Haitian American

Infobox Ethnic group
group = Haitian American Haitienne Américaine Ayisyen Ameriken


caption = Notable Haitian Americans:
Wyclef Jean • W.E.B DuBois•Kwame Raoul•Reginald Fils-Aime___________________________________
poptime = 1,550,000 [cite web |title=US Census Bureau, American FactFinder, Decennial Programs, Census 2000, Data Set Census 2000 Summary File 3 (SF 3) – Sample Data, Table: PCT18 ANCESTRY (TOTAL CATEGORIES TALLIED) FOR PEOPLE WITH ONE OR MORE ANCESTRY CATEGORIES REPORTED [109] Universe| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-context=dt&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U&-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF3_U_PCT018&-CONTEXT=dt&-tree_id=403&-redoLog=true&-all_geo_types=N&-geo_id=01000US&-search_results=01000US&-format=&-_lang=en&-SubjectID=14595646]
popplace = New York City, South Florida, Boston, Chicago
langs = American English, Haitian Creole, French
rels = Predominantly Roman Catholic with considerable adherents of Protestantism, some Mormonism and Vodou
related =
African-American, Afro-Latin Americans,Afro-Cubans,Latin Americans,Haitian Canadians, French American

Haitian Americans are Americans of Haitian heritage or immigrants born in Haiti who achieve United States citizenship. The largest proportion of Haitians live in South Florida counties and cities such as New York, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago and Boston. There are 548,199 Haitian Americans living in the U.S. During the early 1960s throughout the 1970s, many Haitians emigrated to the U.S. legally as well as illegally during François Duvalier's totalitarian regime.

US communities with high percentages of people of Haitian ancestry

The top 30 US communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Haitian ancestry are: [cite web |url=http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Haitian.html |title=Ancestry Map of Haitian Communities |publisher=Epodunk.com |accessdate=2008-08-04]

# Golden Glades, Florida 33.50%
# North Miami, Florida 33.0%
# El Portal, Florida and Spring Valley, New York 23.0%
# North Miami Beach, Florida 19.90%
# Lauderdale Lakes, Florida 15.70%
# Lake Park, Florida 14.50%
# Ives Estates, Florida 13.90%
# Immokalee, Florida 13.80%
# Pine Hills, Florida 12.10%
# Belle Glade, Florida 11.50%
# Orange, New Jersey 11.40%
# New Cassel, New York 11.30%
# Irvington, New Jersey 11.10%
# North Valley Stream, New York 10.80%
# Elmont, New York 10.70%
# Delray Beach, Florida 10.50%
# Biscayne Park, Florida 9.20%
# Mangonia Park, Florida and Lauderhill, Florida 9.10%
# Uniondale, New York 8.50%
# Miami Shores, Florida 8.30%
# Lake Worth, Florida 8.10%
# Roselle, New Jersey 8.0%
# Nyack, New York 7.80%
# South Nyack, New York 7.60%
# Ramapo, New York and Oakland Park, Florida 7.0%
# Fort Lauderdale, Florida 6.90%
# Florida City, Florida, North Lauderdale, Florida and Wilton Manors, Florida 6.70%
# Boynton Beach, Florida 6.50%
# Asbury Park, New Jersey and Fort Pierce, Florida 6.40%
# Randolph, Massachusetts 6.20%

U.S. communities with the most residents born in Haiti

Top 101 U.S. communities with the most residents born in Haiti are: [cite web |url=http://www.city-data.com/top2/h136.html |title=Top 101 cities with the most residents born in Haiti (population 500+) |publisher=city-data.com |accessdate=2008-08-04]

