 5)

11) ) Ramsey County, MN – 2,200 – (Up 3)

12) Wake County, NC – 2,100 – (New)

13) Maricopa County, AZ – 2,100 – (Up 3)

14) Johnson County, KS – 2,100 – (Up 3)

15) Collin County, TX – 2,100 – (Down 5)

16) Saint Louis County, MO – 1,900 – (New)

17) Montgomery County, MD – 1,900 – (Down 5)

18) Orange County, CA – 1,800

19) New Castle County, DE – 1,800 – (Down 4)

20) Worcester County, MA – 1,500

21) Fort Bend County, TX – 1,500

22) Fairfax County, VA – 1,500

23) Dakota County, MN – 1,500

24) Hudson County, NJ – 1,400

25) Gwinnett County, GA – 1,400

26) Essex County, NJ – 1,400

27) Denton County, TX – 1,400

28) Cobb County, GA – 1,400 – (Down 15)

29) Middlesex County, NJ – 1,200

- Santa Clara County, California, and Cass County, North Dakota, each had 1,100 while Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, had 1,000.

Organizations

Like other immigrant groups living in the US, Kenyan Americans have created many organizations. These include the Kenya Diaspora Advisory Council, the Kenya American Association, the Kenyan-Cincinnati Association ("kcaweb", whose goal is to facilitate Kenyan integration in social and cultural scopes in the tri-state area and promoting awareness of the culture of Kenya in the United States),^[5] the Minnesota Kenyan International Development Association ("MKIDA", formed in 2003, to improve education and the economy of the Kenyan Americans) and KACA (Kenyan Americans Community Association).

The American Kenyan Educational Corporation focuses on funding secondary school students and building schools in Kenya.^[3]

Notable people

Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States; born to a Kenyan father of Luo descent
Edi Gathegi, actor known for recurring character Dr. Jeffrey Cole (aka "Big Love") in the television series House , and as Laurent in the films Twilight and its sequel The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Hamida Dakane – first Black and first Muslim person to serve in the North Dakota Legislative Assembly
Bernard Lagat, athlete for Kenya, now representing the US (of Nandi Kalenjin descent
Tom Morello, rock guitarist; of Kikuyu, Irish, and Italian descent
Liza Mucheru-Wisner, finalist on season 10 of reality show The Apprentice ^[6]
Ben Mutua Jonathan Muriithi, also known as BMJ Muriithi, journalist and actor based in Atlanta, Georgia; works for Kenyan media company Nation Media Group
Isis Nyong'o, media and technology leader
Mubarak Muyika, Silicon valley–based Entrepreneur known for founding his first company at 16 and selling it two years later in a six figure deal.
Tavia Nyong'o, scholar and professor
David Otunga, professional wrestler for WWE
The Physics, hip hop group in Seattle, Washington; of Kenyan descent
Mwende Window Snyder, of (American–Kamba descent), computer software engineer; senior security project manager at Apple Inc.
Lupita Nyong'o, Kenyan actress and an Oscar recipient featured in the movie 12 Years a Slave, and many others
Lawrence B. Jones-FOX News Conservative commentator, ancestral great grandparents are of Kenyan descent
KayCyy, rapper, singer and songwriter; born in Nairobi
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, author and professor

Related Research Articles

The demography of Kenya is monitored by the Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics. Kenya is a multi-ethnic state in East Africa. Its total population was at 47,558,296 as of the 2019 census.

The Kipsigis or Kipsigiis are a Nilotic group, contingent of the Kalenjin ethnic group and speak a dialect of the Kalenjin language identified by their community eponym, Kipsigis. It is observed that the Kipsigis and another original group native to Kenya known as Ogiek have a merged identity. The Kipsigis are the biggest sub tribe within the Kalenjin community. The latest census population in Kenya put the Kipsigis at 1,972,000 speakers, accounting for 45% of all Kalenjin speaking people. They occupy the highlands of Kericho stretching from Timboroa to the Mara River in the south and the Mau Escarpment in the east to Kebeneti. They also occupy parts of Laikipia, Kitale, Nakuru, Narok, the Trans Mara District, Eldoret and the Nandi Hills.

The Kikuyu are a Bantu ethnic group native to East Africa Central Kenya. At a population of 8,148,668 as of 2019, they account for 17.13% of the total population of Kenya, making them Kenya's largest ethnic group.

The Kalenjin is a group of tribes indigenous to East Africa, residing mainly in what was formerly the Rift Valley Province in Kenya and the eastern slopes of Mount Elgon in Uganda. They number 6,358,113 individuals per the Kenyan 2019 census and an estimated 273,839 in Uganda according to the 2014 census mainly in Kapchorwa, Kween and Bukwo districts.

The Kamba or Akamba people are a Bantu ethnic group who predominantly live in Kenya stretching from Nairobi to Tsavo and northwards to Embu, in the southern part of the former Eastern Province. This land is called Ukambani and constitutes Makueni County, Kitui County and Machakos County. They also form the second largest ethnic group in 8 counties including Nairobi and Mombasa counties.

