Senegalese American
Encyclopedia
A Senegalese American is an American of Senegalese descent or a Senegalese who has American citizenship. In surveys of 2007, some 9,624 people claimed Senegalese descent in the United States
.
were exported as slaves from the port of Senegal
to this. Senegal during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was a major slave trade, both for the United States
or Latin America
, therefore an important part of the slaves were, among others, Senegaleses. However, not all slaves collected from the port were actually from Senegal
, as many were from other origins that were taken and sold in this port by the kings of other parts of Africa, due to tribal clashes, greed, etc..., they are purchased and exported to the Americas
. The Goree Island, located a few miles off the coast of Senegal in the Atlantic Ocean
, was the place from which they organized the export of slaves into the United States of America, which during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and even abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century, displaced more than 20 million people of Africa. Most Africans sold into slavery in the Senegal region would have departed from thriving slave depots at the mouths of the Senegal River to the north and the Gambia River to the south. Moreover, many of the Senegalese were of Islamic religion
.
In the twentieth century rose again senegalese large-scale emigration to the United States
. Since the eighties most of them have turned to Manhattan
, New York City
.
is very diverse, both linguistically and culturally, although, the majority of Senegalese are Muslims. The Senegalese (and Africans in general) are animists and although they believe in Muhammad, even some believe in Jesus Christ, and they still practice their African beliefs. The Senegalese tend to speak a variety of languages: English (in the U.S.) and French (is the official language in their native country and the second language of most of them) are their main languages. They also speak dialects of their native country, as is the case of Wolof
, the main native language of Senegal
and widespread in the Senegalese-American community. Although it is also true that the Senegalese dialects spoken in the United States
have been losing their accents for not being able to distinguish an American accent and many Senegalese-American second generation tend to speak mainly English and Wolof
.
one of the largest concentrations of Senegalese is in New York
, state, in which they are one of the four main groups of African Muslims and is one of its major enclaves neighborhood Little Senegal or Le Petit Senegal, also varied linguistically. They form the majority in a particular area of Harlem
(116th Street between St. Nicholas and 8th Avenues), a place where many African peoples (Somalis, Nigerians, Ethiopians, Guineans, Kenyans, and so on) and some Arab
(Yemeni) peoples as well. However, the majority of Senegalese that neighborhood grew up poor in small villages in Senegal
in the uneducated, so these do not usually go to schools in Harlem. Most educated Senegalese usually do not live in that neighborhood, preferring places like New Jersey
. Sometimes Wolof interpreters who volunteer at the Harlem Hospital. Highlights in this quarter the sale of Senegalese and West and the fact that the Wolof in spreads throughout the neighborhood, including Senegalese food restaurants, which handles English and Wolof. In addition, currently, most Senegalese are owners of shops, jewelry stores, taxis, travel agencies and business professionals. Senegalese people have successfully assimilated into the American culture while still maintaining their native language, Wolof. Preserving this language helps unify and strengthen the small three blocked community in Harlem known as 'Little Senegal'.
, so, many publications written in this country such as newspapers, magazines and brochures or restaurant menus from Senegal
, are sent into the community via email . Most information comes through newsletters, but not many bulletins of this type. The newsletters are about what is happening in Senegal. However, there are also three Senegalese programs that are broadcast by radio stations am one of them is called Voices of America. The programs are heard within an hour every Sunday and radio announcers often speak Wolof
. The newsletters are written mostly in French, although there is, also, one written in Wolof. People also are learning Wolof Columbia University
. There are also organizations that support the recognition of Senegalese nationality or activism in the United States
, as the Association of Senegalese in America (ASA). ASA used to have a FM radio station broadcast that would discuss how Senegalese in America
should cooperate within the community and what life is like in United States
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
The first Senegalese who came to United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
were exported as slaves from the port of Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
to this. Senegal during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was a major slave trade, both for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
or Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, therefore an important part of the slaves were, among others, Senegaleses. However, not all slaves collected from the port were actually from Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, as many were from other origins that were taken and sold in this port by the kings of other parts of Africa, due to tribal clashes, greed, etc..., they are purchased and exported to the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
. The Goree Island, located a few miles off the coast of Senegal in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, was the place from which they organized the export of slaves into the United States of America, which during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and even abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century, displaced more than 20 million people of Africa. Most Africans sold into slavery in the Senegal region would have departed from thriving slave depots at the mouths of the Senegal River to the north and the Gambia River to the south. Moreover, many of the Senegalese were of Islamic religion
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
.
