Juneteenth: Celebrating the Contributions of Black Immigrants
Gabe Ortizon, America’s Voice
“Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863, it could not be implemented in places still under Confederate control,” said the National Museum of African American History and Culture. “As a result, in the westernmost Confederate state of Texas, enslaved people would not be free until much later. Freedom finally came on June 19, 1865, when some 2,000 Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas. The army announced that the more than 250,000 enslaved black people in the state were free by executive decree. This day came to be known as ‘Juneteenth,’ by the newly freed people in Texas.”
Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19, commemorates when news of freedom finally reached enslaved Black Americans in the former Confederate state of Texas following the end of the Civil War.
“Juneteenth marks our country’s second independence day,” the museum continued. “The historical legacy of Juneteenth shows the value of never giving up hope in uncertain times.” And, it’s a national holiday that can’t be fully observed without also celebrating the contributions of millions of Black immigrants.
“Think of authors Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; musicians Miriam Makeba and Wyclef Jean; comedian Trevor Noah; activist Marcus Garvey; NBA hall of famer and philanthropist Dikembe Mutombo—to name but a very few,” Immigration Impact said in 2023. “For generations across the United States, Black immigrants have enriched our academics, music, cuisine, fashion, dance, and more.”
More than four million Black immigrants call the U.S. their home, with most hailing from the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America. “Black immigrants have higher than average rates of naturalization and English language proficiency among immigrants,” and “actually have much higher levels of educational attainment than the overall U.S. average,” the New American Economy Research Fund said in 2020.
These immigrants contribute billions in taxes annually, and many play essential roles in industries critical to millions of Americans, including healthcare.
“For example, Black immigrants are more likely to work in healthcare than are other immigrant groups,” Immigration Impact said. “In 2021, a total of 719,000 Black immigrants worked in the healthcare and social assistance industry, representing 3.3% of the industry’s total workforce. Within healthcare occupations, 152,000 Black immigrants worked as home health and personal care aides, 130,000 as registered nurses, and 16,000 as physicians.” Among Haitian immigrants alone, more than 100,000 work as healthcare workers.
In Virginia, more than one in five Black immigrants works in the commonwealth’s healthcare and social services sector, “compared to about one in nine U.S.-born Virginians,” said The Commonwealth Institute. “Ghanaian- and other west African-born Black Virginians are particularly likely to work in the health care and social services sectors.”
And as the U.S. continues to face a shortage in healthcare and other essential industries – the American Hospital Association projects a shortage of about 100,000 critical health care workers by 2028 – Black immigrants can be essential in bolstering this vital labor force. Black immigrants are also vital to domestic work, often said to be the work that makes all other work possible.
And, of course, there are the significant fiscal contributions that Black immigrants make to help sustain critical federal programs like Social Security and Medicare, and to our economy overall.
“In 2021, Black immigrant households generated a total income of $153 billion,” Immigration Impact said. “They paid $39 billion in taxes: $24 billion in federal income taxes and $15 billion in state and local taxes. This left Black immigrant households with $114 billion in spending power—money households used to support American businesses, invest in housing, and more. As the Black immigrant population grows, so does their spending power—it increased by 7.1% from 2018 to 2021.”
It is also important to call out the ongoing inequities that Black immigrants face under our outdated and oftentimes discriminatory immigration system.
“Black migrants are subject to abuse and a disturbing pattern of racism, violence, and harm at disproportionately higher incidence than non-Black migrants while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” Freedom for Immigrants, Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project, Black Alliance for Just Immigration, and UndocuBlack Network said in a 2022 report. Findings revealed that nearly 30% of calls to an abuse hotline came from Black immigrants despite this group making up six percent of the ICE population.
As The Immigrant Magazine said last year, Juneteenth isn’t just a celebration, it’s a call to action to demand better for our nation’s immigrants. Not only is it the right thing to do, a more just country benefits everyone.
“It reminds us of the work that still needs to be done and inspires us to build a world where all people, regardless of race or background, can live free from prejudice and discrimination,” The Immigrant Magazine said. “Together, as a unified people, we can grow both economically and socially, ensuring our survival and prosperity not only in America but wherever we find ourselves. The strength in our unity can drive significant progress, turning the lessons of the past into the foundations of a brighter future.”
About Author
