| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,716 (2000 US census) [1] 16,000 (Togolese-born. 2008-2012 American Community Survey Briefs) [2] | |
| Languages | |
| Lists of Americans |
|---|
| By US state |
| By ethnicity or nationality |
Togolese Americans are Americans of Togolese descent. According to answers provided to an open-ended question included in the 2000 census, 1,716 people said that their ancestry or ethnic origin was Togolese. [1] An unofficial estimate in 2008 of the Togolese American population was more than 2,500. [3]
The first people from present-day Togo arrived in the United States enslaved. Most of these slaves shipped to the United States were disembarked at the Gulf Coast. The Gulf Coast includes the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Most of the slaves belonged to the Ewe people which inhabit the south-eastern part of Ghana, Togo, Benin, and south-western Nigeria. This lasted until 1859, when Togolese-descended Cudjo Lewis arrived to Mobile from Dahomey. [4] After the abolition of slavery, few Togolese came to the United States.
Most Togolese who live in the United States are in the country legally and have received diversity immigrant visas, [3] which require them to show that they were not likely to become public charges before receiving the visas. [5] Many Togolese emigrated to the U.S. to further their education. [3]
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It is one of the least developed countries and extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its capital, Lomé, is located. It is a small, tropical country, which covers 56,785 square kilometres and has a population of approximately 8 million, and has a width of less than 115 km (71 mi) between Ghana and its eastern neighbor Benin.
Multiracial people or mixed race people are people of more than one race. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including multiethnic, polyethnic, occasionally bi-ethnic, Métis, Muwallad, Colored, Dougla, half-caste, ʻafakasi, mestizo, mutt, Melungeon, quadroon, octoroon, sambo/zambo, Eurasian, hapa, hāfu, Garifuna, pardo, and Gurans. A number of these terms are now considered offensive, in addition to those that were initially coined for pejorative use. Melezi (Мелези) are called the offspring of Muslim Romani men and woman of Host populations.
Race and ethnicity in the United States census, defined by the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the United States Census Bureau, are the self-identified categories of race or races and ethnicity chosen by residents, with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether they are of Hispanic or Latino origin.
The United States has a racially and ethnically diverse population. At the federal level, race and ethnicity have been categorized separately. The most recent United States census officially recognized seven racial categories as well as people of two or more races. The Census Bureau also classified respondents as "Hispanic or Latino" or "Not Hispanic or Latino", identifying as an ethnicity, which comprises the largest minority group in the nation. The census also asked an "Ancestry Question," which covers the broader notion of ethnicity, in the 2000 census long form and the 2010 American Community Survey; the question worded differently on "origins" will return in the 2020 census.
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. Between the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 and 2017, Sub-Saharan African-born population in the United States grew to 2.1 million people.
Caribbean Americans or West Indian Americans are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Caribbean. Caribbean Americans are a multi-ethnic and multi-racial group that trace their ancestry further in time mostly to Africa, as well as Asia, the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, and to Europe. As of 2016, about 13 million — about 4% of the total U.S. population — have Caribbean ancestry.
Ghanaian Americans are an ethnic group of Americans of full or partial Ghanaian ancestry or Ghanaian immigrants who became naturalized citizen of the United States.
South African Americans are Americans who have full or partial ancestry from South Africa. As of 2021, there were approximately 123,461 people born in South Africa who were living in the United States.
Angolan Americans are an ethnic group of Americans of Angolan descent or Angolan immigrants. According to estimates, by the year 2000 there were 1,642 people descended from Angolan immigrants in the United States. However, the number of Angolan Americans is difficult to determine. Many African-Americans are descendants of Angolan enslaved people. In 1644, most of the 6,900 slaves bought on the African coast to clear the forests, lay roads, build houses and public buildings, and grow food came from the established stations in Angola.
Sierra Leonean Americans are an ethnic group of Americans of full or partial Sierra Leonean ancestry. This includes Sierra Leone Creoles whose ancestors were African American Black Loyalists freed after fighting on the side of the British during the American Revolutionary War. Some African Americans trace their roots to indigenous enslaved Sierra Leoneans exported to the United States between the 18th and early 19th century. In particular, the Gullah people of partial Sierra Leonean ancestry, fled their owners and settled in parts of South Carolina, Georgia, and the Sea Islands, where they still retain their cultural heritage. The first wave of Sierra Leoneans to the United States, after the slavery period, was after the Sierra Leone Civil War in the 1990s and early 2000s. According to the American Community Survey, there are 34,161 Sierra Leonean immigrants living in the United States.
Malian Americans are an ethnic group of Americans with ancestry originating in Mali. According to the US Census Bureau ancestry survey, approximately 1,800 Americans stated they had Malian ancestry, making them Malian Americans. The survey did not take into account illegal immigrants or people who did not participate in the survey, which could mean that many more uncounted Malians live throughout the United States.
Guinean Americans are an ethnic group of Americans of Guinean descent. According to estimates by 2000 US Census, there were 3,016 people who identified Guinean as one of their two top ancestry identities. However, in November 2010 the New York Times estimated that as many 10,000 Guineans and Guinean Americans reside in New York City alone.
North African Americans are Americans with origins in the region of North Africa. This group includes Americans of Algerian, Egyptian, Libyan, Moroccan, and Tunisian descent.
Beninese American are Americans of Beninese descent. According to the census of 2000, in the United States there are only 605 Americans of Beninese origin. However, because since the first half of the eighteenth century to nineteenth many slaves were exported from Benin to the present United States, the number of African Americans with one or more Beninese ancestors could be much higher. The number of slaves from Bight of Benin exported to present United States exceeded 6,000 people, although this might consist not only in Benin, but also washes the shores of Ghana, Togo and Nigeria. It is also important to note that they were slaves from modern Benin, who exchanged voodoo practices with Francophone African descendants in Louisiana. Currently, there are Beninese communities in cities such as Chicago or Washington D.C. and in other states as New York. As of 2021, there were over 500 Beninese immigrants in the town of Austin, Minnesota.
Cameroonian American are an ethnic group of Americans of Cameroonians descent. According to the census of 2010, in the United States there were 16,894 Americans of Cameroonian origin. According to the 2007–2011 American Community Survey there are 33,181 Cameroonian-born people living in the United States.
Surinamese Americans are Americans of Surinamese descent. According to answers provided to an open-ended question included in the 2000 census, 2,833 people said that their ancestry or ethnic origin was Surinamese.
Yoruba Americans are Americans of Yoruba descent. The Yoruba people are a West African ethnic group that predominantly inhabits southwestern Nigeria, with smaller indigenous communities in Benin and Togo.
Bissau-Guinean Americans are Americans of Bissau-Guinean descent. As was the case with almost all current West African coastal countries, the first people in the United States from present-day Guinea-Bissau were imported as slaves. Thus, in the 21st century, there are many African Americans who have discovered, through DNA analysis, they descend mainly or at least partly, from Bissau-Guinean enslaved people.
African Americans in Louisiana or Black Louisianians are residents of the U.S. state of Louisiana who are of African ancestry; those native to the state since colonial times descend from the many African slaves working on indigo and sugarcane plantations under French colonial rule.
Gambian Americans are an ethnic group of Americans of Gambian descent. There are about 8000 Gambians living in the United States, involving themselves in activities ranging from business and entrepreneurship to college education. Additionally, during the Atlantic slave trade, many Africans from what is now The Gambia were traded and were subsequently sold by Europeans and Americans into forced labor in the United States. Gambian immigrants arriving in the United States include members of ethnic groups such as the Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, Jola, and Serahule.
