Ethnic groups in Houston

Houston is a diverse and international city, in part because of its many academic institutions and strong biomedical, energy, manufacturing and aerospace industries. According to the U.S. Census 2000, the racial makeup of the city was 49.3% White (including Hispanic or Latino), 25.3% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 5.3% Asian, 0.1&% Pacific Islander, 16.5% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. 37% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

A map of racial/ethnic distribution in the City of Houston and Greater Houston, 2010 U.S. Census - Each dot represents 25 people. Red dots represent White people, orange dots represent Hispanic people, blue dots represent Black people, green dots represent Asian people, and yellow dots represent other people

By 2010 Houston had significant numbers of Hispanic and Latino Americans, African Americans, Chinese Americans, and Indian Americans, as well as the second-largest Vietnamese-American population of any U.S. city. The city of Houston became a "majority-minority" city (one where the non-Hispanic White population is smaller than the other minority groups combined) in the 1990s, and by 2000 the total Greater Houston area also became a majority-minority.[1]:64 John B. Strait and Gang Gong, authors of the journal article "Ethnic Diversity in Houston, Texas: The Evolution of Residential Segregation in the Bayou City, 1990–2000", wrote that in the 1990s, the minority groups of Houston became more integrated with one another but more segregated from whites. Hispanics integrated with other groups more because the overall number of Hispanics in Greater Houston increased. Many Asians moved into neighborhoods with other Asians, and blacks and Hispanics moved into neighborhoods which Whites were leaving.[1]:64

Hispanics and Latinos
Main article: Hispanics and Latinos in Houston
The Supermercado de Walmart store in the Spring Branch area was designed to accommodate Hispanic customers; it closed in 2014

The Hispanic population in Houston is increasing as more immigrants from Latin American countries come to work in the area. As of 2006 the city has the third-largest Hispanic population in the United States. As of the same year Karl Eschbach, a University of Texas Medical Branch demographer, said that the number of illegal immigrants in the Houston area was estimated at about 400,000, with over 70% being of Mexican descent.[2] This influx of immigrants is partially responsible for Houston having a population younger than the national average.

As of 2011, the city is 44% Hispanic. As of 2011, of the city's U.S. citizens that are Hispanic, half are at voting age or older. Many Hispanics in Houston are not U.S. citizens, especially those living in Gulfton and Spring Branch. As a result, Hispanics have proportionally less representation in the municipal government than other ethnic groups. As of April 2011 two of the Houston City Council members are Hispanic, making up 18% of the council.[3]

As of 2010, Strait and Gong, authors of "Ethnic Diversity in Houston, Texas: The Evolution of Residential Segregation in the Bayou City, 1990–2000," stated that Hispanics and Latinos had "intermediate levels of segregation" from non-Hispanic whites.[1]:58

In the early 1980s, there were 300,000 native Hispanics, and an estimated 80,000 illegal immigrants from Mexico in Houston.[4]

In 1985, Harris County had about 500,000 Hispanics. Eschbach said that, historically, Hispanics resided in specific neighborhoods of Houston, such as Denver Harbor, the Houston Heights, Magnolia Park, and the Northside. Between 1985 and 2005, the county's Hispanic population tripled, with Hispanics making up about 40% of the county's residents. In most communities inside and outside Beltway 8, Hispanics became the predominant ethnic group. Some communities in Greater Houston which do not have Hispanics as the predominant ethnic group include expensive, predominantly non-Hispanic white communities such as Memorial, Uptown, and West University Place; and historically African-American neighborhoods located south and northeast of Downtown Houston. Eschbach said, "But even these core black and white neighborhoods are experiencing Hispanic inroads. Today, Hispanics live everywhere."[5]

Asians
Main article: Asian Americans in Houston
Ranchester Police Storefront in Chinatown - The Chinese name is the Chinatown Police Station (中國城警察局 Zhōngguóchéng Jǐngchájú)

Houston also has large populations of immigrants from Asia. In addition, the city has the largest Vietnamese American population in Texas and third-largest in the United States as of 2004.[6][7]