In the twentieth century rose again senegalese large-scale emigration to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Since the eighties most of them have turned to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Demography
Currently, the Senegalese population in United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is very diverse, both linguistically and culturally, although, the majority of Senegalese are Muslims. The Senegalese (and Africans in general) are animists and although they believe in Muhammad, even some believe in Jesus Christ, and they still practice their African beliefs. The Senegalese tend to speak a variety of languages: English (in the U.S.) and French (is the official language in their native country and the second language of most of them) are their main languages. They also speak dialects of their native country, as is the case of Wolof
Wolof language
Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania, and is the native language of the Wolof people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Atlantic branch of the Niger–Congo language family...
, the main native language of Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
and widespread in the Senegalese-American community. Although it is also true that the Senegalese dialects spoken in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
have been losing their accents for not being able to distinguish an American accent and many Senegalese-American second generation tend to speak mainly English and Wolof
Wolof language
Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania, and is the native language of the Wolof people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Atlantic branch of the Niger–Congo language family...
.
Senegalese in New York
In United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
one of the largest concentrations of Senegalese is in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, state, in which they are one of the four main groups of African Muslims and is one of its major enclaves neighborhood Little Senegal or Le Petit Senegal, also varied linguistically. They form the majority in a particular area of Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
(116th Street between St. Nicholas and 8th Avenues), a place where many African peoples (Somalis, Nigerians, Ethiopians, Guineans, Kenyans, and so on) and some Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
(Yemeni) peoples as well. However, the majority of Senegalese that neighborhood grew up poor in small villages in Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
in the uneducated, so these do not usually go to schools in Harlem. Most educated Senegalese usually do not live in that neighborhood, preferring places like New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Sometimes Wolof interpreters who volunteer at the Harlem Hospital. Highlights in this quarter the sale of Senegalese and West and the fact that the Wolof in spreads throughout the neighborhood, including Senegalese food restaurants, which handles English and Wolof. In addition, currently, most Senegalese are owners of shops, jewelry stores, taxis, travel agencies and business professionals. Senegalese people have successfully assimilated into the American culture while still maintaining their native language, Wolof. Preserving this language helps unify and strengthen the small three blocked community in Harlem known as 'Little Senegal'.
Media and Publications Senegalese
Senegal conducted a relations community Senegalese in United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, so, many publications written in this country such as newspapers, magazines and brochures or restaurant menus from Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, are sent into the community via email . Most information comes through newsletters, but not many bulletins of this type. The newsletters are about what is happening in Senegal. However, there are also three Senegalese programs that are broadcast by radio stations am one of them is called Voices of America. The programs are heard within an hour every Sunday and radio announcers often speak Wolof
Wolof language
Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania, and is the native language of the Wolof people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Atlantic branch of the Niger–Congo language family...
. The newsletters are written mostly in French, although there is, also, one written in Wolof. People also are learning Wolof Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. There are also organizations that support the recognition of Senegalese nationality or activism in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, as the Association of Senegalese in America (ASA). ASA used to have a FM radio station broadcast that would discuss how Senegalese in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
should cooperate within the community and what life is like in United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
External links
- News headline links from AllAfrica.comAllAfrica.comAllAfrica.com is a website that aggregates news produced primarily on the African continent about all areas of African life, politics, issues and culture. It is available in both English and French and produced by AllAfrica Global Media, which has offices in Cape Town, Dakar, Lagos, Monrovia,...
- Senegal's ethnic groups
- Chief of State and Cabinet Members ; General information
- Country Profile from BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
- Senegal Photos