Roma in the United States

Roma in the United states
Roma Americans
Romani Americans
American Gypsies

Total population
est. 1,000,000

Roma in the United States are Americans descended from the ethnic Roma or Romani people. It is estimated that there may be as many as one million Americans of Romani ancestry in the United States today. Though the Romani population in the United States has largely assimilated into American society, there is a noticeable concentration of Roma in Oregon, and American Roma communities can be found in most major metropolitan areas.

Commonly referred to as "Gypsies", the Roma, ethnically and genealogically disparate from other Europeans; began settling in America in the mid 19th century, fleeing centuries of persecution in Europe. Americans were and are largely unaware of the cultural and historical prejudices about Roma held by Europeans, and though American Roma are cautious about the stigma associated with their heritage, they do not face discrimination or bigotry as they do in Europe. As a result, the social and economic position of Roma in the United States is substantively more favorable than in Europe, with many running successful family-owned businesses, and blending seamlessly into the community.

The largest wave of Roma immigrants came after the abolition of Roma slavery in the Balkans in 1864. Roma immigration to the United States has continued at a steady rate ever since, though a large-scale surge of Roma immigration followed the 1989 collapse of Communism in eastern Europe.

Due both to the size of the American Roma population and the absence of a historical and cultural presence, such as the Romani have in Europe; Americans are largely unaware of the existence of the Roma as a people, associating the term "gypsies" with a trade or profession more than a cultural and ethnic heritage. Due to the term's lack of significance within the United States, many Roma do not use the term around non-Roma: identifying themselves by nationality rather than heritage. The U.S. Census does not ditinguish Roma as a group, since it is neither a nationality nor a religion. However, Romani Americans gained unprecedented visibility in April 2012 with the premiere of TLC's program My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding, an American version of the UK television series My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.

History

Distribution of Romani Americans according to the 2000 census and other resources interpreted by the U.S. English Foundation

The Romanichal, the first Roma group arrive in North America in large numbers, came to America from the British Isles around 1850. Eastern European Roma, The ancestors of most of the Roma population in the United States today, began immigrating to the United States on a large scale over the latter half of the century, following their liberation from slavery in Romania and the Balkans. This wave of Roma immigration comprised Romani-speaking peoples like the Kalderash, Machvaya, Lovari and Churari, as well as ethnically Romani groups that had integrated more with Eastern European society, such as the Boyash (Ludari) of Romania and the Bashalde of Slovakia. Roma immigration, like all Eastern European migration, was severely limited during the Soviet era in Eastern Europe, but picked up again in the 1990s after the fall of the Eastern Bloc.

Groups

• Rom: East European Roma who arrived around 1880, the Rom initially settled in industrial cities throughout the Northern United States and represent the largest Romani ethnic group living in America.
• Ludar: Hailing from the Northern Balkans, the Ludar, or Boyash, arrived along with most Eastern European Roma during the late 19th century.
• Romanichals: The first Romani group to immigrate to the United States, the Romanichals, arrived from the British Isles around 1850, and settled into agrarian lifestyles throughout the United States
• Hungarian-Slovak Romani: Similar to the Rom, the Roma of Northern Hungary largely settled in industrial cities of the Northern United States near the turn of the century. Also known as the Romange or Bashaldo, they were noted for their musical traditions and popularized "Gypsy music" in the United States by performing in cafes, night clubs and restaurants. Their prevalence in show business made Hungarian-Slovak Roma the most visible of the Roma groups arriving in America at the turn of the century and helped to shape the modern American idea of a "gypsy".

See also

• Romani people
• Romani people by country

External links

• Glenn Kates and Valer Gergely, "For Roma, Life in US Has Challenges: People commonly known as 'Gypsies' face stereotyping, discrimination", Voice of America, April 07, 2011
• "Gypsy and Traveler Culture in America", Gypsy Lore Society
• "'Gypsies' in the United States", Smithsonian Institute
• Kayla Webley, "Hounded in Europe, Roma in the U.S. Keep a Low Profile", Time, October 13, 2010
• "Gypsy Americans", everyculture.com
• "Roma (Gypsies)", Texas State Historical Association