Culture Club: Coming to America

Everyone is challenged with trying to preserve the culture of our children from Ethiopia. Some have accepted and some have not that living in America our children will also be a part of the African American community. Others ask what is the correlation between Blacks in America and Ethiopian children?

1. A child born in Ethiopian and raised in America needs to learn how to live in this country. Living in this country means being a part of the larger African American community. Even if they choose not to they will still be seen as Black in America.
2. All Blacks in America have ancestral roots in some African country. Our children are just one more generation removed. They are following others that came many years before.
   

Studies show that , in New York, Miami, and Boston reports estimate that 25% of the Black community is foreign-born. Overall there are 2.8 million Blacks in America that were born in another country.

Stepping back from adoption, these children are apart of a larger migration of Ethiopians who have come to America. The cultural traditions you adapt from their home country will not matter if the children are not fully prepared to live in the U.S..

MIGRATION OF ETHIOPIANS TO AMERICA

In 1973 the Solomonic dynasty in Ethiopia was overthrown in a military coup. That began the first big migration. A common experience was for a small group of 5-20 people to travel across the Ethiopian desert by night and hide by day. Many sought asylum in neighboring countries like Sudan or Somalia. Many died on the way. Migration to the U.S. began in 1980. More than 250,000 Ethiopians came to this country between 1983-1993. Upon coming to the states, most live in large urban areas on the East and West coasts. The largest populations of Ethiopians can be found in Minneapolis, Washington DC, Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York. You can read more interesting facts.

INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS

Although they generally feel more comfortable interacting with African Americans, they do not feel privy to the historical, political, and socio-economic fight for equal standing held by the African American community. Second generation Ethiopians seem most at home with the African American community and take advantage of the social support networks established by first generation Ethiopians. The Source