According to a 2002 survey of 500 Asian Americans in Harris County overseen by Stephen Klineberg, a professor at Rice University, Asian immigrants have substantially lower household income than Anglo residents and other immigrant groups, while they have higher levels of education. Indicating the community suffers from severe underemployment.[8]

Blacks

African Americans
Main article: History of the African-Americans in Houston
African-American Library at the Gregory School, located in the Fourth Ward in Houston

Historically Houston had a significant African-American population,[9] as this area of the state developed cotton plantation agriculture that was dependent on enslaved laborers. Thousands of enslaved African-Americans lived near the city before the Civil War. Many of them worked on sugar and cotton plantations. Slaves held in the city primarily worked in domestic household and artisan jobs. In 1860 forty-nine percent of the city's population was made up of enslaved people of color. In 1860 nearby Fort Bend County had a population with twice as many black slaves as white residents; it was one of six majority-black counties statewide.[10]

From the 1870s to the 1890s, black people made up almost 40% of Houston's population.[9] Before being effectively disfranchised by the state legislature imposing payment of a poll tax in 1902, they were politically active and strongly supported Republican Party candidates.[9] After disfranchisement, the state legislature established legal segregation and Jim Crow. Between 1910 and 1970, the black population of Houston ranged from 21% to 32.7%.[9] They were virtually without political representation until after 1965 and passage of the federal Voting Rights Act, which enforced their constitutional rights of suffrage. Many blacks left Houston for the West Coast during and after World War II in the Great Migration, as jobs increased rapidly in the defense industry on that coast and social conditions were better.

In 1970, 90% of the black people in Houston lived in predominantly African-American neighborhoods, reflecting decades of legal, residential segregation. By 1980 there was some increase in diversity in the city, and 82% of blacks lived in majority-black areas.[11] Since the late 20th century, with changes in social conditions and the burgeoning Houston economy, there has been an increasing New Great Migration of blacks to the South. Many are college educated and have moved to Houston for its lower cost of living and job opportunities compared to some northern and western cities.[12] Many of the new professional migrants settle directly in the suburbs, which offer more housing than the city; among them are upper class, majority-black neighborhoods.[13] Black Enterprise has referred to Houston as the new black mecca.[13] In 2010 Strait and Gong stated that of all ethnic groups in Houston, African Americans were the most segregated from non-Hispanic whites.[1]:58

African immigrants
See also: African immigration to the United States

A significant number of African immigrants have made the Houston area home.[14] As of 2003 Houston does not have as many African immigrants as Hispanic and Asian immigrants. The African immigrants in Houston have higher education levels than other immigrant groups and US-born whites. According to Stephen Klineberg, a sociology professor at Rice University, as of 2003, almost 35% of African immigrants have university degrees, and 28% of African immigrants have postgraduate degrees. In the Houston area, 28% of US-born Whites have university degrees, and 16% have postgraduate degrees.[15] In 2012, the total trade between Houston and Africa was $19.7 billion. Houston is Africa's largest U.S. trade partner.[16] In 2016 the city had about 60,000 people of recent African immigrant origin.[17]

In 2019 Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde GebreMariam stated that the presence of African immigrants in United States is one reason related to the airline's decision to establish the Bush Intercontinental Airport-Lome Airport route.[18]

Nigerians
See also: Nigerian Americans

Charles W. Corey of the U.S. Department of State said that it has been estimated that Greater Houston has the largest Nigerian expatriate population in the United States. [14] As of 2018 about 150,000 Nigerian Americans are in the Houston area.[19] The 2017 American Community survey estimated that 65,000 Nigerian Americans live in Texas,[20] the vast majority of which reside in Houston. As of 2003 Houston had 23,000 Nigerian Americans. Many Nigerian Americans choose Houston over other American destinations due to its warmer climate and the ease of establishing businesses.[15] Nigerians in Houston are highly educated and often have postgraduate degrees.[21] Nigerians in the Houston area opened Nigerian groceries, restaurants, and churches.[22]

