Kenyan Americans

Kenyan Americans are an ethnic group of Americans of Kenyan descent. As of the 2010 census, there were an estimated 92,638 Kenyan-born persons living in the United States. Most Kenyan Americans are concentrated in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Seattle, Texas, Maryland, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, and the greater Washington, D.C. area.[3]

Kenyan Americans
Wamarekani wa Kenya
Total population
estimated 92,638[1]
Regions with significant populations
Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Washington, D.C., Boston, Seattle, New York, Minneapolis. Maryland, North Carolina, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Texas, Southern United States [2]
Languages
Swahili, English (Kenyan dialect)
Religion
Roman Catholicism , Protestantism and Islam
Related ethnic groups

History

Restrictions against immigration from Asia and Africa led to little voluntary immigration from Kenya until the latter half of the 20th century. Kenyan emigration to the United States then noted a large increase, nearly doubling from the decades before.

This increase was caused by several factors; political instability and a downturn in the economy in the 1980s in Kenya coupled with a high rate of unemployment (over 35 percent) led to a greater desire to immigrate. Some immigrants were also attracted to technology-oriented careers in the United States that boomed in availability in the 1990s and early 2000s.[3]

Demography
St. Paul’s Kenyan Community Church in South Lawrence, Massachusetts. This church was founded in 1995 to meet the needs of African immigrants bought this building in Lawrence in 2007. It holds services in English and Kikuyu and is a member of the Anglican Church in North America’s Anglican Diocese in New England.

Kenyan Americans come from ethnic groups such as the Kikuyu, Kisii, Luhya, Kamba, Kalenjin, Meru or Luo people.

The largest populations of Kenyans in the United States are found in Southern California, Massachusetts, and the greater Washington, D.C. area. Many Kenyans are also established in Georgia and North Carolina, states with important health care centers.

According to the 2010 census, approximately one-third of persons born in Kenya who are living in the US have become naturalized citizens.[1][3]

African immigrants are among the most educated groups in the United States. Like their recent immigrant counterparts Kenyan Americans give a high value to education.[3]

According to estimates from the Migration Policy Institute for 2015 to 2019, the total number of immigrants from Kenya in the USA was 141,800.[4] The top counties of settlement were as follows:

1) Hennepin County, MN ------------------------ 6,900

2) King County, WA ------------------------------- 4,500

3) Tarrant County, TX ----------------------------- 4,400

4) Dallas County, TX ------------------------------ 3,700

5) Baltimore County, MD ----------------------- 3,000

6) Harris County, TX ------------------------------ 2,900

7) Los Angeles County, CA -------------------- 2,500

8) Franklin County, OH --------------------------- 2,500

9) Middlesex County, Mass.------------------- 2,400

10) Collin County, TX ----------------------------- 2,400

11) Pierce County, WA --------------------------- 2,200

12) Montgomery County, MD ---------------- 2,000

13) Cobb County, GA ----------------------------- 2,000

14) Ramsey County, MN ------------------------ 1,900

15) New Castle County, DE -------------------- 1,900

16) Maricopa County, AZ ---------------------- 1,800

17) Johnson County, KS ------------------------ 1,800

Organizations

Like other immigrant groups living in the US, Kenyan Americans have created many organizations. These include the Kenya Diaspora Advisory Council, the Kenya American Association, the Kenyan-Cincinnati Association ("kcaweb", whose goal is to facilitate Kenyan integration in social and cultural scopes in the tri-state area and promoting awareness of the culture of Kenya in the United States),[5] the Minnesota Kenyan International Development Association ("MKIDA", formed in 2003, to improve education and the economy of the Kenyan Americans) and KACA (Kenyan Americans Community Association).

The American Kenyan Educational Corporation focuses on funding secondary school students and building schools in Kenya.[3]

Notable people
Lists of Americans
By US state
By ethnicity or nationality
  • Category

See also

References
  1. Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS). "American FactFinder - Results". Factfinder2.census.gov. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  2. https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2014/acs/acsbr12-16_supptab2.pdf
  3. "Kenyan Americans - History, Modern era, Significant immigration waves, Acculturation and Assimilation". Everyculture.com. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  4. "U.S. Immigrant Population by State and County". migrationpolicy.org. 2014-02-04. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  5. "Kenyan-Cincinnati Association - …Lets grow together!". Kcaweb.org. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  6. "Donald Trump's apprentice comes home". Daily Nation.

Further reading
  • Azevedo, Mario. Kenya: The Land, The People, and the Nation (Carolina Academic Press, 1993).
  • Branch, Daniel. Kenya: Between Hope and Despair, 1963–2011 (Yale UP, 2011).
  • Maxon, Robert M., and Thomas P. Ofcansky. Historical Dictionary of Kenya (2nd ed. Scarecrow Press, 2000).
  • Rudolph, Laura C. "Kenyan Americans." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 3, Gale, 2014, pp. 1–9). online
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