African Immigrants in Washington DC

By

Julian Campbell, Lisa Cree, Jamie Engels, Justin George, Bethan Haaga, Christin Adaora Hayfron-Benjamin, Benjamin Maggin, Noela Mbulle, Alan McCombs, John McManus, Svetlana Milbert, Mankaa Ngwa-Suh

In the Fall of 2004, several students in Professor David Gordon'’s African history class at the University of Maryland took part in a service-learning project. The program was designed to help them understand the experiences of the New African Diaspora. With the ultimate goal of understanding how dreams have met with reality for these immigrants, twelve interviews with African immigrants were conducted. The interviewees were selected from several different organizations whose goal is to aid African immigrants.

The following is a compilation of their findings. It includes a brief historical overview of the current state America finds itself in with respect to immigration from Africa. The main section is a summary of the immigrants experience in four main areas: social, economic, cultural, and political. It has been compiled in such a manner as to allow the immigrants themselves to tell first hand of their experiences.

Appendix One has information about several of the D.C. organizations committed to aiding immigrants, briefly discussing what they do. Appendix Two consists of the questionnaire used as an informal guide for the open-ended interviews that lasted from 30 minutes to two hours. Professor Gordon at the University of Maryland, College Park, holds transcripts of most of these interviews.

We hope you enjoy the following. While it doesn’t claim to be able to provide a broad generalization of all immigrants in the Washington area, it does serve as an avenue whereby specific immigrants can tell their stories. That is the ultimate goal of this report.

African Immigration to the United States

The United States has historically been a country with a significant immigrant population. Most immigrants settle in major metropolitan areas such as Washington D.C. Although most new immigrants still come from those countries closest to the U.S., such as El Salvador and Mexico, there is an increasing number of Sub-Saharan African immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers settling in the U.S.A.

America is currently experiencing a particularly diverse wave of immigration from all over the globe. The foreign-born population of the U.S., as of 2002, was approximately 33.1 million, or 11.5% of the total population.

Sub-Saharan Africans do not account for the majority of these new Americans, but do form a rapidly growing group in the U.S. During the 1990s, immigration from sub-Saharan Africa grew by 174% due to three main factors; the diversity visa program, the decision to admit more refugees from African war zones, and greater opportunities for graduate study in the U.S. African immigrants most commonly come from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa, Liberia, Kenya, and Somalia.

Washington, D.C. is unique in terms of immigration when compared to the 100 largest cities in the United States because of the large number of immigrants. According to the Brookings Institute, who compiled data from the 2000 Census, 1 in 8 D.C. residents are foreign-born. Of this population, over half entered the United States during the 1990’s with only 3 in 10 becoming naturalized citizens. These new immigrants to the Washington D.C. area come from a variety of countries including El Salvador, Jamaica, China, the United Kingdom, Ethiopia, Mexico, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Of the total population recorded in the 2000 Census, 13% of the D.C. foreign-born population is from Africa. Of this, 3.9% are new immigrants arriving from Ethiopia. Other Sub-Sahara African countries with representative immigrant populations as a percentage of total immigrants in the D.C. area include 2.3% from Nigeria, 2% from Ghana, 1.6% from Sierra Leone, and 1.1 % from Somalia. African immigrants comprise 16.2% of the new arrivals to the D.C. area showing that they are choosing to move to D.C. over other cities. Once they arrive, African immigrants tend to reside in diverse communities inside the Capital beltway and in Prince George'’s County, Maryland. It is clear that Washington D.C. is the desired destination for many immigrants and the foreign-born population will continue to grow.

The Interviewees

The following is a compilation of the immigrants'’ responses to questions in four different areas. Pseudonyms have been used in all cases. Among those cited are:

James is 31 and is from Kenya. For 10 years, he worked at a refugee camp in Kenya which was opened especially for the Sudanese Lost Boys but expanded to help people from all over Africa. He came to the United States in 2001 to attend graduate school. He currently works at a community organization, helping refugees, especially with job development.

Nida is in her fifties and originally from Ethiopia. She came over to the United States in 1972 as a student and has spent the last ten years working first-hand with new arrivals as executive director of a community organization.

Rasha is a Malian, living with her husband in D.C. She has not had a favorable impression of America and she and her husband plan to return to Africa (Senegal) in the next year.

Kwame is a Ghanaian, who immigrated to the United States one year ago.

