Dominican American

All you want to know about Dominican American

Dominican American
Alex Rodriguez Zoe Saldana
Notable Dominican Americans:
Alex Rodriguez • Zoe Saldana
Total population

1,217,225
0.4% of the US population (2006)[1]
Regions with significant populations
New York City, New Jersey, South Florida, Boston
Languages
American English, Dominican Spanish
Religion
Predominately Roman Catholic; Protestants; others
Related ethnic groups
fellow Hispanic and Latino Americans
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A Dominican American (also Dominican-York)[2] is an American who has ancestry from the Dominican Republic. (Not to be mistaken for Dominicans from the Commonwealth of Dominica).

Immigration records of Dominicans in the United States date from the late 1800s, and New York City had a Dominican community since the 1930s. From the 1960s onward, after the fall of the Rafael Trujillo military regime, large waves of migration have thoroughly transnationalized the Dominican Republic, metaphorically blurring its frontier with the United States. In 2006, there were approximately 1.2 million people of Dominican descent in the US, both native and foreign-born.[1]

Contents

History

Since the early 1960s, economic problems and political turmoil in the Dominican Republic have led to a vast migration of Dominicans to the U.S., mainly to East coast cities, particularly New York City and other places in New York; Paterson, New Jersey; South Florida (Miami and Fort Lauderdale); Providence, Rhode Island; and Lawrence and Boston, Massachusetts. Smaller waves of Dominicans have gone to the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Houston, Texas; Washington D.C.; Kansas City, Missouri; and New Orleans, Louisiana metropolitan areas. Dominican Americans have settled in these areas largely because of the already existing and growing Latino community found in these places, having come on the heels of a similar migration of Puerto Ricans.

Demographics

Almost half of all the Dominican Americans today have arrived since the 1990s. New York City's Washington Heights neighborhood, on the northwestern tip of Manhattan, is so densely populated by Dominican Americans that it is sometimes referred to as Quisqueya Heights,[citation needed] after Quisqueya, another name for the Dominican Republic. Dominican Americans are now the fifth-largest Hispanic group in the United States, after the Mexican American majority, Puerto Rican Americans, Cuban Americans, and Salvadoran Americans.[3]

As of 2006, the largest concentrations of Dominican Americans are in New York (659,962), New Jersey (167,689), Florida (136,891), Massachusetts (83,700), Pennsylvania (36,091), Rhode Island (30,876), and Connecticut (17,213) — the seven U.S. states with 10,000 or more Dominican Americans. The Census Bureau estimated the nationwide Dominican American population at 1,217,225 in 2006.[4]

Since 1980, the Census Bureau has asked U.S. residents to classify their race separately from their Hispanic or Latino origin, if any. In 1990, 29.2% of Dominican Americans responded that they were white, while 30% considered themselves black. 39.8% of the total, composing a plurality, chose the "other" category.[5] The prevalence of the "other race" category probably reflects the large number of people of mixed African and European ancestry in the Dominican Republic, where 73% of the population are of mixed African and European descent, commonly known as mulato.[6] Many are triracial, however, having also Taíno (Native American) ancestry.

Distribution

The top 25 US communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Dominican ancestry are:[7]

  1. Haverstraw (village), New York 26.95%
  2. Lawrence, Massachusetts 22.47%
  3. Perth Amboy, New Jersey 18.81%
  4. Passaic, New Jersey 13.06%
  5. Sleepy Hollow, New York 12.67%
  6. Providence, Rhode Island 8.43%
  7. Union City, New Jersey 11.46%
  8. Haverstraw (town), New York 11.13%
  9. Paterson, New Jersey 10.27%
  10. Bronx, New York 9.99%
  11. Manhattan, New York 8.87%
  12. West New York, New Jersey 8.41%
  13. West Haverstraw, New York 8.17%
  14. Freeport, New York 7.37%
  15. Copiague, New York 6.57%
  16. Lynn, Massachusetts 6.2%
  17. New Brunswick, New Jersey 5.88%
  18. Weehawken, New Jersey 5.74%
  19. North Bergen, New Jersey 5.56%
  20. Salem, Massachusetts 5.39%
  21. Prospect Park, New Jersey 5.28%
  22. Guttenberg, New Jersey 5.09%
  23. Brentwood, New York 5.09%
  24. New York, New York 5.08%
  25. Miami Gardens, Broward County, Florida 4.62%

