Bosnian Americans are Americans whose ancestry can be traced to Bosnia and Herzegovina. A large majority of Bosnian Americans emigrated to the United States during and after the Bosnian war which lasted from 1992-1995. History of Bosnian arrivals to the United States, however, dates back to as far as the 1860s and 1870s.[2] While official census reports from the 2000 Census indicate that there are 98,766 Bosnian-Americans in the United States, it is estimated that today there are some 350,000 Bosnian-Americans of full or partial Bosnian descent living in the country.
[edit] History
The Bosnian Community in the USA has a long and distinguished history dating back more than one hundred years. One of the first Bosnian arrivals to any country in the New World was to the United States, and is estimated to have been around the 1860s. According to Embassy estimates there are some 350,000 people of Bosnian origin living in the United States. The traditional centers of residence and culture for people from Bosnia and Herzegovina are situated on the East Coast (Atlanta, Jacksonville, New York and Nashville), in Mid-West (St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit) and on the West Coast. Bosnians live in all 50 states.
The United States has numerous Bosnian cultural, sport and religious associations. Bosnian language newspapers and other periodicals are published in many states; the largest in the United States is the St. Louis based Bosnian-American Newspaper Sabah.
[edit] Settlements and Communities
The largest Bosnian American communities in the US are found in St. Louis, Missouri; followed by Chicago, Illinois; Grand Rapids, Michigan; New York City; Los Angeles along with the rest of Southern California and the Metropolitan areas of Texas. Historically, Bosnians formed substantial populations in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Virginia, and Michigan.
Bosnians were early leaders in the establishment of Chicago’s Muslim community. In 1906, they established Džemijetul Hajrije (The Benevolent Society) of Illinois to preserve the community’s religious and national traditions as well as to provide mutual assistance for funerals and illness. The organization established chapters in Gary, Indiana, in 1913 and Butte, Montana, in 1916 and is the oldest existing Muslim organization in the United States. Bosnian Muslims had lived in California, Arizona, Colorado, Washington and across the Western U.S.[citation needed]
The first Bosnians settled in Chicago in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, joining other immigrants seeking better opportunities and better lives. As the former Yugoslavia continued to find its identity as a nation over the last century, the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina sought stability and new beginnings in the city of Chicago many intending to return to their homeland. Today as many as 70,000 Bosnians and their descendants live in the Chicago area, representing different faiths, backgrounds, and motivations for making America their new home.
In 2001 the Bosnian community established the first Bosnian American television channel called, Bostel. Among other cultural institutions that made cultural contributions to diverse American culture is an annual Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival in New York now in its 11th year.
Other large communities are found in Atlanta; Baltimore, Maryland; Boston; Charlotte, North Carolina; Cleveland; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Fresno, California; Houston; Indianapolis; Jacksonville; Kansas City; Las Vegas, Nevada; Little Rock, Arkansas; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Northbrook, Illinois; Oklahoma City; Orlando, Florida; Phoenix; Portland, Oregon; Riverside, California and San Bernardino, California region; Sacramento, California; Salt Lake City; San Jose; Seattle; Tampa; Utica, New York and Washington, D.C. with suburban Northern Virginia, with the Hampton Roads metro area of Virginia.
The state of Iowa also has a sizable number, while other states like Kentucky, Maine, Tennessee and West Virginia have smaller communities. A large concentration of Bosnians have settled in Memphis, Tennessee; Nashville, Tennessee; Louisville, Kentucky; Bowling Green, Kentucky; Charleston, West Virginia; Portland, Maine; Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Des Moines, Iowa in the 1990's. Another Bosnian community is in Rhode Island.[citation needed]
[edit] Organisations
[edit] Famous Bosnian Americans
[edit] Literature
[edit] Politics
[edit] Sports
- Armin Mrkanovic, boxer
- Adnan Hodzic, basketball player
- Amer Delić, professional tennis player
- Nedim Nišić, olympic swimmer
- Goran Suton, basketball player
- Boris Bandov, soccer player
- Vedad Ibišević, soccer player
- Sanel Borić, soccer player
- Siniša Ubiparipović, soccer player
- Refik Kozić, soccer player
- Perica Marošević, soccer player
- Esad Komić, soccer player
- Joe Raduka, soccer player
- J. R. Bremer, basketball player
- Henry Domercant, basketball player
- Baggio Husidic, soccer player
- Hajrudin Saračević
[edit] References
[edit] See also
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