September 11 Digital Archive

Garifunas: One of ours

Title

Garifunas: One of ours

Source

born-digital

Media Type

article

Original Name

If you pay close attention while walking down the streets of the South Bronx, you may notice a diffe

Created by Author

yes

Described by Author

no

Date Entered

2002-11-15

VTMBH Article: Edition

44

VTMBH Article: Article Order

3

VTMBH Article: Title

Garifunas: One of ours

VTMBH Article: Author

Manuel Jaime

VTMBH Article: Publication

Hoy

VTMBH Article: Original Language

Spanish

VTMBH Article: Translator

Hannah Emmerich

VTMBH Article: Section

news

VTMBH Article: Blurb

If you pay close attention while walking down the streets of the South Bronx, you may notice a different type of Central American immigrantthe Garifuna. Though the Garifuna are a people of African descent, they are considered Latinos because they take the nationality of their country of birth and, for the most part, speak Spanish.

VTMBH Article: Keywords

VTMBH Article: Body

If you pay close attention while walking down the streets of the South Bronx, you may notice a different type of Central American immigrantthe Garifuna. Garifunas are an African-descended group that populates the Atlantic coasts of Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Belize. They share a common history and culture, and, unlike other African-descended groups in the Americas, they were never enslaved.

In 1765, the Spanish exported the Garifunas from Africa to the New World, but the Garifunas were able to escape their captors when their ship capsized near St. Vincent Island in the West Indies. In 1796, the Garifunas fought against the English, but were expelled from their land and relocated to Roatan Island off the coast of Honduras. Later, a treaty signed with the Spanish granted them land on the continent.

Conservative estimates place the Garifuna population at 200,000 worldwide. While most live in Honduras and Belize, and it is estimated that 100,000 live in New Orleans, Los Angeles, and New York, the latter being home to some 30,000 and the largest U.S. center of Garifuna migration.

Garifunas in Honduras, Nicaragua, and Guatemala have been able to maintain their culture while assimilating to the culture of the country they live in. Because Garifunas take the nationality of their country of birth, and, for the most part, speak Spanish, they are considered Latinos. Those Garifunas born in Belize, a former English colony, are excluded from this category because their native language is not Spanish. The Garifuna community, conscious of the fact that they live in a country where everything is classified, prefer to call themselves Garifuna first, and descendents of their country of birth second. For Latinos in New York, the majority of whom are Caribbean, Garifunas are another one of our own.

VTMBH Article: Line Breaks

1

VTMBH Article: Date

2002-11-15

VTMBH Article: Thumb

VTMBH Article: Article File

VTMBH Article: Hit Count

139

Citation

“Garifunas: One of ours,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed November 7, 2024, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/1312.