Of places with 500 or more residents born in the Dominican Republic, the ten with the highest percentages are:[8]

  1. Haverstraw, New York 22.6%
  2. Lawrence, Massachusetts 21.4%
  3. Perth Amboy, New Jersey 16.4%
  4. Sleepy Hollow, New York 14.9%
  5. Providence, Rhode Island 12.9%
  6. Passaic, New Jersey 12.5%
  7. Union City, New Jersey 10.9%
  8. Paterson, New Jersey 9.6%
  9. Bronx, New York 9.3%
  10. Fort Devens, Massachusetts 8.7%

Adjustment and development

A significant number of Dominican Americans are young, first generation immigrants without a higher education, since many hailed from the Dominican rural countryside. Second generation Dominican Americans are overwhelmingly more educated than their first generation counterparts, as reflected by their higher incomes and employment in professional or skilled occupations. Over 21% of all second-generation Dominican Americans have college degrees, slightly below the national average (24%) but significantly higher than U.S.-born Mexican Americans (13%) and U.S.-born Puerto Rican Americans (12%).[9]

Participation in U.S. Politics

The United States House of Representatives does not have a Dominican American member. However, over two dozen Dominican Americans are elected councilmembers, county legislators, and state legislators throughout the United States. They hold office in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Puerto Rico.[10]

The electoral participation of Dominicans in the United States may improve as a result of the 1994 approval of dual citizenship by the Dominican legislature, which makes it easier for migrants to become U.S. citizens without relinquishing their Dominican nationality. A 1997 Dominican law, which took effect in 2004, allows Dominicans living abroad to retain their Dominican citizenship and voting rights, even if they become citizens of another country. Traditionally, Dominicans living in the United States are passionately involved in politics "back home," but unlike other Hispanic national groups, such as Cuban Americans and Mexican Americans, Dominican Americans are not as inclined to take an active part in U.S. politics, partly because many dream of eventually returning to the island.[11]

Dominican American culture

Music is at the heart of Dominican American culture.[citation needed] Dominican music includes above all merengue and bachata, the second a modification of bolero. Bachata, as well as reggaeton, has become popular among many Dominican American youth, as have house, rock, hip hop, and other genres.

Almost 90% of all Dominican Americans are Roman Catholic. Dominican Catholics are involved in the cult of the saints, and the cult of the national virgins, Altagracia and Mercedes, which are as strong symbols of Dominican identity as the Dominican flag.[citation needed]

Dominican food typically features white rice, beans, yucca, plantains, mangú, beef, mofongo, moro and sancocho.[citation needed]

The Dominican Day Parade is one of the biggest parades in New York City.

 Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (October 2008)

Notable Dominican Americans

Dominicans and Dominican Americans have made great strides in the field of baseball, the top sport in the Dominican Republic. Sammy Sosa, Moises Alou, Alex Rodriguez, Alfonso Soriano, Pedro Martínez, Vladimir Guerrero, David Ortiz, Miguel Tejada, Albert Pujols, Manny Ramírez, and Hall of Fame member Juan Marichal are just a few of the many famous current or former Dominican baseball players.

Baseball isn't the only sport with Dominican American figures. The National Basketball Association (NBA) has Charlie Villanueva, born and raised in Elmhurst, Queens, NY;and Francisco Garcia and Al Horford, Dominican immigrants both. Luis Flores attended Manhattan College and later played one season in the NBA before going to Europe. In the National Football League (NFL) there is Luis Castillo of the San Diego Chargers and Tutan Reyes of the Carolina Panthers.

Dominican Americans have also contributed major literary works on their experiences in the U.S. and the Dominican Republic. Junot Diaz is the author of Drown and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which won him the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in April 2008 and made him the first Dominican American and the second Latino in U.S. history to win the Pulitzer Prize.[12] [13] Julia Alvarez is the nationally-recognized author of In the Time of the Butterflies and How the García Girls Lost Their Accents.

Oscar De La Renta is one of the most recognized names in the fashion industry.

