Ethiopians in Washington, D.C.

There is an Ethiopian American community in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. According to the Embassy of Ethiopia, this was the largest ethnic Ethiopian community outside of Africa.[1]

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Ethnicity in Washington, D.C.

    History

    Ethiopians began settling Washington, D.C. after the Derg overthrew Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie in 1974.[2]

    Ethiopians moved to Adams Morgan in the 1980s.[3] Adams Morgan served as a center of business of the Ethiopian community.[4] In the mid-1990s many Ethiopians began moving to the U Street area.[3] Many moved out of Adams Morgan to other areas after rent became increasingly expensive.[5]

    The campaign to officially designate the U Street area as Little Ethiopia started around 2004. Elizabeth Chacko, the author of "Translocality in Washington, D.C. and Addis Ababa," stated that the Ethiopian community wanted the Little Ethiopia in Washington, D.C. because the city is the capital of the United States.[6] This campaign was not successful.[2] The author added that at that time, the Ethiopian area in Alexandria, Virginia had a higher concentration of Ethiopians compared to the one in Washington, D.C.[6]

    In 2004 the Mayor of Washington, D.C. signed the DC Language Access Act, which provided government services in five non-English languages including Amharic. The Ethiopians were among the groups campaigning for this act.[7]

    Demographics

    According to the 2010 U.S. Census, there were 30,000 Ethiopian immigrants in the Washington, D.C. area, making up 20% of the total number of Ethiopian immigrants throughout the country. The Ethiopian American Constituency Foundation and the Ethiopian Community Development Council stated that the figure is wrong and, as paraphrased by Derek Kravitz of the Washington Post, "the local figure has a history of being underreported and probably tops 100,000".[2] Yeshimebeth T. "Mama Tutu" Belay, an area businessperson, estimated that the population in the metropolitan area was about 250,000 as of 2010. Misty Showalter of CNN stated "other estimates are much lower."[5] Washington 101: An Introduction to the Nation's Capital states that "One common estimate is that 200,000 Ethiopians reside in the D.C. metropolitan area."[8]

    According to the 2000 U.S. Census there were 15,000 in the Washington, D.C. area., but the Ethiopian embassy stated that the actual number is closer to 200,000, and Brian Westley of the Washington Post stated "those who study African immigration" told him the same thing that the Ethiopian embassy told him.[1]

    Geography

    As of 2000 there are ethnic Ethiopians in Washington DC, Virginia, and Maryland.[9]

    Washington DC communities with ethnic Ethiopians resident included Adams Morgan, Brightwood, and Columbia Heights.[9] There is a Little Ethiopia in Shaw, Washington DC.[10]

    Areas in Virginia included Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax, Fairfax County, and Falls Church. Within Fairfax County Ethiopians moved to Annandale, Springfield, Vienna, and other places.[9] Misty Showalter of CNN described the Alexandria Ethiopian community as "a second unofficial Little Ethiopia".[5] As of 2006 some Ethiopians moved to Woodbridge, Prince William County and Sterling, Loudoun County during an increase of prices of real estate and rent rates in the area.[11] As of 2010 some Ethiopian businesses had opened in Skyline, Falls Church.[2]

    In Maryland Ethiopians have settled in Montgomery County and Prince George's County. Communities in the former which have received Ethiopians includeSilver Spring, and Takoma Park. In the latter, the communities are Greenbelt, Clinton, District Heights, Fort Washington, Oxon Hill, and Upper Marlboro.[9]

    Institutions
    Embassy of Ethiopia, Washington, D.C.
    Ethiopian Community Services & Development Council

    The Ethiopian Community Center, Inc. (ECC, Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ሕብረተሰብ ማዕከል[12]), headquartered in Washington, DC, was established in 1980. The Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC), headquartered in Virginia, promotes increased socioeconomic standing, culture, and education in the community and resettles refugees.[13] The ECDC provided loans to 700 persons wishing to own businesses in a nine-year period ending in 2011; these loans totalled almost $4.5 million.[3] The ECDC was established in 1983.[13]

    The Ethiopian American Constituency Foundation (EACF), which promotes political involvement of the Ethiopian community, was established in 2003. It campaigned for the formal recognition of the Little Ethiopia in Shaw. Ethiocorps, an organization which recruits area Ethiopian Americans to volunteer in Ethiopia, was established in 2004.[7]

    The Embassy of Ethiopia, Washington, D.C. serves the community.

    Economy

    In 2011 the Ethiopian Community Development Council stated that in Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, and Maryland there were at least 1,200 businesses owned by ethnic Ethiopians.[3]

    The area has Ethiopian-owned Ethiopian restaurants and Ethiopian-owned non-Ethiopian restaurants.[5] In 2011 "Mama Tutu" Belay stated that many Ethiopian restaurants had opened in the Petworth area of Washington DC, Arlington County, Virginia, and the downtown area of Silver Spring, Maryland.[3]

    In addition as of 2013 there are about 25 doctors of Ethiopian and Eritrean background in the Baltimore-Washington area, as well as Ethiopian-owned travel agencies, taxi companies, and parking garages.[14] As of 2010 many Ethiopians work as taxi drivers and parking attendants.[2]

    The United States offices of Ethiopian Airlines are in Alexandria, Virginia.[15]

    Media

    The DC area has Ethiopian newspapers,[14] including Ze Ethiopia.[16]

    The Ethiopian Yellow Pages (Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ የሎው ፔጅስ[17]) is published in Alexandria, Virginia,[14] and the headquarters of the publication is in Shaw, Washington, D.C. It has over 1,000 pages of content. As of 2011 Yeshimebeth T. "Mama Tutu" Belay is the publisher and her husband Yehunie Belay assists her. "Mama Tutu" Belay began the publication around 1994 by compiling lists of area businesses.[3]

    In 2007 there were plans to create an Ethiopian television network in Alexandria.[18]

    Religion

    Due to the large Ethiopian and Jewish populations in Washington, D.C. and Silver Spring[19], the Greater Washington metropolitan area is home to a sizeable community of Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews).