Angela is a 40-year old woman originally from Ethiopia who came to the United States when she was 16 and now resides in Washington D.C. She does sales work from her home and has a son who is 13 and a daughter who is 10.

Sidi is a high school teacher in Virginia, originally from Sierra Leone, and lives with his two children.

Abraham is a young (early 20's-30's) Ethiopian immigrant who fled his country because of domestic unrest. Currently he is looking for a job, while, ultimately aspiring to go to college.

Mohammad is an immigrant from Mali. He has been living in the D.C. area for 13 years.

Sekou is a 21 year old male Senegalese immigrant. He immigrated to America with his family in his youth. He is currently a student in Maryland.

Economic Experiences

Not surprisingly, employment was the paramount concern for the majority of immigrants. Expectations upon arriving seemed very similar amongst all the immigrants, which revolved around a large availability of jobs, ample disposable income and opportunities to move up the social ladder. The reality has been mixed; some have found their experiences fueling their belief in the American dream, acquiring well-paid jobs and saving sufficient money to purchase houses and cars. Many, however, have seen their expectations dashed, finding it difficult to find work, having to accept low-paying jobs, working long hours and, in some cases, having to work more than one job to support their family.

Attention was concentrated often on the organizations involved in the employment process. Praise was given to the many programs run by associations. These services ranged from job clubs to mock interviews, which they found helpful in their attempts to find employment. On the other hand, criticisms were levied at aspects of the system, from its strict requirements on sponsorship to the eight-month limit on benefits. Immigrants felt this hindered their endeavors to find work and settle down.

Nevertheless, hopes for the future remained predominately positive. Many saw the education of their children as their primary concern, thus giving them the skills to obtain well-paying jobs. Some talked about saving the capital to run their own private enterprise, still others discussed how to strengthen community structures that help to support people and find them jobs.

James:
the impression that we've always got is that United States is…there’s a lot of money in United States. Even people who are not employed get paid and employment benefits, I guess…So when I arrived in America for the first time… I saw everywhere they were advertising jobs. Everywhere it was 'help wanted,' 'help wanted.'I was like, 'gosh, there are so many jobs in this country.' I remember when I was queuing up in the line…[at the airport] in Chicago... Somebody behind me, he asked me "are you a foreigner in this country?"I said, "yes, in fact I have just arrived." Then he said, "are you by any chance a lawyer?" And I said, "no, I wish I could. I wanted to be a lawyer but I never made it." He said, "oh, I would've given you a job if you were a lawyer." So I was like, how can just a stranger ask something like that? So I just turned around to look at him properly. And he said, "yeah, I'm serious"...It was just amazing that somebody could just ask me like that. Then I was like, oh, sure. I was like "it is proving that what I was thinking about before I came was actually true.' There are so many jobs.

Nida:
Some people who have been here go sometimes back to Ethiopia and the exchange rate is ... if you have 1 US dollars, it's 8-something in Ethiopia and they probably just see them spend, do this and that, and they think that life is so wonderful and great here. But for that person to get that money, all that work! 2, 3, 4 jobs, and he's been on the job for a long time.

Rasha:
I started from scratch. We had it all made back home, and you had to come here and be in an efficiency or one bedroom and start all over…. Even the pots I had to buy to cook food for my family.... But we lived the American dream though, because we went from that efficiency to this house. So somewhere we worked hard and we were able to make a living for ourselves.

Nida:
There are three different types of Africans I see here. There are very few persons who are in the very high level, upper-class, very few; you're counting 1,2,3,4. Then there is a middle class group. Then there is a large number of Ethiopians who are in the lower level, middle to lower level, because – I don't know what you call success. Is it money? Or is it the kind of job? Or is it the kind of house? You know, some people work 3, 4, 5 jobs and buy houses. It is success but if you consider the day-to-day life, it's not life to me, because you're working 3 jobs, you don't have time to sit down and enjoy with your kids, even enjoy your house…My brother was telling me…we were talking last week, he's working so hard! Maybe you would call him the "upper-class", he's an executive vice-president position – I'm sure he gets good money – but he's always traveling or he's always recalling this product or doing this... and by the time he gets home he's just exhausted! He was telling me, he said to his wife, "where did this tree come?" in front of their house. And his wife told him "you planted it long time ago!" This is the type of life we live, and, I mean, to say – there is success in certain areas, but I also see a large number of people working in the lower level positions or people who have been working as waitresses or as parking lot attendants. Those are the type of jobs the majority is holding. That, to me, it's good for your living because you're earning some money, you're not depending on somebody else. But, as far as upgrading yourself and seeing yourself in a different situation...the more you stay in a job, the more increases you get and the more relaxed you get. And then, what happens is they forget to get into education, or improve their skills to get into another job; after you stay in one job for 10-15 years, you say, "is it worth it?"

