Stateside Virgin Islands Americans
Stateside Virgin Islands Americans are West Indian Americans who hold US citizenship and who have migrated from the U.S. Virgin Islands to the continental United States and Hawaii, and their descendants.
| Total population | |
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| Regions with significant populations | |
| South Florida, Orlando, Atlanta, New York City, Houston | |
| Languages | |
| English, Virgin Islands Creole | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Caribbean Americans |
Persons born in the U.S. Virgin Islands are United States citizens, and as a result do not go through the legal immigration procedures a typical West Indies immigrant would. Virgin Islanders in the U.S. are considered part of the Caribbean American community.
It is difficult to determine how many Virgin Islanders reside in the United States proper. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there are 15,014 people of U.S. Virgin Islands ancestry residing in the continental United States and Hawaii. However, a count of American residents with "U.S. Virgin Islands ancestry" excludes most U.S. Virgin Islands-born migrants in the United States proper. Because of a high incidence of inter-Caribbean migration throughout the 1960s and 1970s, most native-born Virgin Islanders today are one or two generations removed from other Caribbean islands and would not necessarily define themselves as having "U.S. Virgin Islands ancestry." For example, Tim Duncan is a St. Croix native with Anguillian ancestry.
Demographics
Virgin Island Americans includes Americans with ancestry from both the US Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands, together numbering about 25,000. A majority of Virgin Islands Americans are of black Afro-Caribbean descent, many of whom descend from enslaved Africans brought to the islands by Europeans in the colonial era. A large portion descends from black or mixed race migrants who came from other parts of the Caribbean including Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and many smaller countries in the Lesser Antilles.
Many Virgin Islands Americans concentrate in areas with a large overall Caribbean population, including areas like New York, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Relative to the population of each state
US metropolitan areas with largest Virgin Islands populations (2020 Census)
New York
- New York Virgin Islanders
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During the 1920’s, a large influx of Virgin Islanders migrated to New York City in search of jobs and economic opportunities. In 1925, the population of native islanders in the city was 8,000 alone. However, while living in Harlem, Virgin Islanders encountered deeper racial tensions than what was felt on the islands. This led to the Harlem Renaissance in which four men including Casper Holstein, Hubert Harrison. Ashley Totten and Frank Crosswaith joined other Caribbean migrants to advocate for equal rights in their community. Besides that, New York City is historically known to be the first stop city for Virgin Islanders and remains throughout today. It is also the birthplace of recent elected officials in USVI such as former Governor Kenneth Mapp and Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett who are both descendants of Crucian parents. The 2020 census estimates 1,281 Virgin Islanders reside in New York state.
Florida
According to the 2020 census, Florida has the highest population of Virgin Islanders in any state throughout the country. While New York and Georgia ranks second and third in line. Recent data have shown Orange County particularly Metro Orlando (248), Pine Hills (189), Oak Ridge (27), Apopka (33), to be the most settled region for Virgin Islanders not only in Florida but the entire United States. Other regions include Ft. Lauderdale and Jacksonville which also shares a large amount of Virgin Islanders. Historically, high school students from the Virgin Islands have attended Bethune–Cookman University in Daytona Beach and many carnival troupes take part in the Orlando Carnival activities each May.
Notable people
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Actors
- Wayne Brady (born 1972), actor; born in Georgia
- Lisa Canning (born 1966), television actress; born on St. Thomas
- Kelsey Grammer (born 1955), actor; born on St. Thomas
- Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs (born 1953), actor; born in New York City
- Jasmin St. Claire (born 1972), adult film actress; born in Christiansted, St. Croix
- Karrine Steffans (born 1978), New York Times bestselling author, former hip hop music video performer, actress; born on St. Thomas
Artists
- Fraser Kershaw, philanthropist, film artist
Athletes
- Christian Lloyd Joseph born 1972, Professional Boxer and former I.B.C Intercontinental Middleweight Champion
- Raja Bell (born 1976), basketball player; born on St. Croix
- Tombi Bell (born 1979), basketball player, who last played for the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA; born on St. Croix
- Joe Christopher (born 1935), the first Virgin Islander to play in Major League Baseball; born in Frederiksted, St. Croix
- Midre Cummings (born 1971), baseball player; born on St. Croix
- Tim Duncan (born 1976), professional basketball player (San Antonio Spurs); born in Christiansted, St. Croix
- Emile Griffith (1938–2013), boxer; born on St. Thomas
- Elrod Hendricks (1940–2005), Major League Baseball player and coach; born in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
- Julian Jackson (born 1960), boxer; born on St. Thomas
- Calvin Pickering (born 1976), baseball player; born on St. Thomas
- Sugar Ray Seales (born 1952), 1972 Olympic Gold Medalist (139 lbs.) boxer; born on St. Croix.
Musicians
- Alton Adams (1889–1987), musician, first black bandmaster in the United States Navy; born in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
- Bennie Benjamin (1907–1989), composer, songwriter, philanthropist; born in Christiansted, St. Croix
- Jon Lucien, jazz musician; born on Tortola, raised on St. Thomas
- Rock City, a musical duo of composed brothers Timothy and Theron Thomas, born on St. Thomas
- Sonny Rollins, jazz musician; born in New York, of St. Thomas (mother) and St. Croix (father) descent
Political leaders
- Judah P. Benjamin (1811–1884), Secretary of the Treasury, Confederate States of America; born in Christiansted, St. Croix
- Frank Rudolph Crosswaith (1892–1965), socialist and labor leader; born in Frederiksted, St. Croix
- Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804), first United States Secretary of the Treasury, an American "Founding Father", economist, and political philosopher; born in Nevis, raised on St. Croix
- Hubert Henry Harrison (1883–1927), orator, political activist; born in St. Croix
- Elizabeth Anna Hendrickson (1884–1946), civil rights leader; born in St. Croix
- Casper Holstein (born 1888), humanitarian; born in St. Croix
- Roy Innis (born 1934), African-American activist, civil rights leader; born in St. Croix
- J. Raymond Jones (1899–1991), political leader, humanitarian; born in St. Thomas
- John de Jongh (born 1957), past governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, former financial executive; born in St. Thomas
- William Leidesdorff (1810–1848), entrepreneur; born in St. Croix
- Ruby Margaret Rouss (1921–1988) first black woman to be elected to preside over a state legislature; born in St. Croix
- Terence Todman (born 1926), ambassador; born in the U.S. Virgin Islands
- Denmark Vesey (1767–1822), slave revolt leader; born on St. Thomas
- David Levy Yulee (1810–1886), U.S. Senator; born on St. Thomas
Writers and intellectuals
- Barbara Christian (1943–2000), educator, feminist critic; born on St. Thomas
News Media Personalities
- Candace Owens (born 1989), Conservative News Commentator, Turning Point USA co-founder, YouTube personality; grandmother from St. Thomas