Every economically strong, well-populated country has minority groups. These minority groups consist of many different people from many different cultures. In America, these minority groups are obvious. America and other “well to do” countries attract many people from different countries. Their strong economies and strong political views make it possible for people of other nationalities to come here and seek refuge from political persecution and economic distress.
Most of the black people came from Africa, either through slavery or by their own “free will.” The blacks who came here after slavery came for their own individual reasons. Some came here due to political instabilities in their own countries, while others came for economic “salvation.” All these individuals with their distinctive reasons came together to form the black minority of the United States. These immigrations first started with students winning scholarships for an education here. They soon realized the way of life in this country was much better than those of their native countries and stayed, encouraging others to begin to migrate to this country.
What distinguishes this century’s immigration from Africa to America from that of earlier centuries, is that it was not the result of forced removal from Africa, but rather a voluntary decision made by the Africans seeking “greener pastures.” Since the end of forced migration, however, only a small number of Africans have been able to come to the United States in contrast with other immigrant groups.
From 1820 to 1993, America only took in 418,000 African immigrants, according to Immigration and Naturalization (INS) records. Only in the last quarter of the century, has the number of African immigrants grown tremendously. Two-thirds of all African immigrants currently in the United States arrived after 1980. At the time of the 1990 census, African-born residents numbered 364,000 according to the 1990 Report on foreign-born residents in the U.S.
INS records show that in 1820 only one person emigrated from Africa to America. Sixteen more people came throughout the entire next decade. The number of African Immigrants climbed slowly until the 1960s, when it began to grow rapidly. The reason for the small numbers of African immigrants is due to the difficulty in obtaining immigrant visas, except for a small number of students with bona fide acceptance to educational institutions in the U.S. and some political exiles from South Africa. Another reason for the small number of immigrants was the long, expensive journey that was beyond the reach of most African families.
African-born residents in the United States are highly educated and urbanized, having one of the highest per capita incomes of any immigrant group. An article in The Economist magazine in its May 11, 1996 issue stated, “...Three-quarters have some college experience; one in four has an advanced degree.” These impressive figures even surpass the figures for native-born Americans. “Nearly 88 percent of adults who immigrate from Africa to the U.S. have a high school education or higher.
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