Zimbabwean Americans

The first great wave of immigration from Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe) took place during and after the Rhodesian Bush War in the 1970s, a time when many White Rhodesian families emigrated due to political and economic conditions.[3] Although initially they emigrated to neighboring South Africa, because they shared English language and heritage, and the United Kingdom, the former colonial power, subsequently they increasingly emigrated to the United States and Australia, countries that, like the above, shared language and heritage.[4] Following the independence of Zimbabwe from the UK in 1980, these immigrants identified themselves as Rhodesians, united by their shared struggles experienced during the Bush War.[5]

In the 1980s, a second group of people from Zimbabwe came to the United States, mostly students that returned to their country after completing their studies. This emigration of students was increased in the 1990s and included both White and Black people. Due to the difficulty in accessing university in your country, many Zimbabwean students emigrated to other countries to complete their studies. Most of them sought degrees linked to technology and business. Unlike earlier Zimbabwean students, many in the 1990s decided to live in the USA for good after completing their studies, given the negative economic situation in Zimbabwe and the job opportunities that they could find in the United States. Thus, the majority of Zimbabweans who migrate to the United States are students and young professionals.[6]

In 2014, the Zimbabwean population in the U.S. was noted as one of "a strong skilled and non-skilled diaspora population" that is also focused in South Africa, the UK and Australia.[7] Thus, Zimbabweans in the U.S. make up just a small part of the Zimbabwean diaspora compared to the larger communities in South Africa and the United Kingdom.[8] However, of Zimbabweans who have not yet emigrated but are considering it, a somewhat higher proportion state that the United States, rather than the United Kingdom, is their preferred destination; this may be due to harassment and discrimination which Zimbabweans have faced in the UK.[9]

There are various conflicting unofficial figures about the number of Zimbabweans in the U.S. The RAND Corporation estimated in 2000 that there were 59,000 in the state of New York alone.[10] In contrast, a 2008 estimate from the Association of Zimbabweans Based Abroad put the population of Zimbabweans in the whole U.S. at just 75,000.[8]

There is a small community of Zimbabweans in Chicago consisting primarily of former students at area universities.[11] Other cities with Zimbabwean communities include: Washington, D.C., New York City, Indianapolis, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, and Detroit.

There is an important organization in Indianapolis of Zimbabwean having annual celebrations of Independence Day (April 18) and other events, such as the first Annual Convention and Business Expo Zimbabwe in 2002. Due to the limited success of the Zimbabwean living in Chicago to create organizations (because their community is dispersed through the city), they have formed ties with the organization of Zimbabwe in Indianapolis.[6] Other Zimbabwean association is the Zimbabwe-United States of America Alumni Association (ZUSAA).[12]

• Zimbabwean diaspora
• Zimbabwean Australians
• Southern Africans in the United States
• Kutsinhira Cultural Arts Center