Congolese American
| Total population | |
|---|---|
|
(+ 5,488 (2000 US Census) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C.–Baltimore area, North Texas | |
| Languages | |
| American English, French, Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity |
(+ 5,488 (2000 US Census)
Congolese Americans are Americans of descent from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Republic of the Congo.
In the 2000 US census, 3,886 people of Congolese descent were reported. Another 1,602 specified that they were descended from people from Zaire and less than 300 people indicated that they hailed from the Republic of Congo.Rose Mapendo, who suffered as a result of the war, has helped 2,000 refugees to emigrate into the United States through the organization Mapendo International. So, further thousands of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo have been able to come to the United States. In 2013, it was estimated that more than 10,000 Congolese refugees of DRC were living in the US.
Like other Central/West African groups in the United States, the first Congolese arrivals to the modern United States arrived as slaves to this place in the colonial period. Coming, at least, from the current Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese were imported to places such as Louisiana and South Carolina. They were bought in Cabinda. Congolese voluntary migration to the U.S. began in the 1960s for educational reasons. Thus, the Congolese who came to the U.S. to study and got serve their "designations of origin". However, emigration from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United States increased in the 1970s after discovering that the dictator of this country, Mobutu Sese Seko, had decided to choose the United States, among other countries, as a place of refuge. However, in the 80's the first large wave of Congolese immigrants came to the United States for educational purposes. Although initially most of them had decided to return home when they finished studying in this country, many of them were forced to stay in the U.S. because of the worsening political and economic conditions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The conflict increased in the 1990s, prompting a new wave of Congolese migrants in the United States as war refugees. Most Congolese who emigrated had to leave their homes due to war, leaving their families behind. Only a few families could migrate together. New immigrants belonged to different groups than the Tutsi (also known as Banyarwanda).
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