Yemeni American

Yemeni Americans are Americans of Yemeni ances-try. According to an estimate of 2010, more than 20,000Yemenis live in the United States.

1 History

Although it is unknown when Yemenis first arrived, it isbelieved that Yemenis were immigrating to the U.S. af-ter 1869, and are recorded in the 1890s. Some Yeme-nis gained U.S. citizenship by fighting in World War Iand World War II. Yemenis immigrants settled in ex-isting Lebanese communities in cities like New York.They were outcast as Muslims, as the Lebanese com-munities were predominately Christian, as were Syrianand Palestinian communities. After becoming situ-ated, many Yemenis traveled westward for better jobopportunities.[3] In many places of United States, suchas Chicago, Brooklyn (New York), and South Dearborn(Michigan), the first Yemeni entrepreneurs were own-ers of cafes and liquor stores. However, these compa-nies are not characteristic of Yemeni culture, and it islikely that they have been owners of cafes under the influ-ence of Lebanese and Palestinian communities longer.[4]Many Yemeni also worked in factories in the Midwestand on farms in the San Joaquin Valley in California.Thus as in factory workers in Detroit, Canton, Weirton,and Buffalo. Since the Great Depression of 29 and un-til 1945, end of World War II, Yemeni immigration toUnited States slowed dramatically, increasing from thisyear (1945). In 1945, many Yemenis emigrated to UnitedStates from Vietnam, where many Yemenis had workedin warehouses, shops, and on the docks. Many Yemeniimmigrants had the status of illiterate, already that notknew literate in Arab, that was their mother tongue. Be-cause to this they could bypass regulations and were ad-mitted. When in 1965 the quota system for immigrationwas eliminated, Yemenis could more easily gain visas toreside in the U.S. and get a job in this country, promptinga great increase in the numbers of Yemenis immigrants.Another feature of Yemeni immigrants in the U.S. is thatin the years of immigration that occurred to 1970, nearlyall immigrants from Yemen were adult males.[3]

2 Demography

Although the overwhelming majority of Yemeni Amer-icans are Muslim, there are also some American Jews

of Yemeni ancestry, mostly whose parents or ancestorscame to the U.S. via Israel. Significant Yemeni com-munities exist in Brooklyn, New York; Buffalo, NewYork; Lackawanna, New York; Dearborn, Michigan;Hamtramck, Michigan; Falls Church, Virginia; Chicago,Illinois; Bakersfield, California; Oakland, California andFresno, California. About 15,000 Yemeni Americanslive in Michigan. A significant population of YemeniAmericans live in the southside of Dearborn (Salinaarea). A few Yemenis had arrived in Michigan around1900 but a much larger group came to work in the FordMotor Company's Rouge Plant in the 1920s.[5] Immi-gration to Michigan is still occurring. A survery ofArab Americans in the Detroit area after 9/11 found thatYemenis made up 9% of the area’s Arab population andthat Yemenis had the largest families, the lowest rate ofbusiness ownership (3% compared to 20% for other Arabgroups), and a high rate of employment in “trades” as op-posed to services, administration, professional or sales(43 percent in trades compared to 7 to 17 percent forother Arabs groups).[6] Anthropologist Loukia K. Sar-roub while investigating the Dearborn Yemeni culturethrough the perspective of 6 high-school age girls notedthat the community was “a ghetto-like enclave of Dear-born” and a "'Yemeni village' in the United States” where“this community continued to live much as they did inYemen”.[7]

There is an estimated 35,000-50,000 Yemenis living inthe United States as of 2010.Sally Howell, author of Howell, “Competing forMuslims:New Strategies for Urban Renewal in Detroit”, wrote thatYemeni people had a presence in the Metro Detroit areasince the late 1960s and “they have participated moreactively in transnational practices than have other ArabAmericans”.[8]

3 Language and religion

Yemeni Americans speak both English and Arabic.They speak many different dialects of Arabic, including:Sanaani or Northern Yemeni dialect, Ta'izzi-Adeni orSouthern Yemeni dialect, Hadrami dialect, Mehri dialect,and Judeo-Yemeni dialect. Most of them are Muslim.[3]

1

2 7 NOTES

4 Media and Organizations

The Yemeni American Net was established in June 2007as a web-site dedicated to bring a view to the world onthe Yemeni Americans. One year later, a newspaper wasestablished as the Yemeni American nNews. The Amer-ican Association of Yemeni Scientists and Professionalspromotes Yemenis in technical fields and provides a col-lege scholarship program.[9] The Yemeni American As-sociation and the Yemeni American Benevolent Associ-ation also provide scholarships.[10][11]

5 See also• Demographics of Yemen

• Yemeni British

6 References• Howell, Sally. “Competing for Muslims: NewStrategies for Urban Renewal in Detroit”. Lo-cated in: Shryock, Andrew (editor). Islamopho-bia/Islamophilia: Beyond the Politics of Enemy andFriend. Indiana University Press, June 30, 2010.ISBN 0253004543, 9780253004543.

7 Notes[1] “CITIZENSHIP STATUS IN THE UNITED STATES:

Total population in the United States. 2006-2010 Amer-ican Community Survey Selected Population Tables.”.U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-12-06.

[2] “PLACE OF BIRTH FOR THE FOREIGN-BORNPOPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES, Universe:Foreign-born population excluding population born at sea,2007-2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Esti-mates”. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 16 July2013.

[3] Everyculture:Yemeni Americans

[4] Manfred Wenner. “Encyclopedia of Chicago: Yemeni”.Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved 21 June 2012.

[5] The Detroit Arab American Community, Arab Detroit,2011

[6] PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM THE DETROITARAB AMERICAN STUDY, Wayne Baker, Sally How-ell, Amaney Jamal, Ann Chih Lin, Andrew Shryock, RonStockton, Mark Tessler, University of Michigan, July 4,2004

[7] All American Yemeni Girls Being Muslim in a PublicSchool, Loukia K. Sarroub, University of PennsylvaniaPress, 2005

[8] Howell, p. 210.

[9] American Association of Yemeni Scientists and Profes-sionals, website, 2011

[10] Arab American Scholarships, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, 2011

[11] Yemeni Americans Pillar of Support for Michigan Com-munity, M. Scott Bortot, U.S. Embassy in Belgium, 10March 2011

• Yemeni American Net

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8 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1 Text• Yemeni American Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemeni_American?oldid=645858579 Contributors: Rmhermen, WhisperToMe,Dimadick, SamEV, RainbowOfLight, Trevie, Tabletop, RussBot, Rwalker, Hmains, Shamir1, Freemarket, JYi, Inahet, Cydebot, 23prootie,Stevvvv4444, RobotG, Superzohar, L0b0t, Magioladitis, Aziz1005, Palestine48, Yemenreform, Neptunes2007, Niceguyedc, Solar-Wind,Maklan (usurped), Carriearchdale, UnderTehBridge, Good Olfactory, Addbot, MrOllie, Drpickem, Asmrani, AnomieBOT, J04n, Lucien-BOT, Amozip, PacificWarrior101, Lovejonian, FarfromHvar, Isinbill, SporkBot, Forever Dusk, Frietjes, Abdullah a.m., Johnlocke6666,Jacknicholson54321, Evildoer187, אשכנזי ,דור Dwscomet, AcidSnow, Mottic, Motique and Anonymous: 19

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