Examine individual changes

'{{Infobox ethnic group | group = Liberian American | population = '''64,581''' (2013 American Community Survey)<ref>{{cite web|title=Total ancestry categories tallied for people with one or more ancestry categories reported 2013 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates|url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_13_1YR_B04003&prodType=table|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2 September 2014}}</ref> <br /> '''74,737''' (Liberian-born, 2014) <ref name="USCB">{{cite web|title=PLACE OF BIRTH FOR THE FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES, Universe: Foreign-born population excluding population born at sea, 2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates|url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_5YR_B05006&prodType=table|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=16 July 2013}}</ref> | popplace = [[New York Metropolitan Area]], [[Minneapolis-Saint Paul]], [[Providence, RI]], [[Pawtucket, RI]], [[Delaware Valley]], [[Baltimore-Washington]], [[Atlanta Metropolitan Area]], [[Jacksonville, FL]], [[Columbus, OH]], [[Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex]], [[Memphis, TN]] | languages = {{hlist| Mainly [[Liberian English]] | [[American English]] | [[Kpelle language|Kpelle]] | [[Basaa language|Bassa]] | [[Kru language|Kru]] | [[Krahn]] | [[Mandinka language|Mandingo]] | but also [[Grebo language|Grebo]], [[Dan language|Gio]], [[Mano language|Mano]], [[Loma language|Loma]], [[Vai language|Vai]], [[Gola people|Gola]], [[Kissi language|Kissi]], [[Gbandi]], and [[Mende language|Mende]]. }} | religions = {{flatlist| * 85.6% of Liberians are [[Christians]]. [[Protestantism]] at 76.3% is predominant in the Greater [[Monrovia]] region and surrounding suburbs and [[Catholicism]] at 7.2% is predominant in the Southeastern counties. Islam is practiced by 12.2% of Liberians and is predominant among the [[Mandinka people|Mandingo]] ethnic group as well as many members of the [[Vai people|Vai]] and [[Mende people|Mende]] ethnic groups. Traditional beliefs such as [[West African Vodun|Voodoo]] or [[Juju]] is still practiced even among [[Christians]] and [[Muslims]]. The religious statistics for Liberian Americans however tend to be more Christian or irreligious. }} | related-c = {{hlist| [[African American]]|[[Americo-Liberian]] }} }} '''Liberian Americans''' are [[Americans]] of full or partial [[Liberia]]n ancestry. This includes Liberians who are of [[African American]] descent. It also includes the descendants of [[Americo-Liberian]] people in America. The first wave of [[Liberia]]ns to the [[United States]], after the slavery period, was after of the [[First Liberian Civil War]] in the 1980s and, then, after the [[Second Liberian Civil War]] in the early 2000s. An estimated 100,000 Liberians live in the U.S. as of this time. The diplomatic relationship between Liberia and the USA goes back over 150 years since Liberia's foundation by returning African slaves freed by [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]] societies which set aside land for the [[freedmen]] and paved the way to its independence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theperspective.org/2004/feb/liberianamericanrelations.html|title=Liberian American Relations Revisited|publisher=|accessdate=13 August 2015}}</ref> == History == === The first Liberians in U.S. === The first people that emigrated to United States from the regions that currently form Liberia were slaves imported between the 17th and 19th centuries. Thus, many individuals can trace backgrounds to groups such as the [[Kpelle people|Kpelle]], [[Kru people|Kru]], [[Gola people|Gola]], and, perhaps, the [[Gio people|Gio]], [[Grebo people|Grebo]], [[Bassa people (Liberia)|Bassa]], [[Vai people|Vai]] and [[Mandinka people|Mandingo]]. Many of them were imported by [[Virginia]], [[South Carolina]] and [[Georgia (U.S.)|Georgia]] planters.<ref name="Gullah">[http://www.ccpl.org/content.asp?id=15719&action=detail&catID=6042&parentID=5748 Transatlantic linkage: The Gullah/Geechee-Sierra Leone Connection]. Retrieved December 29, 2011, to 20:51 pm.</ref> The children of some of these slaves gained some notability in the United States, as was the case of abolitionist, journalist, physician, and writer [[Martin Delany]] (1812 – 1885), arguably the first proponent of American [[black nationalism]] and the first African-American field officer in the United States Army during the [[American Civil War]].<ref name="Rollins">[https://books.google.com/books?id=M4WP3QM7p30C&q=Martin+Delany&source=gbs_word_cloud_r&cad=6#v=onepage&q=Martin%20Delany%27s%20mother&f=false Frank A. Rollins, ''Life and Public Services of Martin R. Delany''], 1883, reprint 1969, Arno Press, pp. 14-17, accessed 21 February 2011</ref> However, between 1822 and the second half of the 19th century, with the abolition of slavery in the United States, many slaves (probably of different African origins) returned to Africa, settling in [[West Africa]] and founding Liberia (integrating regions populated already since before of arrived of Afro American). Thus, the Liberian migration in the United States not touched again until the 20th century. In this moment, the first Liberians that came to United States, settled in this country already in the first half of this century. However, in this moment, only several hundred of Liberians immigrated to the United States, a very small number compared with the people who emigrated from Europe, Asia and Latin America. Also in the 1950s and 1960s hundreds of Liberian migrated to the United States (232 and 569 respectively). It was not until the 1970s when there was a considerable immigration from Liberia, which amounted to 2.081 people. This low immigration was caused, probably because Liberia had one of the most stable democracies and prosperous economies in Africa up until the military coup happened in this country in 1980.