Mauritanian Americans are
Americans
Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...
of
Mauritanian descent or
Mauritanians who have
American citizenship. According to answers provided to an open-ended question included in the 2000 US census, 993 people said that their ancestry or ethnic origin was Mauritanian.
According to a 2012 published report, however, about 4,000 people of Mauritanian origin live in the
Cincinnati (Ohio) and
Erlanger (Kentucky) areas
and another 1,065 Mauritanians live in
Columbus, Ohio.
Demography
Most Mauritanians living in the United States are refugees, fleeing poverty. There are Mauritanian immigrant communities in several parts of United States, such as
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, and
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, but at least one-third of the people of Mauritanian origin resides in Ohio (mostly in Cincinnati and Columbus) and Erlanger, Kentucky. Some of them were historically enslaved Blacks (Haratin) or they were White Moors.
Some of the White Moors who settled in the Cincinnati area had clashed with the Mauritanian government, either because they supported a failed candidate for president or because their families spoke out against government policies, including slavery.
Some "Afro-Mauritanians", who have a darker skin but were never enslaved, are also present in the United States.
The White Moors and Black Moors speak dialects of Arabic, while the Afro-Mauritanians speak African languages.
Mauritanian Americans have created several community associations in the United States, such as Mauritanian Community and Friendship in Erlanger, Kentucky (composed mostly of White Moors) and the Mauritanian Community Association of Ohio in Cincinnati (composed almost entirely of Afro-Mauritanians).
["Mauritanian refugees make new home in Ohio", ''CNN'', reported by John D. Sutter, March 17, 2012](_blank)
/ref> The purpose of the latter organization is to help Mauritanian Americans "in many aspects: human, social and cultural". Its future plans include assisting Mauritanian refugees in Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 井仆井內丐中五 (Senegaali); Arabic: 塈堻媞塈 ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''R矇ewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 井仆不丐仆不五 ...
and Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 井仆不丐仆不五 丐中五, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, 堿堭堜 塈, Jumh贖riyyt Ml蘋 is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...
and persons living in Mauritania.Mauritanian Community Association
Notable people
*
Ahmed Ould Sid'Ahmed
*
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah
*
Nasser Weddady
*
Mamoudou Athie
Mamoudou Athie ( ) is a Mauritanian-American actor. He is best known for starring in the 2022 Netflix horror series ''Archive 81'' and supporting roles in films including ''Jurassic World: Dominion'' (2022).
Athie began his career in theater ...
References
External links
Mauritanians in America
{{African immigration to the United States
+
American