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Azerbaijani Americans

Lotfi Zadeh Lotfi Zadeh • Rustam Ibragimbekov Ali Javan • Sona Babai
Regions with significant populations
State of New York, New Jersey, California, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, Illinois, Florida, Massachusetts, Washington DC, Arizona, New Mexico, Michigan, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Nevada, North Dakota, Tennessee, Georgia, Minnesota and other
Languages
American English, Azerbaijani, Russian, Persian, Turkish
Religion
Predominately Muslim

Azerbaijani Americans (Template:Lang-az), or Azeri-Americans, are U.S. citizens and permanent residents of ethnic Azerbaijani background, or those who were born in Azerbaijan. Most Azerbaijani-Americans have immigrated to the United States from the Republic of Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia or Turkey.

History

The earliest identified immigrant from Azerbaijan to the United States was Merza Ali Akbar, resident of Baku who arrived at Ellis Island on the RMS Mauretania in June 1912.

The first major wave of Azerbaijanis came to the U.S. in 1940s and 1950s, as many Azerbaijani émigrés and POWs left parts of Europe during and after World War II. Among those were also a number of expatriates, who fled to Turkey, Iran or parts of Europe upon the Soviet occupation of Azerbaijan in 1920, and in 1950s and 1960s, moved to the United States in pursuit of better economic opportunities. This wave of Azerbaijani immigrants settled mainly in New York City and vicinities, which hosts the largest population of Azerbaijani-Americans, in Northern New Jersey and Massachusetts; and later in Florida, Texas and California, especially in Los Angeles area. In 1957, a group of these Azerbaijani settlers in New Jersey founded the Azerbaijan Society of America, a first Azerbaijani-American community organization. By 1980 there were around 200 families that identified themselves as Azerbaijani in the United States, with about 80% of them being endogamic. In 1976, Houston and Baku established the first sister-city association between the cities in the U.S. and Azerbaijan. It was followed with a sister city between Honolulu, Hawaii and Baku in 1988, Newark, New Jersey and Ganja (second largest city in Azerbaijan) in the early 2000's, and Monterey, California and Lankaran in 2011.

Demographics

According to the 2000 U.S. census, there were an estimated 14,205 Americans born in the Republic of Azerbaijan, out of which 5,530 were naturalized U.S. Citizens and 5,553 identified themselves as Azerbaijani in a primary or a secondary ancestry. Census 2000 did not count Azerbaijani-Americans born in countries other than the Republic of Azerbaijan.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in 2001-2010, a total of 9,391 people from the Republic of Azerbaijan were naturalized as U.S. citizens. The table below presents the distribution for each year between 2001 and 2010:

These statistics do not include the legal permanent residents (green card holders) who numbered 781 in 2010, refugees, legal non-immigrant aliens (temporary visitors) who numbered 4,938 in 2009, as well as a very large number of ethnic Azerbaijanis born in other countries, such as Iran, Russia, and Turkey. Thus, based only on Census 2000 and DHS data, the official estimate of the U.S. citizens born in the Republic of Azerbaijan is approximately 14,944, and the number of U.S. residents born in Azerbaijan is approximately 24,377, minus the natural decline.

The 2010 U.S. Census results, to be released by the end of 2011, will reflect the more current official estimate on the number of Azerbaijanis-Americans in the U.S. According to studies and research, including by the U.S. Census Bureau and other state and local government authorities, ethnic communities in the U.S. are still underestimated by censuses mostly due to poor participation, assimilation or misclassification. Azerbaijani-Americans appear not to be an exception from this trend, especially since they reside in states affected by the undercount, such as California and New York, as both unofficial and semi-official estimates show that there are more Azerbaijanis living in the United States than reported in the 2000 Census. According to various U.S. government and independent, private and public academic and non-profit organizations' reports, including the Voice of America, the Brooklyn Borough of New York, the Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, the Arlington County of Virginia,, the Open Society Institute, University of California Los Angeles, the U.S. Census Bureau partners, Azerbaijani-American Council and the U.S. Azeris Network, articles in the U.S. press and scholars, the number of Azerbaijani Americans living in the United States was at least 400,000 in 2004, with estimates ranging from 300,000 to up to 500,000.