Abraham:
The one thing which is different, what I have realized, is that here in the United States, all the workers, they all stand all day long, no chairs behind them, but back in my country, even the cashiers in gas stations, everywhere people sit and work. It easy going but you won't get good salary on that. You can't live, for instance, back in my country if you work in a gas station, you can't survive...But here in the United States, I mean, if I work in gas station, after six months I'm going to have my own car, you know, I'm going to have a house, I mean like an apartment, I can take care of my bills.... They [The ECD.C.] are helping me in finding a job, they are giving me this classes, which can tell me how to apply, references... eight classes are the requirements, it is a must. If I don't do that I won't get funding...the D.C. government is paying something for me the health care, health insurance and stuff…. some cash allowance every month, like 200 something…so I am getting these benefits…for eight months. After that it is going to stop and I have to find a job in eight months. I have been here like for four months now and I think I am going to find a job soon, very soon.

Kwame:
Most Ghanaians here sometimes become disillusioned because you come here, you have your dreams you have your aspirations and you realize that you're not able to channel them so what we need is, we need people – I don't know if I'll say counselors – people who are able to steer our vulnerable young men who come to this country towards the right path… and then yes...another aspect is we need capital...I don't know if we have any businesses, financial institutions that could help immigrants with capital so that they can set up their own businesses… most of Africans work in retail departments and do menial jobs;…but if you talk to them most of them would like to set up something of their own, even something small; a launderette, dry cleaning, selling food stuffs ...yes set up something and have a business of their own. I mean most Akans are entrepreneurs, we like to trade yes.

Sidi:
The most important needs are jobs, because people are qualified.

Kwame:
We need capital, if we could establish capital, I don't know if we have any businesses, financial institutions that could help immigrants with capital so that they can set up their own businesses. A lot of people would like to set up their own business but don't have the capital so if we are able to pull something together and help people set up stuff that would help us a lot.

Social Experiences

Interviewees found that the people they interacted with greatly affected their perceptions of the United States and its people. Some relationships made the transition from Africa easier, while the lack of other relationships brought questions to the minds of these new immigrants. Over time, participants found that some questions had been answered, yet others remained. All in all, the social landscape has shaped the immigrants’ view of the American people and their place in American society.

Angela: I had American families that I was staying with…when I was going to school… so they actually helped me adjust to the culture, the language to a lot of things.

Nida: Well see, when I came in 1971, fortunately there were a few students from Ethiopia…at Fresno State, so it was just like home,... It takes a while to get adjusted, but the fact that I had a help in other Ethiopian students…that made me feel at home. And then there was an American university professor who knew some of my folks in Ethiopia, and he prepared a welcome for me. I stayed with him for a little while. So, it wasn’t tough. And then when I moved to Washington, D.C., even though there were not that many Ethiopians, there were some friends of my brother who received me here, who kept me to their apartment. So it was not hard at that time, ife was not as tough as it is now.

Marnette:
It was hard because I came here by myself without my family...I noticed big differences in the culture, people, family, food.

Rasha:
My family, my friends. Being connected, being known in my own environment. You're very anonymous here. Your neighbor will barely talk to you. Over there it's a big village. Everybody knows everybody. I miss that feeling.

Angela:
I miss back home... I enjoy living here I like living her...the only difference that I can is just that the people...back home the people just like the culture itself…forces people to give so much value to other people where I think here... like you could be living in the same apartment building or the same house...the same neighborhood... you probably would not know any of the single person’s name or one person’s name even if you lived there for twenty years or for ten years…You won’t be able to recognize the people, back home it’s...you’ll actually be able to recognize each other on a daily basis, you know people on a first name basis. That is the only difference…Those are the things that I miss really...it is just the closeness. So much closer.