Until Continental Airlines began nonstop flights to Lagos from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in November 2011, many Nigerians had to fly through Europe to travel between Texas and Nigeria.[23] Jenalia Moreno of the Houston Chronicle said that the Nigerian community and the energy companies in Houston have worked for a long time to get a flight to Nigeria from this city.[24] In 2016 United Airlines, which had merged with Continental, canceled the Lagos route, citing a decline in the energy industry and inability to get currency out of Nigeria.[25]

In 2020 No Passport Required featured Nigerian restaurants in Houston.[26]

Ethiopians
See also: Ethiopian Americans
Debre Selam Medhanealem Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church (ደብረ ሰላም መድኃኔዓለም የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን) in Fondren Southwest

Mesfin Genanaw, a Houston Community College teacher who was one of the individuals who assisted with the building of the area Ethiopian Orthodox church, stated in a 2003 Houston Chronicle article that there are an estimated 5,000 Ethiopians in Greater Houston.[27]

One Ethiopian Orthodox church in Houston is the Debre Selam Medhanealem Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church (Amharic: ደብረ ሰላም መድኃኔዓለም የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን Debre Selam MedhaneAlem YeItyopphya Ortodoks Tewahedo Bete Kristiyan; the name approximately means "Sanctuary of Peace and the Savior"). Prior to the construction of the church, those of the Ethiopian Orthodox faith worshiped at Coptic Orthodox churches. Genanaw, stated that in 1992 20 Ethiopian women who were attending a Coptic church planned the establishment of an Ethiopian church. In 1993 the group purchased a 2.5-acre (1.0 ha) site and a tent, and conducted church services in a tent. After fundraisers were held, in 1995 construction of the permanent church started, and the church later obtained an additional 5 acres (2.0 ha) of land.[27]

Other African immigrants/expatriates

As of 2009 the number of Equatorial Guinean citizens in the Houston area under 100, was the largest Equatorial Guinean population in the United States. The Consulate-General of Equatorial Guinea in Houston is located in Houston.[28]

St. Nicholas Catholic Church in East Downtown (historically the Third Ward) has African immigrants in its congregation. By 2012 the church held Swahili masses due to it gaining African immigrant parishioners.[29] In particular it has a group of Cameroonians in the congregation served by the Assumption Cameroonian Catholic Community, so it has services each month tailored to that group.[30]

Non-Hispanic Whites
See also: German Texan
The historic St. Peter's United Church, founded by German settlers in Spring Branch

White Americans of northern and western European origin, particularly those of German and British origins, founded the City of Houston. Historically in the mid-nineteenth century, Southern Anglo settlers primarily from the Southeastern United States crossed the Mississippi River, migrating to Texas.[31] Roberto R. Treviño, author of The Church in the Barrio: Mexican American Ethno-Catholicism in Houston, said that German Americans "historically played a central role in Houston, far outnumbering other whites such as the British, Irish, Canadians, French, Czechs, Poles, and Scandinavian groups who historically have comprised a smaller part of the city's ethnic mosaic."[9]

In 1910, prior to new waves of immigration from eastern and southern Europe, descendants of ethnic Whites who had founded Houston numerically outnumbered other ethnic groups who had later settled in Houston.[9] After European immigrants and their descendants assimilated into United States culture, they tended to develop with the city of Houston. Demographics at mid-century reflected a white majority, with Latino (mostly Mexican-American) and African-American minorities. The state legislature had disfranchised most blacks at the turn of the century and in practice, erected barriers to Latino voting as well.

