Virgin Islands Americans
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| Total population | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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(U.S. Virgin Islands origin 15,014[1] British Virgin Islands origin Unknown) | |||||||
| Regions with significant populations | |||||||
| South Florida, Orlando, Atlanta, New York City | |||||||
| Languages | |||||||
| English, Virgin Islands Creole | |||||||
| Religion | |||||||
| Predominantly Christianity, Rastafari | |||||||
Virgin Islands Americans are Americans from the U.S. Virgin Islands or British Virgin Islands who reside in the continental United States, or continental Americans of Virgin Islands heritage.
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. They are also, due to cultural affinities with the Anglophone Caribbean, U.S. Virgin Islanders in the U.S. are considered part of the Caribbean American immigrant community.
It is difficult to determine how many Virgin Islanders reside in the United States. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there are 15,014 of U.S. Virgin Islands ancestry residing in the continental United States. However, a count of American residents with "U.S. Virgin Islands ancestry" excludes most U.S. Virgin Islands-born immigrants in the United States. Because of a high incidence of inter-Caribbean migration throughout the 1960s and 1970s, most native-born U.S. 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.
The population of immigrants of British Virgin Islands origin in the United States is also difficult to determine, as they are not specifically counted in the U.S. Census, but grouped with other Caribbean British Overseas Territories as "British West Indies."
Prominent Virgin Islands Americans
Actors
- 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 1970), 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.
- Wayne Brady (born 1972), actor; born in Georgia
Artists
- Austin Hansen (1910–1996), photographer; born on St. Thomas.
- William Thornton (1759–1828), architect, inventor, painter; born on Jost Van Dyke.
- Fraser Kershaw philanthropist, film artist
Athletes
- Christian Lloyd Joseph (born 1972),boxer;born on St.Croix.
- Raja Bell (born 1976), basketball player; 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 (born 1938), 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), current 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
- Ashley L. Totten (1884–1963), union leader, humanitarian; born in Frederiksted, St. Croix.
- 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.
- Gus Edwards, playwright; born on Antigua, raised and education in St. Thomas.
- Geraldo Guirty, journalist, historian; born on St. Thomas.
See also
References
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