South African American - History

History

South Africans started arriving in the United States as early as the late 19th century starting with White South African (Afrikaner) miners who arrived in California. Many more South Africans came in the mid-20th Century. White immigrants were typically of European heritage. Immigration by blacks was limited: though the standard of living for blacks in South Africa was higher than for most people living on the African continent, political and economic conditions still made immigration difficult as blacks were forced to first escape to other African nation before they could emigrate to the country of their choice. Following the Soweto student uprising in 1976 there was a significant increase in South African emigration to the United States, many of whom were South African Jews, that created a community in the northern suburbs of Chicago. Although emigration policies during apartheid difficult the migration, there were a small number of black students and political refugees who migrated to the United States. During 1980 and 1990 many South Africans entered the United States for political reasons, to meet with families and to get professionals opportunities that they had not in their home country. The largest wave of South Africans was in 1994, after the election of Nelson Mandela as president, as many white South Africans, especially Afrikaners, emigrated for fear of the changes that could occur by the acquisition of political power in the black population.

The ending of the apartheid brought significant waves of white emigration. This time, white South African settlers also included mostly of British descent with a significant number of Portuguese blood.