After the Civil Rights Movement gained some successes, such as congressional passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 to enforce minority constitutional rights, in the 1970s, white flight occurred in Houston as wealthier people moved to newer housing in suburbs, also choosing to avoid economic and racial integration of public schools in the city.[32] The city government used annexation as a strategy to mitigate White flight by annexing areas where White Americans moved.[33] Between the 1970-1971 and the 1971-1972 school years, enrollment at the Houston Independent School District decreased by 16,000. They were overwhelmingly ethnic Whites; 700 African-American students left the system.[32]

As the suburbs developed and Texas enjoyed the 1970s oil boom, many Anglo Whites settled directly in established suburbs, and they lacked any ties to inner city Houston. In 2004 about 33% of Anglo white people residing in Harris County originated from the Houston area, either by birth or from growing up there as children.[34]

Demographers Max Beauregard and Karl Eschbach, both of University of Houston Center for Public Policy, concluded from their analysis of the 2000 U.S. Census that white flight from the city continued to occur in the 1990s. In the decade prior to the 2000 U.S. Census, White residents left communities within Houston such as Alief, Aldine, Fondren Southwest, Gulfton, and Sharpstown. Other communities in Houston that lost large numbers of Whites by the 2000 census include Inwood Forest, Northline, Northside, and Spring Branch. Communities in other parts of Greater Houston that lost large numbers of Whites include Channelview, Cloverleaf, Galena Park, and Pasadena.[35]

Lori Rodriguez said, regarding the movement of white people in Greater Houston leading up to the year 2000, "Picture a stone dropped on the urban core and ripples of people spreading from within the Loop to the second-ring suburbs between the Loop and Beltway 8; and then beyond, to the outer-ring settlements and even unincorporated perimeter; Kingwood, The Woodlands, FM 1960."[35]

In the period between the 1990 and 2000 censuses, the largest growth of non-Hispanic White Americans within Greater Houston occurred in White-majority communities, such as Clear Lake City, Kingwood, northwest Harris County, the FM 1960 corridor, and The Woodlands.[35]

19th and early 20th centuries

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Houston received numerous immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe, many of whom entered through the Port of Galveston. As did other southern cities, Houston attracted "overflow" European immigrants first destined for industrial cities in the eastern seaboard and the Midwestern United States, which received larger numbers of Eastern Europeans and Southern Europeans in this period. In 1910, Houston had groups of Austro-Hungarians, Greeks, Italians, Russians, and Europeans from other populations. Those groups were smaller than the total of Mexican-Americans in Houston. By 1930, Houston had 8,339 first and-second generation Eastern and Southern European people. This was almost half of the size of Houston's Mexican-American population.[9]

Armenians
See also: Armenian American
St. Kevork Armenian Church

As of 2007 there were about 4,000-5,000 ethnic Armenians in the Houston area, according to St. Kevork parish council chairperson Vreij Kolandjian and pontifical visit host committee chairperson David Onanian.[36] Most are descendants of early 20th century immigrants who fled persecution the Ottoman Empire and Turkey. St. Kevork Armenian Church, which was established around 1982, serves as the Armenian Apostolic Church facility in Houston. As of 2007 about 10% of the ethnic Armenians in Houston are active in this church.[36]

Czechs

Czechs, also known as Bohemians arrived in Texas around the mid-1840s. Although they tended to settle more in areas around Austin and the Texas Hill Country of central Texas, a sizeable community exists in Houston.[37] The Czech Center Museum celebrates their achievements and contribution to Texas life and culture. https://www.czechcenter.org/home-1/

Germans

German immigrants arrived in number following the revolutions of 1848 in the German states, like their Bohemian brethren; they tended to oppose slavery and supported the Republican Party through the Reconstruction era.[38] The Second Ward, in the 1800s, had a heavily German American community. Thomas McWhorter, author of "From Das Zweiter to El Segundo, A Brief History of Houston’s Second Ward," wrote that "Second Ward became an unofficial hub of German-American culture and social life during the nineteenth century."[39] German settlers also predominated in Spring Branch, a community that later become a part of Houston, in the mid-1800s.[40]

Greeks
Annunciation Orthodox Church in Montrose, Houston

The first recorded ethnic Greeks in Houston, listed in the Houston City Directory of 1889-1890, were George and Peter Poleminacos. They worked as manual laborers, as they did not speak English. Kalliope Vlahos was the first Greek woman to arrive, in 1903; after her, more women and families with children began settling Houston.[41] Many of the earliest settlers planned to make money in the U.S. and then return to their homelands. Several Greeks became businessowners;[42] historically many Greeks operated cafes and sweets shops in Downtown Houston.[43] The capital start-up costs of such shops were relatively low.