According to the U.S. Census 2000 data, the Azerbaijanis who immigrated from Azerbaijan have settled primarily in New York (12,540), New Jersey (4,357), Texas (3,178), California (2,743), and Minnesota (1,559).

Socio-political Activity

The first mention of the nascent Azerbaijani-Americans in the U.S. political life appears in the 1990 issue of The Economist. By the late 1990s, the Azerbaijani-Americans became more active in the American sociopolitical life, including the U.S. Congress, mainly advocating Azerbaijani interests in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. By 2002, the Azerbaijani-Americans became active enough to be mentioned in the speeches in the U.S. Congress. In 2004, a group of Congressmen founded the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. By 2011, the Azerbaijani-Americans have been honored in several U.S. legislative bills and resolutions.

Azerbaijani-themed parks, streets and monuments

The Azerbaijan Garden, a park, was dedicated on May 12, 2008, in Cleveland, Ohio. Khanlar Gasimov's sculpture, "Hearth," stands at the center of the Garden. Made of polished stainless steel, the bowl-shaped sculpture allows viewers to see the reflection of the earth and sky in its exterior and interior curves. The Azerbaijani Garden is part of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens, which was opened in 1916, along Doan Brook in Cleveland’s Rockefeller Park. The opening of the garden was celebrated by Congressman Dennis Kucinich.

TV, radio, media and newspapers

• GunAz TV (TV broadcast from Chicago via satellite and Internet, in Azerbaijani only)
• Voice of Karabakh (radio on WUST 1120AM in Baltimore and Washington DC and via Internet, in Azerbaijani and English)
• Azerbaijan International (Los Angeles based quarterly magazine published since 1993, in English)
• Azerbaijan Review (monthly newspaper published in New York since 2007, in Azerbaijani, Russian and English)
• Caspian Crossroads (Washington D.C.-based quarterly journal published since 1996, in English)

Prominent Azerbaijani-Americans

Sciences

• Lotfi Zadeh
• Ali Javan

Arts

• Rustam Ibragimbekov
• Ella Leya

Military and defense

• Mourad Ragimov

Business and politics

• Rob Sobhani
• Michael Hoomani

Sports

• Emil and Rufat ("Baku Brothers")

Other

• Sona Babai - fourth oldest person in the American history to ever naturalize

See also

• Iranian American
• Turkish American
• Russian American
• Armenian Americans
• Hyphenated American
• Asian American
• European American

