Transcript African International Migration

African International Migration
African Regional Migration
African peoples had a long history of migration and
movement.
African International Migration
• In the 1920s-1960s,
mostly young African men
went overseas for a few
years for education in the
former colonial powers
(primarily England &
France).
• As a result of this highly
revered education, they
assumed positions of
political leadership upon
their return to their
countries.
• E.g., Kwame Nkrumah at
Lincoln Univaersity and
then the University of
Pennsylvania
African Immigration to the US
• African immigration into the US is part of
the “new immigration” since 1965.
• Relatively small African-born population:
– total estimated population born in Africa
1.1million
– total US population of 300 million
– those born in Latin America 16 million
• But growing rapidly: half arrived in the past
decade
Why did Africans begin migrating to
the US in the 1980s and 1990s?
• Structural adjustment
programs instituted by
the World Bank and
the International
Monetary Fund (IMF).
• In 1998, on average,
across African
countries, external
debt constituted
60.7% of GDP (gross
domestic product).
Why did Africans Migrate to the US
in the 1980s and 1990s?
• Changes in US immigration policy in 1990 that
encouraged African migration through diversity
visas (at the expense of countries that had had a
long history of immigration to the US like China
and Mexico).
• Changes in the US economy: greater inequality
and globalization of the economy encouraged
the expansion of the informal sector in the US,
particularly in cities.
Characteristics of African
Immigrants to the US--what did you notice and find
interesting?
Characteristics of African
Immigrants to the US
• Slightly more male (53%) than female (47%)
• 47% aged 25-44
• 87% have high school diploma or higher; 23%
have bachelor’s degree; Africans are more
highly educated as a group than any other
immigrant group and the average native-born
(US comparison is 85% HS, 18% college)
• Brain-drain from Africa of nurses, doctors,
engineers, teachers, and other skilled workers
Characteristics of African
Immigrants to the US (2007)
• Median individual income: $27,000 (native-born
at $33,000; all immigrants $26,000).
• Earn more than African-Americans (due to
higher educational levels on average), but less
than whites with comparable levels of education,
suggesting that they face problems in hiring in
the US (due to racial discrimination?
Stereotypes about Africans? Educational
credentials not translating?).
Characteristics of African
Immigrants in the US
• Generally, when skilled Africans come to
the US, they experience downward
mobility (working as taxi drivers or in
restaurants or as home health aides).
• Low rates of naturalization: they tend to
see themselves as “sojourners,” sending
remittances home.
• Formation of mutual aid societies or ethnic
associations
Chapel of the Restoration, the Bronx, “Mission from Africa,”
The New York Times, 8 April 2009
Characteristics of African
Immigrants to the US
Top sending
countries
Nigeria (19%)
Ethiopia (13%)
Ghana (10%)
Characteristics of African Migrants
in North America
• Top cities: New York,
Toronto, Washington
DC, Chicago, Atlanta,
LA, Houston, Boston.
• Africans tend to move
to urban areas first,
but then as they
become established,
move to the suburbs.
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