Italians
The Logue House in the Houston Museum District area, which houses the Italian Cultural and Community Center (ICCC)

As of 2002 about 40,000 people in the Houston area were of Italian descent.[44]

Brina D'Amico, a member of the D'Amico restaurateur family, said in 2014 that most Italian-American families in Houston were of Sicilian origins, and their immigrant ancestors had entered in the late 19th and early 20th centuries at the Port of Galveston.[45] In addition to Galveston, many other southern Italians arrived through Indianola, Texas and New Orleans, while several people from northern Italy entered through Ellis Island and traveled from there to Texas.[46] Many ethnic Italians, after arrival, began working in groceries.[44] Prior to 1900 Galveston, then more prominent than Houston, attracted Italian immigrants.[46]

In previous eras there were over twenty ethnic Italian clubs in the Houston area, with several associated with particular religious institutions; immigrants founded several of them, and several were defunct by 2018.[46] Federation of Italian-American Organizations of Greater Houston is a collection of Italian American organizations.[44] In 2018 it hosted five to six of the aforementioned clubs.[46] The Italian Cultural and Community Center (ICCC) is located in the Houston Museum District,[44] and is operated by the federation.[47] The ICCC and federation offices are in the John G. Logue House, which the federation obtained in 1988.[48]

La Voce, an ethnic newspaper published by the federation, had a circulation of 3,700 as of 2001.[47]

The ICCC holds the Houston Italian Festival or Festa Italiana every year.[49] It has music, food, and art programs. The city government provides funding and proceeds help fund the ICCC.[50] The festival started in 1979.[51]

The first volume of Houstonians of Italian Descent, a non-fiction non-academic collection with personal testimonies about ethnic Italian communities as well as information about religious and organizational institutions, was released in 2002. Lena Mandola of the Mandola restaurateur family was the principal driver behind the book.[44] The creators of the book deemed the sales of the first volume to be positive, and the second volume was released in 2004.[52]

Bell Park in the Museum District area has a statue of Christopher Columbus.[47]

Norwegians
Norway House, which houses the Consulate-General of Norway in Houston

In the late 1800s, more Norwegians arrived at the port of Galveston than any other United States port other than Ellis Island in New York City. Many of the Norwegians who were processed through Galveston migrated to join compatriots in farming areas of Minnesota and other areas in the Midwestern United States.[53] Houston and Stavanger, Norway have been sister cities since 1980, furthering this relationship.

Poles

The city has a Polish American church, Our Lady of Czestochowa Roman Catholic Parish in Spring Branch, established in the 1980s. At the time Polish immigrants who resisted Communist rule in that country arrived in Houston. There is a Polish festival, Houston Polish Festival, held twice each year. In 2019 organizer Damian Reichert stated that it was the state's only major Polish festival.[54]

Late 20th century to present

Since the late 20th century, new immigrants have arrived from Norway, Russia, and the Mideast. In addition, there are nationals from the UK and other countries who work here for a period of time. Lasse Sigurd Seim, the consul general of the Norwegian Consulate General, Houston, described the estimated 5,000–6,000 Norwegians in the Houston area around 2008 as the largest concentration of ethnic Norwegians outside of Scandinavia. Jenalia Moreno of the Houston Chronicle said during that year that the influx of Norwegians into Greater Houston was "relatively new" and related to Norway's also having a major oil industry.[53]

In a 2004 Houston Chronicle article, Nikolai V. Sofinskiy, the first consul general of the Consulate-General of Russia in Houston, said that there were around 40,000 Russian speakers in the Houston area.[55]

