Education
From The Peopling of New York City
Education and Occupations
Education
Many immigrants that have recently come from Africa have limited education due to the war and internal conflict. The education that they might have received was interrupted due to civil war. But for the most part, most of the people able to afford to immigrate to the US are the affluent who are educated. Africans started coming to the USA to pursue higher education as early as the 1950s. The Census Bureau data reported by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, African immigrants were found more likely to be college educated than any other immigrant group. Compared to other groups also more highly educated than any other native-born ethnic group including white Americans. 48.9% of all African immigrants hold a college diploma. This is slightly more than the percentage of Asian immigrants, nearly double the rate of native-born white Americans, and nearly four times the rate of native-born African Americans.
| Areas | U.S. Population | All Immigrants | African Immigrants | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not Fluent in English | 0.6% | 30.5% | 7.6% | |
| Less Than High School | 17.1% | 39.1% | 12.1% | |
| College Degree | 23.1% | 23.3 | 43.8% | |
| Advanced Degree | 2.6% | 4.2 | 8.2% |
Occupations
As the civil war in Liberia intensified, more refugees arrived. They created a vibrant community with African restaurants and businesses on Staten Island, while others worked and built businesses across the area, notably in the Nostrand Avenue area of Brooklyn. There are some restaurants that stick to traditional African cuisine while others have a mix of cuisines. While there are successful business leaders in the community, the vast majority of Staten Island's Liberian immigrants are employed in low wage service or medical fields. Many of the current residents of Park Hill are struggling with illiteracy, difficulty in finding employment difficult, and poverty. African immigrants began in the 1940's and 50's to be very well represented in the apparel and garment industries, but in later decades, their representation slowly decreased, due to high competition from other immigrant groups, as well and the ebb and flow of the economy.
African Immigrant Employment in Apparel Industries in NYC
|
Year |
Population |
Index of Representation* |
|
1940 |
2,200 |
1.38 |
|
1950 |
3,300 |
1.22 |
|
1970 |
1,650 |
0.74 |
|
1980 |
3,520 |
0.61 |
|
1990 |
3,092 |
0.59 |
African Immigrant Employment in the Hotel Industry
|
Year |
Population |
Index of Representation* |
|
1940 |
700 |
1.54 |
|
1950 |
652 |
1.25 |
|
1970 |
1,100 |
2.84 |
|
1980 |
3,080 |
2.45 |
|
1990 |
4,613 |
2.06 |
* Index of Representation = (fraction of group in category) / (fraction of group in total economy)
Employed African Immigrant Civilian Population 16 Years and Over:
- Occupations
|
Occupation |
Percentage* |
|
Management |
40.3 % |
|
Service |
18.7 % |
|
Sales |
23.4 % |
|
Farming, Fishing, Forestry |
0.1 % |
|
Construction, Maintenance |
3.5 % |
|
Production, Transportation |
14.0 % |
- Industries
|
African Immigrants in Industry |
Percentage* |
|
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing/Hunting, Mining |
0.3 % |
|
Construction |
2.1 % |
|
Manufacturing |
10.2 % |
|
Wholesale trade |
2.5 % |
|
Retail trade |
12.2 % |
|
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities |
6.8 % |
|
Information |
3.0 % |
|
Finance, insurance, real estate, rental/leasing |
6.5 % |
|
Waste-Management Services |
10.9 % |
|
Educational, Health, and Social services |
27.0 % |
|
Entertainment, Arts, recreation, food services |
9.5 % |
|
Public administration |
3.9 % |
|
Other |
5.0 % |
- African Immigrant Classes of Workers
|
Class |
Percentage* |
|
Private wage and salary workers |
80.6 % |
|
Government worker |
13.4 % |
|
Self-employed in own not incorporated business |
5.7 % |
|
Unpaid family workers |
0.3 % |
*Out of 529,305 surveyed in the 2000 United States census
Sources
Popik, Barry. “Little Liberia.” 19 September 2007 http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/little_liberia/
“The Antinomies of Globalization: Some Consequences of Contemporary African Immigration to the United States of America.” http://www.africamigration.com/archive_01/m_okome_globalization_02.htm
US Census Bureau 2000 http://mumford1.dyndns.org/cen2000/BlackWhite/BlackDiversityReport/black-diversity03.htm
US Census Bureau 2000 of Africa Immigrants http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/stp-159/STP-159-africa.pdf
"African Immigration to the United States." Wikipedia. 20 April 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_immigration_to_the_United_States#Educational_Attainment
"African Immigrants in the United States are the Nation's Most Highly Educated Group." The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. Winter 1999-2000. No. 26. p. 60-61