Sidi:
Within a week, I saw people sleeping in the street, just across [from] the White House. It was so amazing…because…the United States it's a very great country, you're supposed to support those people. I think because you don't have the family. So, in Sierra Leone, it would be a cost on the individual...if even your uncle’s granddad to sleep in the street when you have a place of residing. So that's what surprised me, to see that people sleep in the street. We don't have that in Sierra Leone. People - some people - are very poor, but they always stay with their relatives and so on and so forth. That was a little surprising, feeling that everything’s okay for everybody, seeing that people begging for quarters and sleeping in the street. That's amazing, such a rich country having people sleep in the street.

Marnette:
Back home we emphasize family and community ties. I lived in a large city but it was still very traditional in the sense that I spend more time with my family. I don't know, maybe it's because my family is not here and I miss them.

Mohammad:
Conflicts? Yes, sometimes. At the beginning it was hard to understand our African American brothers because it's a different approach. And we are more African than them. So at the beginning it was hard for me to understand how they behave but later on there wasn't any problem to communicate with them and to know that all of them come from the same Motherland.

Sekou:
Like I said the strong black family, the nucleus of that has been lost here. Like we all know that African American males have the highest mortality rate in this country which means there are far more women playing the role of mother and father raising kids on their own. The strong nucleus of the father, the mother and the kids is lost but than at the same time you see little traits where like a lot of Blacks have strong ties with their grandparents and that's something similar to like the same ties you see in Africa. Like the way I am with my grandmother, I see a lot of kids here who are like that with their grandparents but you still see some of those traits but in that same case like a person who is like, "yeah, I was only with my mom". There's that cultural disconnect.

James:
I expected to be a little bit closer to the African Americans. But it is something that did not work out. And I did not understand why because I joined a lot of African American associations – student associations – in school… But, it ended up just being very student professional. Very student limitation of that group… Surprisingly, a lot of white students always wanted me to be in their group. All the time. Everywhere. So I was like... We look, you know. Our color. Our pigment is closer than these guys. I thought that would help, but I don’t think it did. So, I was like, okay, maybe that's how things work here. So it has been of the things that I've never understood why we don't click... because when you look at it and then look at the white folk... they don't seem to have the same issues we do…there could be a problem that we don’t know. Because people like, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, they tried to go to Africa and they tried to establish the relationship between Africa and African Americans. But it seemed that nobody actually went ahead to work of that… people who remain in Africa who did not come through slavery they were colonized and they were enslaved in their own countries. And we still have enslavement going on right now as we speak. So, for me, what you've just explained that because we don't share the same whatever but since we share the same heritage...I think that we are now an educated group and everyone is trying to come together. I think our weakness as black people, we are failed because we are not together…But we blacks, we are still fighting amongst ourselves. And we have less power. Everything is negative on our side because we are not together. And I don't think we are going to make this world any better for our generation unless we unite. Because, who is it helping anyway?

Sekou:
Well.. I don't feel like.. this is about to be touchy. I mean, black culture here is a product of what they've been dealt with, a lot of traditional and communal ties and stuff like that which we have had, which we all had from Africa were lost when we came here and like black culture really just got, African culture within African Americans [Black Americans] got really lost when they came here. Basically, what you see now, the state of Black community here is basically a product of what they've been dealt with. All the problems that the black community has is reflective of the situations it has been put in from day one.

Marnette:
...But I liked [the United States] a lot. I really did.

Abraham:
Americans are very, very friendly and, uh, you can tell that you have the right to speak, you can be what ever you want.

Cultural Experiences

The immigrants interviewed experienced many similar cultural assimilation issues when they arrived in the United States. Prior to arriving, many had perceptions about America that were shaped by the American movies and television that they had viewed. Others had an inkling about what America would be like. When these immigrants arrived, they were exposed to new and different customs than what they were accustomed. In all cases, there was some element of "culture shock' immediately after arrival.

Some of the people interviewed emphasized the struggle they faced in balancing a dual identity: African and American. Even those who had been fully naturalized still sometimes felt like outsiders because of where they came from. Some yearned for the customs of their former homes, while others embraced their new surroundings. One of the most important issues for some immigrants was instilling a cultural identity into their children. Those who were less pleased with their experiences in the United States seemed to favor the idea that their children remain ‘African’, perhaps even returning to Africa. Others considered it important that their children have an understanding of both cultures. Whether forging an identity for themselves or for their children, managing two cultures often created a conflict.