Dominican Americans have increasingly made a presence in the financial industry. Cid Wilson was ranked #1 Wall Street financial analyst in the Specialty Retailing category by Forbes in 2006.[14] [15]

Among Dominican American politicians are former New York City Councilman and current (as of 2008) Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs for the City of New York Guillermo Linares; New York State Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat; New York State Assemblyman Jose Peralta; New York City Councilman Miguel Martinez; New York City Councilwoman Diana Reyna; Rhode Island State Senator Juan Pichardo; Rhode Island State Representative Grace Diaz; Passaic, New Jersey Mayor Dr. Alex D. Blanco; Trenton, New Jersey Councilman Manuel Segura; Allentown, Pennsylvania Councilman Julio Guridy; Massachusetts State Representative William Lantigua; first Dominican American New York County Supreme Court Judge Rolando T. Acosta; and many more.

There is a history of Dominican Americans serving in state-level gubernatorial cabinet positions. Thomas E. Perez is the Secretary of Labor, Licencing, & Regulation for the State of Maryland since January 2007.[16] Dr. Rosa Perez-Perdomo, was Secretary of Health for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, from 2005 to 2008.[17] Dr. Eduardo J. Sanchez was Commissioner of Health for the state of Texas from 2001 to 2006.[18] New York Secretary of State Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez is of both Puerto Rican and Dominican descent and has served in that position since March 2007. [19]

María Montez was an actress in 1940s Hollywood. Zoe Saldana is an actress born in New Jersey to a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother. Michelle Rodriguez, born of a Dominican mother and a Puerto Rican father, is well known for her roles in the television series Lost and movies The Fast and the Furious, S.W.A.T., and Resident Evil. Merlin Santana was a well-known actor from New York City whose parents are Dominican. His most notable role was as Romeo on The Steve Harvey Show. He died in November 2002.

Fashion, modelling, and beauty pageants

Literature

Motion picture and television

Music

Politics

Sport

Baseball

Basketball

Boxing

Other sports

Other notable personalities

Notes and references

  1. ^ a b "United States - Selected Population Profile in the United States (Dominican (Dominican Republic))". Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
  2. ^ The terms "Dominican American" and "Dominican York" are rarely used within the community in the US. Recent studies in New York suggest most favored calling themselves simply "Dominican" - see Jorge Duany, El Barrio Gandul, Economia subterranea y migracion indocumentada en Puerto Rico, 1995
  3. ^ "B03001. HISPANIC OR LATINO ORIGIN BY SPECIFIC ORIGIN - Universe: TOTAL POPULATION". 2006 American Community Survey. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-05-01.
  4. ^ "Custom Table - American FactFinder; C03001. HISPANIC OR LATINO ORIGIN BY SPECIFIC ORIGIN". 2006 American Community Survey, 2006 Puerto Rico Community Survey. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-05-01.
  5. ^ Rodriguez, Carla E. (2000). Changing Race: Latinos, the Census, and the History of Ethnicity in the United States, New York University Press. pp.p. 9. 
  6. ^ Latinos: Remaking America. Berkeley: University of California Press. June 17, 2002. 
  7. ^ "Ancestry Map of Dominican Communities". Epodunk.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
  8. ^ "Top 101 cities with the most residents born in the Dominican Republic (population 500+)". city-data.com. Retrieved on 2008-07-29.
  9. ^ Castro, Max J. (2002). The Dominican Diaspora Revisited, Dominicans and Dominican-Americans in a New Century. 
  10. ^ "DANR - Dominican American National Roundtable". Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
  11. ^ Yahaira Castro (2004-10-26). "FRONTLINE/WORLD. Election 2004 - Dominican Republic". Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
  12. ^ "DANR Congratulates Junot Diaz as first Dominican American To Win Pulitzer Prize".
  13. ^ "Junot Díaz wins Pulitzer for 'Oscar Wao'".
  14. ^ "DR-1 Daily News - May 4, 2006".
  15. ^ "The Best Analysts - Earnings Estimators".
  16. ^ "Thomas E. Perez, Maryland Secretary of Labor, Licencing, & Regulation".
  17. ^ "Dr. Rosa Perez-Perdomo addresses DANR 10th Annual National Conference".
  18. ^ "Dr. Eduardo Sanchez addresses DANR 8th Annual National Conference".
  19. ^ "NY Sec. of State Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez to addresses DANR 11th Annual National Conference".
  20. ^ http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/pichardo

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