References

1. List of proclamations received from mayors and governors around U.S. by Azerbaijani-Americans
2. ^ "Table FBP-1. Profile of Selected Demographic and Social Characteristics" (PDF). Census 2000 Special Tabulations (STP-159). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
3. Margaret Kaeter. The Caucasian Republics. Infobase Publishing, 2004; ISBN 0816052689; p. 74
4. Touraj Atabaki, Sanjyot Mehendale. Central Asia and the Caucasus: transnationalism and diaspora, Psychology Press, 2005, p. 102
5. Shirin Hakimzadeh, Iran: A Vast Diaspora Abroad and Millions of Refugees at Home, Migration Policy Institute, September 2006 (Retrieved 2011-06-23.)
6. James S. Kessler, Iranians, The Encyclopedia of Chicago, 2004 (Retrieved 2011-06-23.)
7. Ellis Island Immigration Station (Jun 7, 1912). "Passenger Record: Merza Ali Akbar". The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
8. ^ Thernstrom, Stephan (1980). Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups. Harvard University Press. p. 171. ISBN 0674375122. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
9. Pope, Hugh (2005). Sons of the conquerors: The rise of the Turkic world. Overlook Duckworth. p. 371. ISBN 9781585676415. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
10. Honolulu, Hawaii and Baku - Sister Cities
11. City of Monterey, California and Lankaran, Azerbaijan establish Sister City relations
12. "Table 1. First, Second, and Total Responses to the Ancestry Question". Census 2000 PHC-T-43. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
13. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Naturalized U.S. citizens from Azerbaijan in 2003
14. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Naturalized U.S. citizens from Azerbaijan in 2004
15. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Naturalized U.S. citizens from Azerbaijan in 2005
16. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Naturalized U.S. citizens from Azerbaijan in 2006
17. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Naturalized U.S. citizens from Azerbaijan in 2007
18. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Naturalized U.S. citizens from Azerbaijan in 2008
19. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Naturalized U.S. citizens from Azerbaijan in 2009
20. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Naturalized U.S. citizens from Azerbaijan in 2010
21. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Legal Permanent Residents from Azerbaijan in 2010
22. "Reasons Behind Inaccuracies in the Census". Census 2010 Education Kit. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. 2010. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
23. Felde, Kitty (Dec 31, 2010). "State officials say census undercounts California by 1.5 million". KPCC - Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
24. Ramirez, Jeanine (Jun 12, 2011). "Making Census Of It: Brooklyn Officials Claim 2010 Census Undercounted Borough". Time Warner Cable. NY1 News. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
25. Betty Lee Sung, Principal Investigator, ETHNOGRAPHIC EVALUATION OF THE 1990 DECENNIAL CENSUS REPORT SERIES, REPORT #6, BEHAVIORAL CAUSES OF CENSUS UNDERCOUNT NEW YORK CITY’S CHINATOWN, Final Report for Joint Statistical Agreement 89-39, U.S. Census Bureau, August 1991
26. Jorge Duany, THE CENSUS UNDERCOUNT, THE UNDERGROUND ECONOMY AND UNDOCUMENTED MIGRATION: THE CASE OF DOMINICANS IN SANTURCE, PUERTO RICO, U.S. Census Bureau, Puerto Rico EV 92-17
27. Alfredo Velasco ETHNOGRAPHIC EVALUATION OF THE BEHAVIORAL CAUSES OF UNDERCOUNT IN THE COMMUNITY OF SHERMAN HEIGHTS, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, U.S. Census Bureau
28. Karen K. Narasaki, Hearing on Reducing the Undercount in the 2010 Census, Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services,and International Security, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, September 23, 2008
29. Allen L. Schirm, The Effects of Census Undercount Adjustment on Congressional Apportionment, Journal of the American Statistical Association, Vol. 86, No. 414 (Jun., 1991), pp. 526-541
30. Eduardo A. de Oliveira US Census Appeals to Ethnic Media, Undercounting Hurts Minorities, EthnicNEWz.org, March 10th, 2009
31. ^ O'Sullivan, Mike (October 24, 2006). "US Azerbaijanis work to keep traditions alive" (PDF). Los Angeles. Voice of America.
32. Markowitz, Marty (May 28, 2011). "On the 93rd anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic". Proclamation by President of the Borough of Brooklyn.
33. Kinder, Peter D. (May 28, 2008). "Azerbaijani National Day - May 28" (PDF). Declaration by the Lt Governor of Missouri.
