Ethiopian Americans are Americans of Ethiopian descent, as well as individuals of American and Ethiopian ancestry. The first Ethiopians came to Seattle as students in the late 1960s and the early 1970s.
Around 25,000 to 40,000 Ethiopians live in Seattle, with many more living in the nearby areas. The Seattle area is also home to three radio programs in the Amharic language, as well as an Amharic newspaper. Many Ethiopians live in the Rainier Beach and Central District neighborhoods.
From 1980 with the passage of the Refugee Act until about 2000, thousands of Ethiopians arrived in Seattle as immigrants and as refugees as a result of oppressive political regimes, drought, and war. In the early twenty-first century, Ethiopians have come to the United States through the Diversity Immigration Visa program, which grants permanent resident cards to potential immigrants based on a lottery system.
Both Ethiopian communities have thrived in Seattle, but also face similar challenges. These include preparing the aging first generation of immigrants for retirement and keeping children in school and helping them to become good citizens through after-school programming at their respective community centers. Community centers provide a social space and many programs including those designed to help preserve culture and heritage.
The Ethiopian Community Mutual Association welcomes all Ethiopians.
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Early Immigration and Settlement
In 1919, a group from Ethiopia visited the United States to congratulate the Allied powers for winning World War I. Later, Emperor Haile Selassie sent many Ethiopian students to study abroad, with some coming to the United States. For example, Makonnen Desta studied at Harvard University and later became an important Minister of Education in Ethiopia.
Between 1941 and 1974, about 20,000 Ethiopians went to Western countries for education or diplomatic work, with most returning to Ethiopia after finishing their studies. Immigration laws helped more Ethiopians move to America, especially in the 1990s, often due to political problems in Ethiopia, like the Ethiopian Civil War and the Eritrean-Ethiopian War.
Over time, Ethiopian Americans have created special communities in different cities. You can find many Ethiopian businesses and restaurants in places like Washington, D.C. One famous area is Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, even called Little Ethiopia.
Since the 1990s, about 1,000 Ethiopian Jews have moved to the United States, having first settled in Israel.
The first Ethiopian organization in Seattle was founded in 1983. The initial goal of the Ethiopian Community Mutual Association was to help refugees to become good citizens, find work, send their kids to school, and immerse themselves in the new American culture.
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Ethiopians who identified as Oromo or Tigray people also opened their own community centers to provide assistance to new arrivals who shared the same ethnic heritage and spoke the same language.
Ethiopians own many Seattle businesses, many of which are on First Hill’s Cherry Street. These businesses include a taxicab company, small grocery stores, and Ethiopian restaurants, which have introduced Seattleites to injeraand, the special Ethiopian seasoning known as berbere.
However, many Ethiopian families struggle in Seattle, adjusting to a new life in the United States, learning English, living in low-income housing, and working two jobs in order to support themselves.
Religious and Cultural Identity
Many Ethiopian Americans follow Abrahamic religions, mainly Christianity and Islam. Most Christians belong to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the biggest Christian group in Ethiopia. Most Muslim Ethiopians follow the Sunni branch of Islam.
There has been a renewed interest in religion among Ethiopian Americans. More people attend church in America than in Ethiopia. Churches help to preserve Ethiopian culture for American-born Ethiopians, offering support and a place for new immigrants and established residents to connect. Ethiopian churches are important gathering spots.
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Music is a very important part of Ethiopian American culture, helping immigrants explore their shared identity. Public performances, often at colleges, introduce Ethiopian music and dance to others. These traditional performances often have religious themes and feature sacred songs sung in different languages of Ethiopia.
Community Development in Seattle
The Ethiopian Community Center opened in 1980 to help these residents. The Seattle area also has three radio programs in the Amharic language. There is also an Amharic newspaper.
Since Ethiopians in Seattle come from different ethnicities, religions, and, sometimes, speak different languages, there have been some divisions along religious and ethnic lines in Seattle in the past. In addition, Ethiopians tend to distinguish between old immigrants, who came to the United States as students and more recent immigrants who may have come to Seattle as refugees.
Despite these divisions, Ezra Teshome, an Ethiopian community leader, maintains that there is mutual respect among the different Ethiopian groups. With the purchase of a new community center by the Ethiopian Community Mutual Association on August 31, 2010, the community will have a greater opportunity to come together and unify, as the center will accept anyone who identifies as Ethiopian.
