History of Africans in Baltimore

Ethnicity in Baltimore
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The city of Baltimore, Maryland includes a significant African population. Immigrants from many African countries have settled in Baltimore, including Nigerians, Sudanese, South Sudanese, Liberians, Sierra Leoneans, Kenyans, Ghanaians, Cameroonians, Ethiopians, Eritreans, and Cape Verdeans. Nigerians, Ghanaians, and Ethiopians are the largest African immigrant groups residing in Baltimore. The largest concentration of African immigrants is located in northeast Baltimore. Nigerians are one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in Maryland, with many Nigerian-Americans living in northwest Baltimore and adjacent suburbs of Baltimore County, such as Parkville, Owings Mills, and Woodlawn.

Demographics

In 2009, more than one out of every ten immigrants in the Baltimore-Towson, MD metro area (14.5 percent) were immigrants from Africa.

As of 2010, there were 28,834 immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa in Baltimore.

In February 2011, the Sudanese community of Baltimore numbered only 185 people. Due to South Sudan's independence from Sudan, many South Sudanese have returned to their homeland. Prior to independence, Baltimore's Sudanese community numbered 300 people.

In September 2014, speakers of various languages of Africa were the third largest non-Anglophone group of language speakers in Baltimore, after Hispanophones and Francophones. Additionally, 6,862 African immigrants lived in Baltimore, making Africa the third largest region of origin for immigrants after Latin America and Asia. Nigerians were the sixth largest foreign-born population in Baltimore, Ghanaians were twenty-second, Ethiopians were twenty-third, Sudanese were twenty-ninth, Liberians were thirty-second, Kenyans were thirty-third, Cameroonians were forty-fourth, Sierra Leoneans were forty-sixth, Eritreans were fiftieth, and Cape Verdeans were one-hundredth.

As of 2014, there were over 2,500 Liberian Americans living in Baltimore.

According to the Migration Policy Institute, there were 12,000 Nigerians living in the Baltimore metropolitan area as of 2019.

Culture

An annual festival called FestAfrica was held in Patterson Park in order to celebrate African culture and teach non-Africans about various African cultures and histories. The event was typically attended by 4,000 people and features a picnic, food vendors, and entertainment. After five years in Baltimore, FestAfrica relocated to Silver Spring in 2001.

An annual Nigerian festival is held in Baltimore called the Naija Fest. It is sponsored by the Nigerian Youth Association of Maryland and features art, dance, music, and a feast.

In northeast Baltimore, the Nigerian Igbo Catholic Community celebrates mass in their native Igbo tongue. The NICC spent a decade at St. Matthew in Northwood, several years at The Shrine of the Little Flower, and relocated to St. Anthony of Padua in 2012. In addition to the NICC, the Igbo Community Civic Center INC is also a non-profit organization located in Rosedale, that aims to promote the education and study of Igbo language, Igbo culture and history among Igbo youths.

References

"Immigrants Help Reverse Baltimore's Decline". Governing.com. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
"Nigerian immigrants make a home in Md". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
"African Immigrants in the United States". Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
"Table DP-1. Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000" (PDF). 2000 United States Census. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
"Baltimore's Sudanese immigrants return to homeland to build a new nation". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
^ "The Role of Immigrants in Growing Baltimore: Recommendations to Retain and Attract New Americans" (PDF). WBAL-TV. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-30. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
"Baltimore Liberians Mourn Loss Of Relatives To Ebola". WYPR. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
"Baltimore County schools are rapidly adding students. More than half are immigrants or speak another language". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
"Rain keeps crowds at bay during annual Africa festival". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
"FestAfrica Says Goodbye to Baltimore and Hello to Silver Spring". Afro.com. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
"Nigerian fest, feast beckon". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
"Nigerian flavor in northeast Baltimore". Archdiocese of Baltimore. Retrieved 2020-02-29.

v t e Ethnic history of Baltimore
Groups	African Americans Africans Appalachian Americans Asian Americans Caribbeans Czechs Ethiopians French Germans Greeks Hispanics and Latinos Irish Italians Jews Koreans Lithuanians Native Americans Poles Russians Syrians Ukrainians White Americans
Ethnic enclaves	Chinatown/Little Ethiopia Corned Beef Row French Town Greektown Koreatown Little Appalachia Little Bohemia Little Italy Little Lithuania Little Poland Little Ukrainian Village Otterbein Spanish Town
Institutions	Baltimore American Indian Center Baltimore Hebrew University Bohemian National Cemetery Christ United Church of Christ Concordia Hall Grand Lodge Č.S.P.S. of Baltimore Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation Hebrew Orphan Asylum Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church Holy Rosary Church Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church Jewish Museum of Maryland Lithuanian Hall National Great Blacks In Wax Museum National Slavic Museum Oblate Sisters of Providence Otterbein Church Our Lady of Pompeii Church Polish Home Hall Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture Royal Theatre Russian Night School St. Alphonsus Church St. Casimir Church St. Elizabeth of Hungary St. Francis Xavier Church St. Leo's Church St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church St. Peter the Apostle Church Sts. Peter & Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church St. Vincent de Paul Church St. Wenceslaus in Baltimore Transfiguration of our Lord Russian Orthodox Church Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association Building Zion Lutheran Church
Events	Baltimore riot of 1968 2015 Baltimore protests
Media	Ethnic press in Baltimore (Baltimore Afro-American Baltimore Jewish Times Baltimore Times Baltimore Wecker Czas Baltimorski Der Deutsche Correspondent Latin Opinion Telegraf Where What When)

African immigration to the United States

North Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa

Central Africa	Cameroonian Congolese Equatoguinean Gabonese
East Africa	Eritrean Ethiopian Kenyan Somali South Sudanese Sudanese Tanzanian Ugandan
Southern Africa	Angolan Malawian South African Zimbabwean
West Africa	Beninese Bissau-Guinean Cape Verdean Gambian Ghanaian Guinean Ivorian Liberian Malian Mauritanian Nigerian Senegalese Sierra Leonean Togolese

African ethnic groups
in the United States

Several African ethnic groups are dispersed throughout different areas of Africa, regardless of countries or regions.

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