Barbadian Americans
Barbadian (or Bajan) Americans are Americans of full or partial Barbadian heritage. The 2000 Census recorded 53,785 US residents born on the Caribbean island[2] 52,170 of whom were born to non-American parents[3] and 54,509 people who described their ethnicity as Barbadian.[4] The 2010 US Census estimation report stated more than 62,000 Barbadian Americans are resident in the United States, most of whom are in the area of New York City extending from Rhode Island to Delaware. In past years, some also moved to the areas of Chicago, Illinois,[5] and Boston, Massachusetts.[6][7]
History[edit]
The first Barbadian immigrants in the United States were white Barbadian settlers. Some of these white settlers from Barbados were former indentured servants, who were replaced by African black slaves brought to the island in vast numbers for its flourishing sugar industry after 1650.[8] Barbadians were sent to Carolina as slaves.[9] The first West Indians brought to the United States were forced laborers from Barbados, who were transferred to South Carolina in the 1670s to work on plantations. Slaves from Barbados became a significant part of the black population in Virginia, mainly in the tidewater region of the Chesapeake Bay.[10][11]
Politics and government[edit]
Eric Holder, the 82nd United States Attorney General, has roots in Barbados. His father Eric Himpton Holder, Sr. (1905–1970) was born in St. Joseph, Barbados. His mother Miriam's birth occurred in New Jersey to parents who were immigrants from Saint Philip, Barbados.
The Barbados government also maintains diplomatic and consular representation in a handful of American cities and towns. These include an Embassy in Washington, D.C., two Consulates-General in: Miami, New York City;[16] a Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York City;[16] and is also further supported by a collection of Honorary Consulates in: Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Louisville, New Orleans, Portland, San Francisco, and Toledo.[17]