The culture of Kenya consists of multiple traditions and trends without a single prominent culture identifying the country. Kenyan cultural heritage and modern expressions of culture instead consist of various cultures, shaped and practiced by the country's different communities.

Nakuru is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County, and it is the fourth largest city in Kenya and the largest in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya|Rift Valley region. As of 2019, Nakuru had an urban population of 570,674, making it the largest urban center in the Rift Valley, above Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County. The city lies along the Nairobi–Nakuru Highway, 160 kilometres (99 mi) from Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya.

The Agumba people were an ethnic group who inhabited the forests of Mount Kenya, but are now either extinct or assimilated.

Czech Americans, known in the 19th and early 20th century as Bohemian Americans, are citizens of the United States whose ancestry is wholly or partly originate from the Czech lands, a term which refers to the majority of the traditional lands of the Bohemian Crown, namely Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia. These lands over time have been governed by a variety of states, including the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Austrian Empire, Czechoslovakia, and the Czech Republic also known by its short-form name, Czechia. Germans from the Czech lands who emigrated to the United States are usually identified as German Americans, or, more specifically, as Americans of German Bohemian descent. According to the 2000 U.S. census, there are 1,262,527 Americans of full or partial Czech descent, in addition to 441,403 persons who list their ancestry as Czechoslovak. Historical information about Czechs in America is available thanks to people such as Mila Rechcigl.

African immigration to the United States refers to immigrants to the United States who are or were nationals of modern African countries. The term African in the scope of this article refers to geographical or national origins rather than racial affiliation. From the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 to 2017, Sub-Saharan African-born population in the United States grew to 2.1 million people.

Bolivian Americans or Bolivia-Americans are Americans of at least partial Bolivian descent.

Paraguayan Americans are Americans of Paraguayan descent.

Ol Donyo Sabuk, or Kyanzavi in Kamba, is a mountain in Kwanzaa Division, Machako's County, William Northrup McMillan was the first non native to settle here.

Nepalese Americans are Americans of Nepalese ancestry. Immigration from Nepal to the United States began in the 20th century, and many have been able to establish themselves as American nationals. The history of immigration from Nepal to America is more recent in comparison to other South Asian ethnic groups. Major community groups of Nepali Americans consists of Khas and Madhesi Nepalis, followed by minority Newars, Tharus, Tamangs, Gurungs, Limbus, Rais, Magar, Lhotshampas, Sherpas, and others, as of American Nepalese Convention Survey of 2018.

Ugandan Americans are Americans of Ugandan descent and ancestry. The survey of 2014 counted 20,248 Ugandan Americans in the United States.

Kenya's Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) was established in 2008. Kenya's modern history has been marked not only by liberation struggles but also by ethnic conflicts, semi-despotic regimes, marginalization and political violence, including the 1982 attempted coup d'état, the Shifta War, and the 2007 post-election violence.

The Kalenjin people are an ethnolinguistic group indigenous to East Africa, with a presence, as dated by archaeology and linguistics, that goes back many centuries. Their history is therefore deeply interwoven with those of their neighboring communities as well as with the histories of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Ethiopia.

The Wanga kingdom is a Bantu kingdom within Kenya, consisting of the Wanga (Abawanga) tribe of the Luhya people (Abaluyia). At its peak the kingdom covered an expansive area from Jinja in west to Naivasha in the East African Rift. The Wanga kingdom was a significant African empire and the most organized structure of government in pre-colonial Kenya politically, economically, and militarily.

The Uasin Gishu people were a community that inhabited a plateau located in western Kenya that today bears their name. They are said to have arisen from the scattering of the Kwavi by the Maasai in the 1830s. They were one of two significant sections of that community that stayed together. The other being the Laikipiak with whom they would later ally against the Maasai.

The famine in central Kenya in 1899 is regarded as a devastating catastrophe in Kenyan history. It spread rapidly from 1898 in the central region of the country around Mount Kenya after several consecutive years of low rainfall. The prevalence of locusts, cattle diseases that decimated the livestock population and the growing demand for food from travelling caravans of British, Swahili and Arab traders also contributed to the food shortage. The famine was accompanied by a smallpox epidemic that resulted in the depopulation of entire regions.

References

1 2 Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS). "American FactFinder - Results". Factfinder2.census.gov. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
↑ "Ten Largest African-Born Countries of Birth in the United States by Selected Metropolitan Statistical Areas: 2008–2012" (PDF). census.gov. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
1 2 3 4 5 "Kenyan Americans - History, Modern era, Significant immigration waves, Acculturation and Assimilation". Everyculture.com. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
↑ "U.S. Immigrant Population by State and County". migrationpolicy.org. 2014-02-04. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
↑ "Kenyan-Cincinnati Association - …Lets grow together!". Kcaweb.org. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
↑ "Donald Trump's apprentice comes home". Daily Nation .