As of 1983 there were about 10,000 British nationals in Houston.[56] Annette Baird of the Houston Chronicle said that, as of December 2000, the number of British citizens in Greater Houston was estimated to be over 40,000. Grainne O'Reilly-Askew, the first headmistress of the British School of Houston, said that before the school was established, British companies encountered difficulty in convincing their executives to relocate to Greater Houston, since the area previously did not have a school using the British educational system.[57] John Major, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, attended the school's official opening.[58]

Circa 2013 the Houston area had about 98,300 people of Middle Eastern origins, with a margin of error of more than 27,700. This figure includes people of Arab, Iranian, Israeli, and Turkish origins.[59]

Iranians/Persians
Iranian businesses along Hillcroft Avenue

As of 1994, over 50,000 ethnic Iranians live in Houston. As of that year, 12 city blocks along Hillcroft Avenue, from Westheimer Road to a point just south of Westpark, contain a Persian business district including shops and restaurants. Allison Cook of the Houston Press referred to the area as "Little Persia".[60]

As of 1990 most Iranians/Persians in Houston are not religious.[61]

As of 2000, Iranians were one of the two main Zoroastrian groups in Houston. As of that year the total number of Iranians in Houston of all religions is larger than the total Parsi (generally immigrants from India) population by a 10 to 1 ratio.[62]

Rustomji wrote that as of 2000, because of the historic tensions between the Parsi and Iranian groups, the Iranians in Houston did not become full members of the Zoroastrian Association of Houston (ZAH), which was majority Parsi. Rustomji stated that Iranian Zoroastrians "attend religious functions sporadically and remain tentative about their ability to fully integrate, culturally and religiously, with Parsis."[62] In 1996 the Iranian population had its largest attendance at a ZAH event when it attended Jashne-e-Sade, an event the community created for ZAH. By 2000 some Muslim Iranians who were opposed to fundamentalism in the mosques, began attending Zoroastrian events. Rustomji wrote in 2000 that from 2000 to 2005, Iranians were expected to make up a greater proportion of ZAH.[62]

As of 2006, most member of the Houston Haziratu'l-Quds (a Baháʼí Faith center) were Persians.[63] As of 2010 many Houston Baháʼí are refugees from Iran. In Iran many of their relatives and parents suffered state sanctioned persecution of Baháʼís, being arrested and/or executed.[64]

After Iranian student and activist Gelareh Bagherzadeh was murdered in Houston in 2012, Lomi Kriel of the Houston Chronicle stated that "The case has been complicated by the possible Iranian link and the close-knit nature of Houston's Iranian community. Many have been either afraid to talk or reluctant to disclose details they consider private or disrespectful."[65] The perpetrator, Ali Irsan, was later convicted and sentenced to death for the crime,[66] an honor killing in retaliation against Bagherzadeh's encouragement of Irsan's daughter to leave Islam and marry a Christian man.[67][68]

Arabs and Middle Easterners

As of 2008 multiple Houston-area restaurants selling Levantine cuisine also served sandwiches. This trend started with Lebanese American Jalal Antone, who opened Antone's Import Company. He advised Levantine businesspeople that American people at the time would consider Levantine cuisine to be too foreign, so it would make more business sense to open a sandwich shop that also sells Levantine dishes on its menu.[69]

Badr stated that as of 2000, about 10% of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH) consists of ethnic Arabs, from a variety of Middle East nations. She added that the percentage of Arabs among Houston's Muslim population is estimated by some to be "as high as 30%."[70] According to Badr, from 1990 to 2000 many Arabs began to found their own mosques and Islamic schools separate from the ISGH. They disagreed about various issues with other members of the Society, including the language of the Friday sermons in the mosques, the operations of Sunday schools and full-time schools, and monetary collection and distribution within the community.[70]

As of 2014 U.S. Census estimates, 23,300 people in the Houston area speak the Arabic language; this is a one-third increase in the number of Arabic speakers compared to 2009.[71]

The Arab Times is published in the Houston area.

