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Turkish American |
| Turkish American |
|---|
| Total population |
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164,9451 |
| Regions with significant populations |
| Languages |
| Turkish, American English |
| Religion |
| Predominately Muslim |
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Turkish Americans (Turkish: Türk asıllı Amerikalı) are people that have Turkish ancestry. who live in the United States.
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By Turkish, this could mean roots linking back to Turkey, Cyprus, the Balkans, or other communities of the Turkish diaspora.
The presence of Turks in the Americas dates to the 17th century. However, there is little authoritative evidence for this claim other than archives dating from the Ottoman Empire. The biggest migration from the Ottoman Empire to the new continent was driven after slavery became illegal. It is known that approximately 7,000 Turks mostly from the small Anatolian city of Elazığ worked on the Ford Motor Company assembly line in Detroit. The onset of World War I was a turning point for many Turks who had come to America. Many Turks returned to Turkey and joined the Ottoman Army. Several Turks stayed in America.
However, upon knowledge of the allied occupation of Istanbul and Greek occupation of Izmir, fights broke out between Turks and Greeks in factories and streets and about half of the Turkish community in the United States returned to Turkey to fight against the invading foreign forces in what is now known as the Turkish War for Independence.
A second exodus of Turks occurred during the Great Depression. Turkish President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk sent Turkish ships to America, offering free passage home to any Turk who would leave, so many Turks took up the offer and returned to Turkey. The second wave of migration came right after World War II when the United States accepted the Alien Registration Act. After this date, especially elite Turkish academics migrated to the United States for better educational opportunities and resources. Along with the brain drain immigrants, many working class Turks also settled in the United States. A brief history of the Turkish presence in the United States can be found at AmerikadakiTurk.
Early Turkish immigrants to the United States were predominantly from Turkey's rural community. They settled in large, industrial cities and found employment as unskilled laborers. The majority came to earn money so that they could improve their economic situation and that of their families in Turkey. After the 1950s, a well-skilled and highly educated class immigrated to the United States, the majority being medical doctors, engineers, and scientists. Today, Turkish Americans are visible in virtually every field. The majority are professionals and enjoy a upper middle class lifestyle.
Since the 1970s, the number of Turkish immigrants has risen to more than 2,000 per year.4 Members of this most recent immigrant group vary widely. Many opened small businesses in the United States and created Turkish American organizations, thus developing Turkish enclaves, particularly in New York City. Still others came for educational purposes.
According to the 2000 US census, there are 117,575 Americans (and to 2005 American Community Survey there are 164,945) of full or partial Turkish descent. From the beginning of Turkish immigration to the United States, many Turks have settled in or around large urban centers. The greatest number have settled in Paterson, New York City (mostly in Brooklyn), Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Rochester. Other concentrations of Turkish Americans may be found along the East Coast in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia; and some have ventured into Minnesota, Indiana, Texas, Florida and Alabama. Many of these communities are served by various local community associations. Membership totals are hard to obtain but range from 50 members to almost 500 members.
Little Arabia is a neighborhood in Paterson, New Jersey which is sometimes called Little İstanbul because of its large number of Turks. Paterson has always been home to immigrants looking to make a start in the new world. Today, the faces are largely of immigrants from the Islamic World. South Paterson is bordered by Madison Avenue to the north, Crooks Avenue to the south, Hazel Street to the west, and East Railway Avenue to the east.
The Turkish American community is becoming more close-knit as their social life is revolved around coffee houses and benevolent societies. In Peabody, Massachusetts, coffee houses on Walnut Street became a congregating place for the Turks living in the area. It was here the community members exchange news about their villages while sipping Turkish coffee and noshing on sweet pastry. The Boston metropolitan area has been an area of choice for late 20th century Turkish immigration.
Turkish Americans have made numerous contributions to American society, particularly in the fields of education, medicine, and science. Others, including Tunç Yalman, artistic director of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, and Osmar Karakas, who was awarded the 1991 National Press Award for the best news photograph, have contributed significantly to the arts.
Perhaps the most successful Turkish name associated with music outside of Turkey and in the United States is Atlantic Records' founder, Ahmet Ertegün. His promotion of some of the most famous R&B and soul artists in North America and contribution to the American music industry has earned him a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame together with his brother Nesuhi Ertegün. Arif Mardin is another major popular music producer and arranger in America. His clients included Aretha Franklin, the Bee Gees, Carly Simon, Roberta Flack, and Bette Midler. After briefly meeting Ahmet Ertegün at the Newport Jazz Festival, he joined Atlantic Records and served as their Vice President until his death.
Feza Gursey (1921–1993) was the J. Willard Gibbs Professor Emeritus of Physics at Yale University. He contributed major studies on the group structure of elementary particles and the symmetries of interactions. Professor Gursoy helped bridge the gap between physicists and mathematicians at Yale. He was the winner of the prestigious Oppenheimer Prize and Wigner Medal.
Muzafer Sherif (born July 29, 1906, in Odemis, Izmir, Turkey – died October 16, 1988, in Fairbanks, Alaska) was one of the founders of social psychology. He helped develop social judgment theory and realistic conflict theory.
Econometrist Daron Acemoglu won the John Bates Clark Medal in 2005 and is one of the most influential economists in the United States.
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