34. Proclamation from the County Board of Arlington, Virginia, October 18, 2008
35. Powley Hayden, Jessica (May 7, 2009). "Azerbaijan: Diaspora Organization Tries to Counter Armenian-American Influence in Washington". Eurasianet.
36. ^ Mishory, Jennifer (October 22, 2006). "Azerbaijan deserves U.S. public attention". UCLA Daily Bruin. University of California Los Angeles. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
37. "Azerbaijani-American Council partners with U.S. Census Bureau". News.Az. 28 Dec 2009. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |pmd= (help)
38. "Current Census Partners (A)". U.S. Census Bureau. 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
39. "Current Census Partners (U)". U.S. Census Bureau. 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
40. Qasimov, Heydar (May 28, 2010). "Muslims celebrate national holiday". Fuquay-Varina Independent. North Carolina.
41. Hajiyev, Emin (March 9, 2011). "Obama, recognize us". St. Louis American. Missouri.
42. Kaeter, Margaret (2004). The Caucasian Republics. Infobase Publishing. p. 74. ISBN 9780816052684. Many Azerbaijanis also spread around the world. There are nearly 1 million in Russia and another 400,000 in the United States {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
43. Athens Banner-Herald (Georgia), Sevinj Safarova: U.N. should act against Armenia, Monday, May 04, 2009
44. Goble, Paul (Feb 15, 2008). "Azerbaijanis outside of Azerbaijan: emigres, diasporas and national minorities" (PDF). ADA Biweekly Newsletter. 1 (2). Azerbaijani Diplomatic Academy: 7.
45. The Economist, Volume 314, Issues 7635-7648, p. 27: "One answer, impossible for the administration to state openly, is that while Azeri-Americans may be thin on the ground, Lithuanian-Americans are not, and know how to lobby Congress."
46. Cheney, Richard B. (1999). "Defending Liberty in a Global Economy". In Singleton, Solveig; Griswold, Daniel T. (eds.). Economic casualties: how U.S. foreign policy undermines trade, growth, and liberty. Washington, D.C.: CATO Institute. p. 24. ISBN 9781882577743. {{cite book}}: |first2= missing |last2= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |laydate=, |coauthors=, |separator=, |laysummary=, |trans_title=, |month=, |trans_chapter=, and |lastauthoramp= (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
47. Perlmutter, Philip (1996). The dynamics of American ethnic, religious, and racial group life: an interdisciplinary overview. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 66. ISBN 9780275955335. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
48. Foreign operations, export financing, and related programs appropriations for 2003: hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Seventh Congress, second session, Volume 4, U.S. G.P.O., 2002
49. Boren, Dan (May 26, 2011). "Honoring the Republic of Azerbaijan on its 93rd anniversary of "Republic Day": Statement by Hon. Dan Boren of Oklahoma". Congressional Record, Extension of Remarks. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. E973. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
50. JOINT RESOLUTION HONORING THE AZERBAIJAN COMMUNITY OF MAINE, SP0512, LR 2187, Item 1, First Regular Session - 125th Maine Legislature, May 28, 2011
51. Cleveland Cultural Gardens, accessed September 2011
52. [http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2008-05-07/pdf/CREC-2008-05-07-pt1-PgE843-2.pdf IN HONOR OF THE AZERBAIJANI CULTURAL GARDEN, HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH OF OHIO IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Wednesday, May 7, 2008]
53. Family website of U.S. Marine Mourad Ragimov
54. Los Angeles Times: California's War Dead: Mourad Ragimov, 20
55. Marine Lance Cpl. Mourad Ragimov
56. Fallen Heroes of Operation Iraqi Freedom
57. Steve LeVine, The oil and the glory: the pursuit of empire and fortune on the Caspian Sea, Random House Digital, Inc., 2007, p. 136
58. Steve LeVine, The oil and the glory: the pursuit of empire and fortune on the Caspian Sea, Random House Digital, Inc., 2007, p. 136
59. [http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1997-08-08/sports/1997220134_1_kos-emil-rufat Lem Satterfield, Emil Baku wins by knockout Rufat earns majority draw, The Baltimore Sun, August 08, 1997]
60. Alan Goldstein, Baku brothers are ringing up attention from near and afar Native Azerbaijanis win notice of head of state, The Baltimore Sun, August 07, 1997
61. Teresa Watanabe, 105-year-old realizes dream of citizenship, Los Angeles Times, October 26, 2006

• Demographics of the United States
• Race in the United States
• Ethnic groups in the United States
• American people of Azerbaijani descent