Trinidadian and Tobagonian American

Trinidadian and Tobagonian Americans

Notable Trinidadian and Tobagonians: Kareem Abdul Jabbar · Jennifer Carroll · Nia Long Guru· Nicki Minaj
Total population
Trinidadian and Tobagonian 250,000 Americans 0.1% of the US population
Regions with significant populations
New York, Maryland, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California
Languages
American English, Trinidadian English, Bhojpuri
Religion
Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Rastafari
Related ethnic groups
Indo-Trinidadians, Afro-Trinidadians, Chinese Trinidadians, Trinidadian Canadians, Trinidadian British, Trinidadian Australian

Trinidadian and Tobagonian Americans are Americans of Trinidadian and Tobagonian heritage or immigrants born in Trinidad and Tobago who achieve United States citizenship. The largest proportion of Trinidadians live in New York City and in other places such as Maryland, Florida, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. There are over 250,000 Trinidadian Americans living in the U.S.

historical immigration

The First Wave of Trinidadians and Tobagonians in America

Trinidadian and Tobagonian immigration to the United States, which dates back to the seventeenth century, was spasmodic and is best studied in relation to the major waves of Caribbean immigration. The first documented account of black immigration to the United States from the Caribbean dates back to 1619, when a small group of voluntary indentured workers arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, on a Dutch frigate. The immigrants worked as free people until 1629 when a Portuguese vessel arrived with the first shipload of blacks captured off the west coast of Africa. In the 1640s Virginia and other states began instituting laws that took away the freedom of blacks and redefined them as chattel, or personal property. Trinidad, like many other islands in the British West Indies, served as a clearinghouse for slaves en route to North America. The region also acted as a "seasoning camp" where newly arrived blacks were "broken-in" psychologically and physically to a life of slavery, as well as a place where they acquired biological resistance to deadly European diseases.

The Second Wave

From 1966 to 1970, 23,367 Trinidadian and Tobagonian immigrants, primarily from the educated elite and rural poor classes, legally migrated to the United States. From 1971 to 1975, the figure climbed to 33,278. It dropped to 28,498 from 1976 to 1980, and only half that amount between 1981 and 1984, when the Reagan administration began placing greater restrictions on U.S. immigration policy. Less than 2,300 Trinidadian and Tobagonian immigrants arrived in 1984 and that number scarcely increased during President Reagan's second term of office. A few European-Trinidadians migrated during the latter half of the twentieth century, primarily because they were losing their grip on political power in the Republic with the rise of nationalism and independence. The majority of those immigrants came to the United States because Britain had restricted immigration from the Commonwealth islands to the British Isles. A larger number migrated in the late 1980s when oil prices fell, sending the Republic into a deep recession. Trinidadians and Tobagonians are now the second largest group of English-speaking West Indian immigrants in the United States.

US communities with high percentages of people of Trinidadian and Tobagonian ancestry

The top US communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Trinidadian-Tobagonian ancestry are:

1. Lakeview, New York and Naranja, Florida 2.70%
2. South Floral Park, New York 2.50%
3. Mount Rainier, Maryland 2.30%
4. Orange, New Jersey and Blue Hills, Connecticut 2.20%
5. Brooklyn, New York 2.10%
6. Chillum, Maryland 2.00%
7. Roosevelt, New York 1.90%
8. Landover Hills, Maryland and Cheverly, Maryland 1.60%
9. Langley Park, Maryland 1.50%
10. Riverdale Park, Maryland 1.40%
11. North Amityville, New York, Surfside, Florida, and Gordon Heights, New York 1.30%
12. Neptune City, New Jersey, Wheatley Heights, New York and Miramar, Florida 1.20%
13. Cottage City, Maryland, Hempstead, New York, North Valley Stream, New York, Uniondale, New York, North Lauderdale, Florida, Harrington Park, New Jersey and Beltsville, Maryland 1.10%
14. Bloomfield, Connecticut and Central Islip, New York 1.00%

U.S. communities with the most residents born in Trinidad & Tobago

Top 101 U.S. communities with the most residents born in Trinidad & Tobago are:

1. McIntyre, GA 3.8%
2. Lakeview, NY 3.0%
3. South Floral Park, NY 2.7%
4. Palmetto Estates, FL 2.6%
5. Chula Vista, FL 2.4%
6. Orange, NJ 2.4%
7. Boulevard Gardens, FL 2.3%
8. Gun Club Estates, FL 2.2%
9. Naranja, FL 2.2%
10. Mount Rainier, MD 2.1%
11. Brooklyn, NY 2.1%
12. Cheverly, MD 2.1%
13. Kendall Green, FL 2.0%
14. Orlovista, FL 2.0%
15. Blue Hills, CT 2.0%
16. West Perrine, FL 1.9%
17. Springdale, MD 1.9%
18. Chillum, MD 1.9%
19. Canal Point, FL 1.8%
20. Millbourne, PA 1.8%
21. North Lauderdale, FL 1.8%
22. Roosevelt, NY 1.7%
23. Bonnie Lock-Woodsetter North, FL 1.7%
24. Landover Hills, MD 1.7%
25. Ramblewood East, FL 1.7%
26. Pine Lake, GA 1.6%
27. Loch Lomond, FL 1.6%
28. Harrington Park, NJ 1.6%
29. Country Walk, FL 1.5%
30. Royal Palm Estates, FL 1.5%
31. Sky Lake, FL 1.5%
32. Riverdale Park, MD 1.5%
33. Beltsville, MD 1.4%
34. Norland, FL 1.4%
35. Miramar, FL 1.4%
36. Langley Park, MD 1.4%
37. Brentwood, MD 1.3%
38. Cottage City, MD 1.3%
39. North Amityville, NY 1.3%
40. Mount Vernon, GA 1.3%
41. Neptune City, NJ 1.3%
42. Elmont, NY 1.3%
43. Wheatley Heights, NY 1.3%
44. East Orange, NJ 1.2%
45. East Farmington, NY 1.2%
46. Kent Narrows, MD 1.2%
47. Sunrise, FL 1.2%
48. Queens, NY 1.2%
49. East Riverdale, MD 1.2%
50. Uniondale, NY 1.1%
51. Fairland, MD 1.1%
52. New York, NY 1.1%
53. Ravenswood Estates, FL 1.1%
54. Irvington, NJ 1.1%
55. Lake Forest, FL 1.1%
56. West Marion, NC 1.1%
57. Chuluota, FL 1.1%
58. Berry Hill, TN 1.1%
59. Fairmount Heights, MD 1.1%
60. Scotch Plains, NJ 1.0%
61. Takoma Park, MD 1.0%
62. Edmonston, MD 1.0%
63. Englewood, NJ 1.0%
64. Hempstead, NY 1.0%
65. Broadview-Pompano Park, FL 1.0%
66. Port St. Lucie-River Park, FL 1.0%
67. Poinciana, FL 1.0%
68. Inwood, NY 1.0%
69. South Laurel, MD 1.0%
70. Minneola, FL 1.0%
71. Polkville, NC 1.0%
72. Cutler Ridge, FL 0.9%
73. Chester, NY 0.9%
74. Bloomfield, CT 0.9%
75. Margate, FL 0.9%
76. Amelia, LA 0.9%
77. Paxton, FL 0.9%
78. Mitchellville, MD 0.9%
79. Scott Lake, FL 0.9%
80. New Cassel, NY 0.9%
81. South Miami Heights, FL 0.9%
82. Terryville, NY 0.9%
83. North Valley Stream, NY 0.9%
84. Lochearn, MD 0.9%
85. Mangonia Park, FL 0.8%
86. Biscayne Park, FL 0.8%
87. Lauderhill, FL 0.8%
88. Plantation, FL 0.8%
89. Tamarac, FL 0.8%
90. Utopia, FL 0.8%
91. Glenarden, MD 0.8%
92. Haledon, NJ 0.8%
93. Mechanicstown, NY 0.8%
94. Mount Arlington, NJ 0.8%
95. Adelphi, MD 0.8%
96. Conover, NC 0.8%
97. Andover, FL 0.8%
98. Bay Harbor Islands, FL 0.8%
99. Islandia, NY 0.8%
100. Maplewood, NJ 0.8%
101. Melrose Park, FL 0.8%
102. Streamwood, IL 0.3%

Assimilation

Trinidadian and Tobagonian immigrants generally select one of two options: they either make a quick livelihood in the United States before returning home, or they join American society permanently in the wider Caribbean American communities whether they are of African, Indian, Chinese, European or mixed Trinidadian descent. Many of the early Trinidadians and Tobagonians aged 35 and older did return to their native land. Later immigrants often chose the second option and increasingly became part of the distinctly Caribbean community in New York City and Florida.

Notable Trinidadian and Tobagonian Americans

Entertainment

• Aaron Fresh
• Alfonso Ribeiro
• Errol John - An internationally acclaimed actor and playwright who produced the well-known Moon On A Rainbow Shawl.
• Steve Carter - critically acclaimed playwright
• Foxy Brown (rapper)
• Tatyana Ali
• Karyn Parsons
• Heather Headley
• Eren Hospedales
• Lola Monroe
• Nia Long
• Phife Dawg - rapper
• The Mad Stuntman - rapper
• Nicki Minaj (female rapper)
• MF Doom
• Theophilus London
• Romany Malco
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• Trinidad Jame$

Politics

• Jennifer Carroll - Florida Lieutenant Governor
• Mervyn M. Dymally - California Democratic politician

Religion

• Anantanand Rambachan - Hindu scholar

Sports

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - basketball player
• Ricardo Clark - soccer player
• Robbie Findley - soccer player
• Gabrielle Reece - swimmer
• Lauryn Williams - sprinter
• Natasha Hastings - sprinter
• Kerron Clement - sprint/hurdler

Other

• Stokely Carmichael - Activist, former head of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, former Black Panther Party member.
• Lakshmi Singh - NPR's national midday newscaster
• Larry Felix - Director, U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing
• Anya Ayoung-Chee - Miss Trinidad and Tobago Universe 2008, and winner of Project Runway (season 9).