The Dallas–Fort Worth area has one of the largest

Nigerian American Nigerian Americans ( ig, Ṇ́dị́ Naìjíríyà n'Emerịkà; ha, Yan Najeriyar asalin Amurka; yo, Àwọn ọmọ Nàìjíríà Amẹ́ríkà) are an ethnic group of Americans who are of Nigerian ancestry. The number of Nigerian immigran ...

populations in the United States.Cordell, p
14
/ref>

History

Many Nigerians of Igbo origin began leaving Nigeria after the

Biafra war The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence ...

of 1967–1970. After that, Dallas began to receive many persons of Nigerian origin,Landers, Jim.
Dallas area home to huge health care frauds

Archive
. ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the '' Galvest ...

''. February 15, 2014. Updated February 17, 2014. Retrieved on July 18, 2015. and by the 1980s the Nigerian community in Dallas formed.

Demographics

As of 2000, within the counties of

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Denton, Collin, and Tarrant, there were 7,300 persons who were born in Nigeria, making up about 1% of the total foreign-born population of these four counties.Cordell, p
1314
/ref> As of 2005 most of the Nigerian immigrants come from southern Nigeria.Cordell and Garcia y Griego, p. 7. As of 2014 the numbers of

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

Nigerian Americans in the Dallas–Fort Worth area were in the ten thousands. Several Nigerian community leaders in the DFW area stated that there were up to 50,000 Igbos in the region. In 2005 Dennis D. Cordell and Manuel Garcia y Griego, authors of "The Integration of Nigerian and Mexican Immigrants in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas," wrote that "virtually all Nigerians arriving in the DFW, even the most recent cohort in 2000-2004, came with high levels of spoken English." This is due to the fact that most Nigerians coming to DFW historically came from the upper and middle classes and had used English extensively.

Geography

As of 2000, of the recent Nigerian immigrant population in DFW, 61% live in

Dallas County Dallas County may refer to: Places in the USA: * Dallas County, Alabama, founded in 1818, the first county in the United States by that name * Dallas County, Arkansas * Dallas County, Iowa * Dallas County, Missouri * Dallas County, Texas, the nin ...

, and of the total number in Dallas County 49% live within the Dallas city limits.Brettell, p
67
The main area of Nigerian settlement in Dallas, also occupied by African-Americans, includes a market frequented by Nigerians, a Nigerian-centered restaurant, and many rental units.Brettell, p
68
It is in proximity to

U.S. Highway 75 U.S. Route 75 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that extends in the central United States. The highway's northern terminus is in Noyes, Minnesota, at the Canadian border, where it once continued as Manitoba Highway 75 on the other sid ...

Economy

By 2014 several DFW area Nigerians became involved in the home health care business. in 2014 Nigerian American attorney Godson Anyanwu stated that the home healthcare business attracted Nigerians since it has better income possibilities compared to many other types of jobs and it may allow them to own their own businesses. That year U.S. federal officials had entered several indictments against some of them, accusing them of engaging in fraud. U.S. attorney Sarah Saldaña stated that their Nigerian origins were "not material" and "carries no weight in any of the indictments I am aware of."

Organizations

As of 2015 North Texas has over 50 organizations focused on Nigerian ethnic groups. The Igbo and

Owerri Owerri ( , ) is the capital city of Imo State in Nigeria, set in the heart of Igboland. It is also the state's largest city, followed by Orlu, Okigwe and Ohaji/Egbema. Owerri consists of three Local Government Areas including Owerri Municipal, ...

people have ethnic associations in DFW.

Education

As of 2007 large numbers of Nigerian immigrants in the DFW area have post-secondary education, and almost all of them had received secondary education.Cordell, p
1415
/ref>

Media

The ''Africa Herald'' is published in Dallas. As of 2014 the publisher is Richard Nwachukwu. ''The African International'' is also published in DFW.Cordell and Garcia y Griego, p. 17.

Notable residents

Ike Diogu Ikechukwu Somtochukwu Diogu (born September 11, 1983) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for Piratas de La Guaira of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto in Venezuela. Family and early life Diogu's parents, natives of Nig ...

(

Garland A garland is a decorative braid, knot or wreath of flowers, leaves, or other material. Garlands can be worn on the head or around the neck, hung on an inanimate object, or laid in a place of cultural or religious importance. Etymology From the ...

) * Ugo Ihemelu ( Cedar Hill)

References

* Cordell, Dennis D. "Paradoxes of Immigrant Incorporation: High Achievement and Perceptions of Discrimination by Nigerians in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (USA)" (Chapter 2). In: Falola, Toyin and Niyi Afolabi. ''Trans-Atlantic Migration: The Paradoxes of Exile'' (African Studies).

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...

, November 21, 2007. , 9781135900786. Start: p
13
* Cordell, Dennis D. (

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , ...

) and Manuel Garcia y Griego (

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of ...

).
THE INTEGRATION OF NIGERIAN AND MEXICAN IMMIGRANTS IN DALLAS/FORT WORTH, TEXAS

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- International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) XXV International Population Conference, 2005. Working paper.

Notes

External links

Igbo Community Association of Nigeria DFW., Inc.

Nzuko Umu-Owerri
- DFW-area association of Owerri people *
The Africa Herald
' {{DEFAULTSORT:History of Nigerian Americans in Dallas-Fort Worth African-American history of Texas

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

History of Dallas History of Fort Worth, Texas Igbo-American history