<ref name="everyculture">{{cite web|url=http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Le-Pa/Liberian-Americans.html|title=Liberian Americans - History, Modern era, The first liberians in america|publisher=|accessdate=13 August 2015}}</ref> === First Liberian Civil War === During the 20th century few Liberian emigrated to United States; most who did were students.<ref name="Enchiliv">[http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/739.html Encyclopedia ofChicago: Liverians in Chicago]. Posted by Tracy N. Poe. Retrieved September 4, 2012, to 1:10 pm.</ref> However, when developing the [[First Liberian Civil War]] (1989–96), emigrated thousands of Liberian to the United States, becoming so the first wave of migration from Liberians to that country. So, from 1990 through 1997, the INS reported 13,458 Liberians fled to the United States and that lived there permanently. During these years, there were also tens of thousands who sought temporary refuge in the United States. In fact, in 1991 alone, the INS guaranteed Temporary Protective Status (TPS) to approximately 9,000 Liberians in the United States.<ref name="everyculture"/> However, still after the war, more than 6,000 Liberians moved to [[Providence, Rhode Island]]. About 10,000 other Liberians settled across the U.S. and most of them decided to stay after the war ended.<ref>[http://allafrica.com/stories/200802220941.html All Africa. Stories]</ref> Although the INS revoked the status in 1997 following national elections in Liberia, many of these Liberian Americans refused return to Liberia. As of mid-1999, the U.S. Congress decided by legislation to give the Liberian refugees permanent status in the United States.<ref name="everyculture"/> === Second Liberian Civil War === After the [[Second Liberian Civil War]] (1999-2003), large numbers of Liberians settled in Rhode Island, Staten Island, Philadelphia, [[Virginia]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and [[Minnesota]]. By 2010, Liberians established another sizable community in [[California]] primarily in [[West Los Angeles]] and [[San Francisco]]-Oakland.<ref>[http://www.lacosc.org/ Lacosc: Liberian - American Association of Southern California].</ref> == Demography == {{refimprove section|date=July 2019}} Liberian American organizations estimate there are between 250,000 and 500,000 Liberians living in the United States. This figure includes Liberian residents that have a temporary status, and American of Liberian descent. Cities with large Liberian populations include [[Brooklyn Park, MN]], [[Minneapolis, MN]], [[St. Paul, MN]], [[Brooklyn Center, MN]], [[Providence, RI]], [[Pawtucket, RI]], [[Staten Island, NY]], [[Newark, NJ]], [[Trenton, NJ]], [[Ewing, NJ]], [[Willingboro, NJ]], [[Morrisville, Greene County, Pennsylvania|Morrisville, PA]], [[Bristol, PA]], [[Northeast Philadelphia]], [[Southwest Philadelphia]], [[Darby, PA]], [[Upper Darby, PA]], [[Folcroft, PA]], [[Sharon Hill, PA]], [[Baltimore, MD]], [[Silver Spring, MD]], [[Gaithersburg, MD]], [[Johnson City, TN]], [[Charlotte, NC]], [[Lawrenceville, GA]], [[Jacksonville, FL]], [[Fargo, ND]], [[Des Moines, IA]], [[Sioux Falls, SD]], [[Columbus, OH]], [[Fort Worth, TX]], [[Phoenix, AZ]] Many Liberians have formed families in United States. However, some still vow to return to their country once the political and social situation stabilizes, which, according to the president of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas, Joseph D. Z. Korto, seems unlikely to happen in a "near future."<ref name="everyculture"/> == Language and culture == While there is a variety of languages spoken in [[Liberia]] (where English is the official language of the country), the majority of Liberians in the United States speak Standard [[English language|English]] as well as the [[Liberian Kreyol language]] also known as Kolokwa which serves as a [[lingua franca]] among Liberians of different ethnic groups. The [[Kru languages]] such as [[Basaa language|Bassa]], [[Kru language|Kru]] (of the same name) and [[Krahn]] are the most widely spoken Liberian native dialects in the United States as well as [[Kpelle language|Kpelle]] and [[Mandinka language|Mandingo]], both [[Mande languages]]. Another language spoken by some Liberian Americans is [[Gullah language|Gullah]], a Creole language, though this language is spoken primarily by the descendants of slaves brought from [[Sierra Leone]], Liberia, and [[Guinea]], and not by recent immigrants. It is spoken by a small group of people in the Carolina Sea Islands and the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. {{flatlist| * 85.6% of Liberians are [[Christians]]. [[Protestantism]] at 76.3% is predominant in the Greater [[Monrovia]] region and surrounding suburbs and [[Catholicism]] at 7.2% is predominant in the Southeastern counties. Islam is practiced by 12.2% of Liberians and is predominant among the [[Mandinka people|Mandingo]] ethnic group as well as many members of the [[Vai people|Vai]] and [[Mende people|Mende]] ethnic groups. Traditional beliefs such as [[West African Vodun|Voodoo]] or [[Juju]] have a stronghold in the more rural counties but is still practiced even among [[Christians]] and [[Muslims]]. The religious statistics for Liberian Americans however tend to be more Christian or irreligious. }}<ref name="everyculture"/> == Politics == Liberian Americans are actively involved in lobbying the federal government, supporting freedom and democracy in Liberia. They also have organizations that support various issues affecting Liberia, such as humanitarian assistance, wildlife and nature preservation, and women's rights.<ref name="everyculture"/> == See also == {{Portal|Liberia|United States}} * [[Little Liberia, Staten Island]] == References == {{reflist}} {{African immigration to the United States}} [[Category:American people of Liberian descent|*]] [[Category:West Africans in the United States]] [[Category:Liberian American| ]] [[Category:Liberian-American history| ]]'