# Pompano Estates, FL 26.6%
# North Miami, FL 24.3%
# Golden Glades, FL 24.1%
# Kendall Green, FL 21.2%
# Tedder, FL 20.9%
# Pinewood, FL 18.5%
# Bonnie Lock-Woodsetter North, FL 16.6%
# Spring Valley, NY 16.4%
# Loch Lomond, FL 15.6%
# Hillcrest, NY 14.7%
# El Portal, FL 14.0%
# North Miami Beach, FL 13.8%
# Melrose Park, FL 11.5%
# Lauderdale Lakes, FL 11.2%
# Belle Glade Camp, FL 10.7%
# Immokalee, FL 10.5%
# Delray Beach, FL 10.3%
# Lake Park, FL 10.1%
# Belle Glade, FL 10.1%
# Naples Manor, FL 9.6%
# Leisureville, FL 9.1%
# Ives Estates, FL 9.1%
# New Cassel, NY 9.0%
# Biscayne Park, FL 8.8%
# Twin Lakes, FL 8.7%
# Norland, FL 8.5%
# Pine Hills, FL 8.4%
# Orange, NJ 8.4%
# Lake Worth, FL 8.1%
# Irvington, NJ 8.1%
# Westview, FL 8.0%
# Oak Ridge, FL 7.8%
# North Valley Stream, NY 7.8%
# Elmont, NY 7.6%
# South Nyack, NY 7.1%
# Lantana, FL 6.4%
# Boynton Beach, FL 6.4%
# Lauderhill, FL 6.4%
# Wilton Manors, FL 6.4%
# Miami Shores, FL 6.2%
# Mangonia Park, FL 6.2%
# Roselle, NJ 6.2%
# East Garden City, NY 5.9%
# Fort Lauderdale, FL 5.9%
# Uniondale, NY 5.8%
# Nyack, NY 5.8%
# Asbury Park, NJ 5.6%
# Ramapo, NY 5.4%
# Collier Manor-Cresthaven, FL 5.3%
# Fort Pierce, FL 5.3%
# Oakland Park, FL 5.3%
# Westgate-Belvedere Homes, FL 5.3%
# Whitfield, FL 5.2%
# Broadview-Pompano Park, FL 5.2%
# North Lauderdale, FL 5.1%
# Randolph, MA 4.9%
# Pompano Beach, FL 4.8%
# St. Leo, FL 4.8%
# Lake Forest, FL 4.5%
# Scott Lake, FL 4.4%
# Inwood, FL 4.4%
# Golden Gate, FL 4.3%
# Wyandanch, NY 4.3%
# Breckinridge Center, KY 4.3%
# Seminole Manor, FL 4.2%
# South Floral Park, NY 4.1%
# Lakeview, NY 4.0%
# Miramar, FL 4.0%
# Wheatley Heights, NY 3.9%
# Miami, FL 3.9%
# Brockton, MA 3.9%
# Fort Myers, FL 3.8%
# Lake Belvedere Estates, FL 3.8%
# Pine Manor, FL 3.7%
# Pompano Beach Highlands, FL 3.7%
# Andover, FL 3.7%
# East Orange, NJ 3.6%
# West Little River, FL 3.5%
# West Palm Beach, FL 3.5%
# Maplewood, NJ 3.4%
# Rodney Village, DE 3.3%
# Pomona, NY 3.2%
# [http://www.city-data.com/city/Northwest-Dade-Florida.html Northwest Dade, FL] 3.2%
# Pembroke Park, FL 3.2%
# Baldwin, NY 3.1%
# Naranja, FL 3.1%
# Florida City, FL 3.1%
# Miami Gardens, Broward County, FL 3.1%
# Lake Worth Corridor, FL 3.0%
# Pine Castle, FL 3.0%
# Homestead, FL 3.0%
# St. George, FL 3.0%
# Pleasantville, NJ 3.0%
# West Haverstraw, NY 2.9%
# Nanuet, NY 2.8%
# Roosevelt, NY 2.8%
# Deerfield Beach, FL 2.8%
# East Perrine, FL 2.8%
# Linden, NJ 2.7%
# Everett, MA 2.7%
# Tangelo Park, FL 2.6%

Background

Vast disparity between the Haitian wealthy minority and the poor majority existed and continues to exist. Political strife, marked with corruption, and intimidation led to many Haitians leaving the island for an opportunity of a better life. Waves of Haitians made it to the shores of Florida seeking asylum. Most of the foreign-born Haitians arrived during the 1970s. The Haitian immigration to United States started with the exodus of most French settlers in Haiti. Florida has the largest percentage of Haitians residing within its borders. In 2000, Florida had 182,224 foreign-born Haitians, 43.5% of the total foreign born population from Haiti. That excludes the number of American born Haitians. New York had the second largest population of foreign-born Haitians with 125,475, approximately 30%. Illegal Haitians attempting to reach the shores of Florida are routinely swept up by the United States Coast Guard and more-often-than-not, repatriated. This has led to many civil rights group protests regarding the unfair treatment they receive, in contrast to the asylum granted (see: wet feet, dry feet policy) to their illegal Cuban counterparts.

Adjustment and culture

The Haitians that emigrated to the United States brought many of their cultural practices and ideologies into their communities. Many foreign-born Haitians go into the business sector, often setting up their own businesses. Many Haitians establish barbershops, their own restaurants (predominately of Haitian cuisine, however other Latin American food is often prepared), and many venture into car service. Haitian presence and culture is often strongly felt when entering communities of a significant Haitian American population, most notably, the well-known ethnic enclave in Miami, Florida known as Little Haiti. Neighborhoods in New York, such as East Flatbush (Nostrand), of Brooklyn and Elmont, Long Island, have a significant Haitian American influence. The Mattapan section of Boston is considered the main center of Boston Haitians. Influence is sometimes marked by the everyday conversations between people in Haitian Creole on the streets. Second-generation Haitian Americans are generally more successful in terms of higher-paying occupations, and significantly better off in terms of level of education.

Notable Haitian Americans

See List of Haitian Americans

References