Ethnoreligious groups
See also: Religion in Houston

Jews
The current Congregation Beth Israel
Main article: History of the Jews in Houston

Jews were part of the great waves of immigration from eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, coming especially from the Russian Empire, that than included Poland and Ukraine. Most entered through the Port of Galveston. Jewish aid societies encouraged immigrants to settle in the South, as the northeastern cities were absorbing so many from Europe.

By around 1987 about 42,000 Jews lived in Greater Houston.[72] In 2008 Irving N. Rothman, author of The Barber in Modern Jewish Culture: A Genre of People, Places, and Things, with Illustrations, wrote that Houston "has a scattered Jewish populace and not a large enough population of Jews to dominate any single neighborhood."[73] He wrote that the city's "hub of Jewish life" is the Meyerland community.[73]

Copts
See also: Coptic American and Coptic Orthodox Church in the United States
St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church, Bellaire

Christian Egyptians and some North Africans have historically belonged to the Coptic Orthodox Church. A sufficient number of immigrants from these areas have settled in Houston since the late 20th century to establish churches and the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. As of 2004, there were three Coptic Orthodox churches in Houston: St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Bellaire, the St. Mary and Archangel Michael Church in northwest Harris County, and the Archangel Raphael Coptic Orthodox Church in Clear Lake City. The St. Mary and Archangel Michael church began church services on July 25, 2004, had 200 families in August of that year, and was built at a cost of $2.5 million.[74] The St. Mary and Archangel Michael church is the largest Copt church in the Houston area.[75]

In the late 1960s there were far fewer Coptic families. They were served by a priest from Los Angeles, who would fly monthly to Houston and hold mass in a borrowed Orthodox church or in a private house.[74] From 1968 to 2006, more than 600 Coptic families moved to Houston. Due to sectarian strife against Copts in Egypt, by 2006 the number of immigrants had increased and membership of Copt churches in Houston was growing.[75]

In 2006 Gregory Katz of the Houston Chronicle said that, partly because many Copt church leaders are accustomed to anti-Copt attitudes in Egypt, those who come to Houston are not accustomed to speaking freely about their religious beliefs. They "do not mingle easily with the rest of the large Christian community in the Houston area".[75]

After the 2011 Alexandria bombing in Egypt, Houston Coptic churches cancelled their Coptic Christmas services.[76]

Parsis

The Parsi in 2000 made up one of the two chief ethnic groups practicing the Zoroastrian religion. As of that year the total number of Iranians of all religions in Houston was larger than the total Parsi population by a ratio of 10 to 1.[62] As of 2000 the members of the Zoroastrian Association of Houston (ZAH) are majority Parsi. Rustomji wrote that because of that and the historic tensions between the Parsi and Iranian groups, many Iranians in Houston did not become full members of the ZAH. Rustomji said that Iranian Zoroastrians "attend religious functions sporadically and remain tentative about their ability to fully integrate, culturally and religiously, with Parsis."[62]

Sikhs
Houston Sikh Community at the 2016 Martin Luther King Day parade in Midtown Houston

In 2012 the Sikh National Center stated that the city of Houston has 7,000 to 10,000 Sikhs. The Gurdwara Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib Ji is a Sikh temple in Houston,[77] located off of Fairbanks North Houston. As of 2012 the majority of the city's Sikhs originate from the portion of Punjab in India.[78]

The first Sikh police officer in the Harris County Sheriff's Office was Sandeep Dhaliwal. He became an officer in 2009, and received an accommodation to wear his Sikh articles of faith (including the turban and unshorn hair and beard) in 2015.[79] Dhaliwal was shot and killed when making a traffic stop in 2019.[80]

Maronites

As of 2008 Our Lady of the Cedars Maronite Catholic Church is Houston's only Maronite Church. That year, Christine Dow, a spokesperson for the church, stated that there were about 500 families who were members, and that the community, since the 1990s, had increased.[81] Richard Vara of the Houston Chronicle wrote that in 1991 there had "only a handful of registered families" in the Houston Maronite church.[82]

Ethnic neighborhoods

Anthony Knapp and Igor Vojnovic, authors of "Ethnicity in an Immigrant Gateway City: The Asian Condition in Houston", wrote that by 2016 several ethnic neighborhoods in the central portion of Houston began to disappear despite the municipal government and media outlets promoting ethnic diversity as a positive for the city. They cited the Chinatown in East Downtown, the Fourth Ward ("Freedmens Town"), the Little Saigon in Midtown, and "El Mercado del Sol".[83]

Other ethnic neighborhoods include the Mahatma Gandhi District and the current Houston Chinatown, both in Southwest Houston.

