Virgin Islands Americans (stateside)


Virgin Islands Americans are a group of West Indian Americans born in the U.S. Virgin Islands or British Virgin Islands and those individuals with ancestry from either territory who live in the U.S. states.
The U.S. Virgin Islands are an unincorporated territory of the United States. Individuals born in the U.S. Virgin Islands on or after January 17, 1917 are U.S. citizens. As a result, U.S. Virgin Islanders do not go through the legal immigration procedures that most other West Indian immigrants would. However, the British Virgin Islands are a British Overseas Territory. As a result, British Virgin Islanders are required to go through legal immigration procedures when entering the United States.

Demographics

Virgin Islands Americans include those with ancestry from both the U.S. Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands. Many of them concentrate in areas with large West Indian communities, such as in New York, Florida, and Georgia.

New York

During the 1920s, a large influx of Virgin Islanders migrated to New York City in search of jobs and economic opportunities. In 1925, the population of native islanders in the city was 8,000 alone. However, while living in Harlem, Virgin Islanders encountered deeper racial tensions than what was felt on the islands. This led to the Harlem Renaissance, in which Casper Holstein, Hubert Harrison, Ashley Totten and Frank Crosswaith joined other Caribbean migrants to advocate for equal rights in their community. New York City is historically known to be the first stop city for Virgin Islanders, and remains so today. The 2020 census estimated that 1,281 Virgin Islanders resided in New York state.

Florida

According to the 2020 census, Florida has the highest population of Virgin Islanders in any state throughout the country. New York and Georgia rank second and third. Recent data have shown Orange County particularly Metro Orlando, Pine Hills, Oak Ridge, and Apopka to be the most settled region for Virgin Islanders not only in Florida but the entire United States. Other regions with a large Virgin Islander population include Ft. Lauderdale and Jacksonville. Many high school students from the Virgin Islands have attended Bethune–Cookman University in Daytona Beach, and many carnival troupes take part in the Orlando Carnival activities each May.

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