Surinamese Americans () are

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...

of Surinamese descent. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 2,833 people reported Surinamese ancestry.

History

The Surinamese immigrant Jan Ernst Matzeliger worked in Lynn,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, developing and patenting an automated lasting machine in 1883 that was essential for the mechanization of

shoemaking Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...

, immediately improving quality, halving prices, and ending the previously necessary putting-out system. A substantial Surinamese community in United States has existed since at least 1975. For much of the 20th century, many Surinamese immigrants moved to the U.S. via a permanent residency visa, which enabled them to acquire U.S. citizenship. However, it became easier to immigrate to the U.S. because of the open door policy the U.S. had for many refugees. Some Surinamese were political refugees that fled the Bouterse regime. Surinamese have immigrated to the U.S. due to both push and pull factors. Although many migrate to the U.S. to escape poverty, many have migrated for work, study, and tourism. Thus, many Surinamese who traveled to the U.S. with tourist purposes to study at their universities, definitely settled there. Most Surinamese that settled in U.S. cities were lower and middle-class individuals who arrived from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Also, Surinamese families already being in some U.S. cities boosted further emigration from Suriname.Surinamese Immigrants in the United States of America: A Quest for Identity?
Pages 32, 34, 41, 75-77.

Demography

Most Surinamese organizations estimate that about 10,000 to 15,000 Surinamese live in the United States. Most Surinamese Americans reside in

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Other places with relatively large Surinamese communities include but are not limited to Washington;

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

;

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

(primarily

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

); and other cities in Florida. Most Surinamese settle in places similar to their land, from residential architectural style to flora and fauna to tropical climate. For that reason, the highest concentrations of Surinamese are in Florida (Miami, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Sarasota and

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

.) Most Surinamese in the U.S. are of Chinese, East Indian, Creole, and mixed descent. Trace amounts of other Suriname ethnicities are also represented in the U.S. Some Surinamese in the U.S. are also white (especially those of Dutch descent) and some are of Javanese, Amerindian, and/or Maroon descent. The racial variety in the Surinamese community is displayed especially in New York City. The Surinamese community experiences disunity and mistrust among other issues. The Surinamese community of New York is more tightly knit than that of Florida.

Organizations

Most organizations try to maintain the identity of Surinamese cultures, particularly Indian, Creole, and Javanese, organizing many activities and events throughout the year. Florida contains all these organizations, and all but one operate in Miami -- the Surinamese Moravian Fellowship of Miami, Surjawa, the Organization of Surinamese people in Miami (OSIM), the Surinamese American Network Incorporation (SANI), the Surinam Heritage Foundation, Heri Heri, and Fayalobi (the only one in Tampa.) The Surinamese Moravian Church in Miami tries to promote social unity through Christian faith and organization of events.

Notable people

* Sergiño Dest, soccer player * Otto Huiswoud, political activist * Ryan Leslie, singer * Robert Van Lierop, lawyer, film director, diplomat, activist and writer * Maurice Ligeon, soccer player * Jacques Judah Lyons, rabbi * Vinoodh Matadin, fashion photographer * Jan Ernst Matzeliger, inventor * Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop, businessman and land owner * Yosh Nijman, American football player * Jimmy Smits, actor * DJ Sun, musician * Corliss Waitman, American football player

References

External links