References
  • Badr, Hoda. "Al Noor Mosque: Strength Through Unity" (Chapter 11). In: Chafetz, Janet Salzman and Helen Rose Ebaugh (editors). Religion and the New Immigrants: Continuities and Adaptations in Immigrant Congregations. AltaMira Press, October 18, 2000. ISBN 0759117128, 9780759117129.
  • Bell, Roselyn. "Houston." In: Tigay, Alan M. (editor) The Jewish Traveler: Hadassah Magazine's Guide to the World's Jewish Communities and Sights. Rowman & Littlefield, January 1, 1994. p. 215-220. ISBN 1568210787, 9781568210780.
    • Content also in: Tigay, Alan M. Jewish Travel-Prem. Broadway Books, January 18, 1987. ISBN 0385241984, 9780385241984.
  • Brady, Marilyn Dell. The Asian Texans. Texas A&M University Press, 2004. ISBN 1585443123, 9781585443123.
  • Fischer, Michael M. J. and Mehdi Abedi. Debating Muslims: Cultural Dialogues in Postmodernity and Tradition. University of Wisconsin Press, 1990. ISBN 0299124347, 9780299124342.
  • Klineberg, Stephen L. and Jie Wu. "DIVERSITY AND TRANSFORMATION AMONG ASIANS IN HOUSTON: Findings from the Kinder Institute’s Houston Area Asian Survey (1995, 2002, 2011)" (" (Archive). Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Rice University. February 2013.
  • Knapp, Anthony; Vojnovic, Igor (August 1, 2016). "Ethnicity in an Immigrant Gateway City: The Asian Condition in Houston". Journal of Urban Affairs. 38 (3): 344–369. doi:10.1111/juaf.12212.
  • Rodriguez, Nestor P. (University of Houston) "Undocumented Central Americans in Houston: Diverse Populations." International Migration Review Vol. 21, No. 1 (Spring, 1987), pp. 4–26. Available at JStor.
  • Rothman, Irving N. The Barber in Modern Jewish Culture: A Genre of People, Places, and Things, with Illustrations. Edwin Mellen Press, August 14, 2008.
  • Rustomji, Yezdi. "The Zoroastrian Center: An Ancient Faith in Diaspora." in: Chafetz, Janet Salzman and Helen Rose Ebaugh (editors). Religion and the New Immigrants: Continuities and Adaptations in Immigrant Congregations. AltaMira Press, October 18, 2000. ISBN 0759117128, 9780759117129.

See also

Notes
  1. Strait, John B.; Gong, Gang (2010). "Ethnic Diversity in Houston, Texas: The Evolution of Residential Segregation in the Bayou City, 1990–2000". Population Review. Sociological Demography Press. 49 (1). doi:10.1353/prv.2010.0001 – via Project MUSE.
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  6. Money Smart Press Release. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
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Further reading
  • Rodriguez, Nestor. "Hispanic and Asian Immigration Waves in Houston." in: Chafetz, Janet Salzman and Helen Rose Ebaugh (editors). Religion and the New Immigrants: Continuities and Adaptations in Immigrant Congregations. AltaMira Press, October 18, 2000. ISBN 0759117128, 9780759117129.
    • Also available in: Ebaugh, Helen Rose Fuchs and Janet Saltzman Chafetz (editors). Religion and the New Immigrants: Continuities and Adaptations in Immigrant Congregations. Rowman & Littlefield, January 1, 2000. 0742503909, 9780742503908.
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