    Recreation

    The Ethiopian Expo is held in Washington, D.C. every year. It is organized by "Mama Tutu" Belay.[3]

    Legacy

    The novel The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu is about an Ethiopian who moved to Washington, D.C. to get political asylum.[10]

    Notable residents
    • Yehunie Belay (singer)[3]
    • Tamagne Beyene (entertainer)[18]
    • Nebiyu Eyassu (author and journalist)[18]
    gollark: ████
    gollark: You'll probably be able to buy new eyes eventually. It'll just cost a lot.
    gollark: > possibly damaging your eyes because a thing looks cool
    gollark: I think that's still the case.
    gollark: Also there was that thing where it uploaded binaries to Apple for some reason.

    See also
    • History of the Ethiopian Americans in Baltimore

    References
    • Chacko, Elizabeth. "Africans in Washington, DC: Ethiopian Ethnic Institutions and Immigrant Adjustment." In: Frazier, John W., Joe T. Darden, and Norah F. Henry (editors). The African Diaspora in the United States and Canada at the Dawn of the 21st Century. Global Academic Publishing, September 1, 2010. ISBN 143843684X, 9781438436845. Start page: p. 243.
    • Chacko, Elizabeth. "Translocality in Washington, D.C. and Addis Ababa: Spaces and Linkages of the Ethiopian Diaspora in Two Capital Cities" (Chapter 10). In: Datta, Ayona and Katherine Brickell (editors). Translocal Geographies: Spaces, Places, Connections. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., November 28, 2012. ISBN 1409490009, 9781409490005. Start page p. 163.

    Notes
    1. Westley, Brian. "Washington: Nation's Largest Ethiopian Community Carves Niche" (Archived 2014-09-02 at WebCite). Associated Press at the USA Today. October 17, 2005. Also: "Washington: Nation's Largest Ethiopian Community Carves Niche." Associated Press at The Southeast Missourian. October 23, 2005. p. 7C. Retrieved on September 3, 2014.
    2. Kravitz, Derek. "Young parking lot czar is the face of Ethiopian success in the D.C. area." Washington Post. Monday August 16, 2010. p. 1. Retrieved on September 3, 2014.
    3. Wax, Emily. "Ethiopian Yellow Pages: Life, by the book." Washington Post. June 8, 2011. Retrieved on September 3, 2014.
    4. Getahun, Solomon A. "Africans and African Americans from East Africa, 1940-Present." In: Barkan, Elliott Robert (editor). Immigrants in American History: Arrival, Adaptation, and Integration. ABC-CLIO, 2013. ISBN 1598842196, 9781598842197. Start p.: 687. Cited: p. 693.
    5. Showalter, Misty. "Inside Washington D.C.'s 'Little Ethiopia'" (Archived 2014-09-02 at WebCite). CNN. October 22, 2010. Retrieved on September 2, 2014.
    6. Chacko, "Translocality in Washington, D.C. and Addis Ababa," p. 169.
    7. Chacko, "Africans in Washington, DC," p. 253.
    8. Green, Matthew N., Julie Yarwood, Laura Daughtery, and Maria Mazzenga. Washington 101: An Introduction to the Nation's Capital. Palgrave Macmillan, June 18, 2014. ISBN 1137426241, 9781137426246. p. 219.
    9. Chacko, "Africans in Washington, DC," p. 246.
    10. Lee, Trymaine. "As Black Population Declines In Washington D.C., Little Ethiopia Thrives" (Archived 2014-09-02 at WebCite). Huffington Post. Retrieved on September 2, 2014.
    11. Chacko, "Africans in Washington, DC," p. 246-247.
    12. "ethiopia.jpg" (Archived 2014-09-03 at WebCite).
    13. Chacko, "Africans in Washington, DC," p. 250.
    14. Francis, E. Aracelis. "Social Work Practice with African-Descent Immigrants" (Chapter 4). In: Balgopal, Pallassana R. Social Work Practice with Immigrants and Refugees (Foundations of Social Work Knowledge Series). Columbia University Press, August 13, 2013. ISBN 0231504187, 9780231504188. Start page: 127. CITED: p. 136.
    15. "Ethiopian Airlines Customer Commitment" (Archived 2014-09-02 at WebCite). Ethiopian Airlines. Retrieved on September 3, 2014. "[...] Ethiopian Airlines, customer refund service, 277 S Washington st., suite 120, Alexandria VA 22 314 for refund cases in USA[...]"
    16. Brulliard, Karin. "A Sharp Eye On Ethiopia." Washington Post. Tuesday February 6, 2007. p. 3. Retrieved on September 3, 2014.
    17. "logo.gif" (Archived 2014-09-03 at WebCite) Ethiopian Yellow Pages. Retrieved on September 3, 2014.
    18. Brulliard, Karin. "A Sharp Eye On Ethiopia." Washington Post. Tuesday February 6, 2007. p. 1. Retrieved on September 3, 2014.
    19. "Ethiopian Jews Find a Home in Northwest". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-10-11.

    Further reading
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