Mauritanian Americans
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| est. 5,000 | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Islam |
Mauritanian Americans are
Cincinnati (Ohio) and Erlanger (Kentucky) areas[1] and another 1,065 Mauritanians live in Columbus, Ohio. [3]
Demography
Most Mauritanians living in the United States are refugees, fleeing poverty. There are Mauritanian immigrant communities in several parts of United States, such as
Brooklyn, New York, and Memphis, Tennessee, but at least one-third of the people of Mauritanian origin resides in Ohio (mostly in Cincinnati and Columbus) and Erlanger, Kentucky.[4] Some of them were historically enslaved Blacks (Haratin) or they were White Moors.[1] Some of the White Moors who settled in the Cincinnati area had clashed with the Mauritanian government, either because they supported a failed candidate for president or because their families spoke out against government policies, including slavery.[1] Some "Afro-Mauritanians", who have a darker skin but were never enslaved, are also present in the United States.[1] The White Moors and Black Moors speak dialects of Arabic, while the Afro-Mauritanians speak African languages.[1]
Mauritanian Americans have created several community associations in the United States, such as Mauritanian Community and Friendship in Erlanger, Kentucky (composed mostly of White Moors) and the Mauritanian Community Association of Ohio in Cincinnati (composed almost entirely of Afro-Mauritanians).[1] The purpose of the latter organization is to help Mauritanian Americans "in many aspects: human, social and cultural". Its future plans include assisting Mauritanian refugees in Senegal and Mali and persons living in Mauritania.[5]
Notable people
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Mauritanian refugees make new home in Ohio", CNN, reported by John D. Sutter, March 17, 2012
- ^ "Table 1. First, Second, and Total Responses to the Ancestry Question by Detailed Ancestry Code: 2000". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ U.S. Census Bureau: Selected Countries of Birth for the United States and 15 Metropolitan Statistical Areas with the Largest African-Born Populations: 2008–2012.
- ^ Lucy M. Long (2015). Ethnic American Food Today: A Cultural Encyclopedia. Page 405.
- ^ Mauritanian Community Association Archived 2013-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
External links
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| Asia | ||||
| By location | ||||
Based on state membership in the Arab League. | ||||