Aside from facing different customs when they arrived in America, many immigrants also had difficulty with the language. Some knew enough English to get by, while others did not know any English at all. One of the first steps in assimilating into their new environment was learning the language.

Nida:
The United States is a welcoming country. But, you know, as a foreigner... you cannot be an American. You're a different person; you're a different nationality....I still feel that I am an Ethiopian, I still feel that I am a second class citizen in this country, because… I'm from a different country, from a different language, different color, and… always you'll be a foreigner no matter what, as long as you have an accent in the United States.... Not to say that I'm not accepted here and there, but it's just, you still feel that you are an Ethiopian than an American.

Sidi:
Americans are accommodating people. They're nice people. They receive you wholeheartedly. That's my own view.

Mohammad:
Usually in daily life people [in Mali] are warm. I can talk to people I see on the street and I don't know them, and no one is scared about what will happen. And that is something I miss.

Kwame:
If these children get to an age and they want to live in America that's their choice, they can live in America. But I'll try as much as possible to discourage them. I'll try and inculcate in them their African traditional values. I wish and hope that they go back home but if they choose to stay I'll have nothing against that.

Sidi:
[My children] feel they are American, but I'm trying to at least tune their mind that even [though] they are born here [and] they are Americans... I'm trying to [instill] some culture, African culture, in them. I train them to know that they are Americans, but that they descend from Africa. It's good that they should know that.

Angela:
The first two years was very difficult because the language and the culture... I had to actually learn [English] on my own.

Sekou:
It's better its completely better, the way the customs and the cultures people practice over there are completely different over here. When you're young you're taught to respect your elders and because its so communal you don't see the individualism that you see here. Here its like, if a parent hits their kid the kid can just be like I'm going to call the police on you, scream at their mom. You don’t know our culture stuff like that doesn’t happen. Another thing, the security that because there's this culture where everyone is like family, there's a greater sense of security. When I was younger and my sisters and everyone else, you could be two and be in the neighborhood and my mom wouldn't have to worry about where you are because everybody knows everybody and everybody takes care of everybody. You can see a three-year-old kid in a popular neighborhood walk all the way down a block with people not even worry where is this kid; it's just different.

Angela:
You know I thought I was going to end up in Hollywood and maybe every state was just like Hollywood…. And my dream you know was to be able to accomplish that.... All we know is what we see.

Political Experiences

Many of the participants were able to identify the needs of their communities but were unable to clearly articulate what the government could do to help. Many, busy working, did not have time to participate in political activities and instead stressed the role of hard work, networking and community-based organizations over political participation as the ways to overcome the problems they face.

Many of the participants, particularly those from countries with closed political systems expressed great appreciation for the political freedoms available in the United States. Some were eager to get involved in American politics while others, able to identify the needs of their community, were not clear about what local governments could do to help their community. To address the needs of the African community, many of the participants focused more on what African community groups could do to help than on what the government should do. Some gave suggestions for things Africans could do to empower themselves in order to become self-sufficient and successful.

Sidi:
Whereas in other parts of the world they want to participate in political activities, they are banned out of that. So this is one of the things that I love in the United States. Free to exercise, free to express yourself in any environment.

Nida:
I like the freedom of speech, which is not allowed in most other international countries. You're free to do what you want and to say to a certain extent of course. I like that freedom, and I compare it to my country... freedom of religions and freedom of speech and freedom to practice. You know, you can be what you want to be and do what you want to do.

Sidi:
But by just getting a degree, trying sending a resume, it could be very difficult. I don't know because of an immigrant, I don't if it's generally like that to all immigrants, but it's difficult. Except if you have somebody who knows you.

Angela:
They should be able to, the government, should actually create more jobs ... then we need the government to help out the people that come here and the most people have language difficulty because ... you know they ... English is usually their second language for a lot of communities, so they the government should be helping those persons is what I would think…they would have to open up different…maybe a course being given maybe different colleges and maybe not at a college level because they have to start these people don’t even speak they would have to…on a community level they should they should create ... groups where people could be able to learn the language for the most part is what I think.

Sekou:
Um, I mean there's ...Yeah there's definitely stuff that Senegal can take from here. There's a lot of like, institutions … the way the institutions are set up here and the way democracy is run here not just Senegal but all of Africa can learn from it. But what people tend to forget is that you can't put western style democracies in African countries; it doesn't fit. You can't try to mold countries into something they're not. You know what I'm saying?