Togolese Americans are
Americans of
Togolese
Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
descent. According to answers provided to an open-ended question included in the 2000 census, 1,716 people said that their ancestry or ethnic origin was Togolese.
An unofficial estimate in 2008 of the Togolese American population was more than 2,500.
["Togolese immigrants work hard to give back to their communities", ''Quad-City Times'', reported by Barb Ickes, 25 May 2008](_blank)
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History
The first people from present-day Togo arrived in the United States enslaved. Most of these slaves shipped to the United States were disembarked at the Gulf Coast. The Gulf Coast includes the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Most of the slaves belonged to the Ewe people which inhabit the south-eastern part of Ghana, Togo, Benin, and south-western Nigeria. This lasted until 1859, when Togolese-descended Cudjo Lewis arrived to Mobile
Mobile may refer to:
Places
* Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city
* Mobile County, Alabama
* Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S.
* Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Mobile ...
from Dahomey
The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a region ...
.["Question of the Month: Cudjo Lewis: Last African Slave in the U.S.?", by David Pilgrim, Curator, Jim Crow Museum, July 2005, webpag]
Ferris-Clotilde
After the abolition of slavery, few Togolese came to the United States.
Demography
Most Togolese who live in the United States are in the country legally and have received diversity immigrant visas,
Notable people
* Gale Agbossoumonde, soccer player
* Tabi Bonney, rapper
*Bruce Djite
Bruce José Djité (French pronunciation: ; born 25 March 1987) is an Australian executive and former association football (soccer) player. As a player, Djite is known for his speed, strength and good height with ball heading skills and pre ...
, soccer player
*Jonte' Moaning
Jonte' Moaning (born October 9, 1982 in Portland, Oregon), also known as Jonte, is an American choreographer, dancer, singer-songwriter, and model.
Life and career
Jonte' was born on October 9, 1985, in Portland, Oregon. He began his dance care ...
, dancer
* Marie Thérèse Metoyer, businesswoman
See also
*Togo–United States relations
Togo–United States relations are bilateral relations between Togo and the United States.
Diplomatic relations
Togo is a pro- Western, market-oriented country. The United States and Togo have had generally good relations since its independenc ...
References
{{Demographics of the United States
West Africans in the United States
Togolese diaspora