Belarusian Americans

There is an assumption that the first Belarusian settlers in the United States, who settled there at the beginning of the 17th century in Virginia, could have been brought as Slavic slaves by Captain John Smith, who visited Belarus in 1603.{{cite web|author=Vituat Kipel|url=http://www.everyculture.com/multi/A-Br/Belarusan-Americans.html|title=Belarusan Americans|publisher=everyculture.com|date=2006|access-date=January 14, 2016}} The first wave of mass emigration from Belarus started in the final decades of the nineteenth century and continued until World War I. They emigrated to the United States via Libava (Liepāja, Latvia) and northern Germany. When they arrived, most settled in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore. However, most of these first Belarusians were registered either as Russians (those who were Orthodox Christians) or as Poles (Roman Catholics). This was because the first wave of immigrants came before the full development and spread of Belarusian nationalism.{{Cite book |last=Bekus |first=Nelly |title=Struggle over identity: the official and the alternative "Belarusianness" |date=2010 |publisher=Central European Univ Press |isbn=978-963-9776-68-5 |location=Budapest}}{{Cite book |last=Rudling |first=Per Anders |title=The rise and fall of Belarusian nationalism, 1906-1931 |date=2015 |publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press |isbn=978-0-8229-6308-0 |series=Pitt series in Russian and East European studies |location=Pittsburgh, Pa}} Most ethnic Belarusians (those who were not genetically or culturally Polish, Lithuanian, or Jewish) considered themselves to be Russian.{{Cite book |last=Magocsi |first=Paul R. |title=The Russian Americans |date=1996 |publisher=Chelsea House Publ |isbn=978-0-7910-3367-8 |edition=1. print |series=The immigrant experience |location=New York |pages=19, 41}} Furthermore, even today, those who descend from pre-World War I immigrants often use the more archaic term "White Russian" to describe their ancestry instead of "Belarusian".{{cite book|title=American Immigration: A Student Companion|page=52}}

{{Refimprove|section|date=February 2023}}

File:Belarusian monument in South River.jpg for "Those who fought for Freedom and Independence of Byelorussia"]]

According to the 1990 United States Census, only 4,277 respondents claimed Belarusian ancestry; there are no reports as to the estimated population from the 2000 census.{{cite web|url=http://www.slaviccoalition.com/origins_belarus.asp|title=Belarus|work=Slavic Heritage Coalition|date=1996|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229203350/http://slaviccoalition.com/origins_belarus.asp|archive-date=December 29, 2013}} The majority of the pre-Revolutionary immigrants from Belarus who were ethnic Belarusians identified as Russian, more or less holding Russophilic or Westrussianist views.{{Cite web |last=Гронский |first=А. Д. |date=2014-04-27 |title=Образ Российской империи и белорусского национального движения в новом школьном учебнике по истории Белоруссии |url=https://www.hist.msu.ru/Labs/UkrBel/gronski-rab.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427010813/http://www.hist.msu.ru/Labs/UkrBel/gronski-rab.htm |archive-date=April 27, 2014 |access-date= }}{{Cite web |last=Заблоцкая |first=М. В. |title=Идеи «западноруссизма» в политической и культурно-национальной жизни Беларуси в конце XIX — начале XX века |url=https://iarex.ru/books/book80.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213033837/http://www.iarex.ru/books/book80.pdf |archive-date=December 13, 2013}} A large portion of the Russian American community consisted of immigrants from Belarus. Belarus had, and still has, a Polish minority consisting of ethnic Poles, the descendants of the Polish nobility and gentry, as well as descendants of Polonized Belarusian peasants.{{Cite web |title=Belarus History - PolishRoots |url=https://www.polishroots.com/Research/History/belarus_history?PageId=267 |access-date=2023-12-28 |website=www.polishroots.com}}{{Cite journal |last=Kamusella |first=Tomasz |date= 2013|title=Germanization, Polonization, and Russification in the partitioned lands of Poland-Lithuania |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0090599200024168/type/journal_article |journal=Nationalities Papers |language=en |volume=41 |issue=5 |pages=815–838 |doi=10.1080/00905992.2013.767793 |issn=0090-5992|hdl=10023/4055 |hdl-access=free }} In addition, the term "Belarusian" only became common near the end of the Soviet Union's existence, and most persons of Belarusian ancestry in the United States would be unaware of the term, referring to themselves as "White Russian" rather than "Belarusian".

Since it was customary in American English of that time to use a historical Ruthenian designation for various East Slavic peoples, Belarusians in the U.S. were sometimes referred to as White Ruthenians. For example, the first Belarusian-American newspaper, Belaruskaja trybuna ({{langx|be|Беларуская трыбуна||Belarusian Tribune}}), was published since 1926 by the Whiteruthenian National Association, and had an English subtitle: Whiteruthenian Tribune.{{sfn|Kipel|1999|p=408}}

The largest concentrations of Belarusian Americans are in the metropolitan New York area, New Jersey (especially Highland Park and South River), Cleveland (and its suburbs), Chicago (recent immigrants concentrated around Wheeling), Los Angeles, Sacramento (largely around Orangevale and North Highlands) and Detroit.

There were several waves of Belarusian influx into the U.S., one before the Russian Revolution, then in 1919-1939 from Western Belarus, then in the late 1940s-early 1950s (after the Second World War), and after the collapse of the USSR in the 1990s.

One major group of Belarusian immigrants to the U.S. are Belarusian Jews who migrated starting in the mid-19th century, having faced discrimination in the Russian Empire, which Belarus was part of at the time.

According to the 2000 Census Bureau report,{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/stp-159/STP-159-Belarus.pdf|title=Profile of Selected Demographic and Social Characteristics: 2000 - People Born in Belarus|work=U.S. Census Bureau|date=2000|access-date=January 14, 2016}} 38,505 people who were born in Belarus lived in the United States. 1,363 of them spoke the Belarusian language at home.{{cite web|format=XLS|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/language/detailed-lang-tables.xls|title=Detailed Languages Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over for the United States: 2006-2008|work=U.S. Census Bureau|date=April 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20101019234851/http%3A//www%2Ecensus%2Egov/population/www/socdemo/language/detailed%2Dlang%2Dtables%2Exls |archive-date= October 19, 2010 }}

Belarusian-born population in the U.S. since 2010:{{Cite web |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_15_1YR_B05006&prodType=table |title=American FactFinder - Results |access-date=2018-04-23 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200214060704/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_15_1YR_B05006&prodType=table |archive-date=2020-02-14 |url-status=dead }}

There are several organizations in the United States that have developed a system of secondary schools in places with communities of Belarusian descent. These organizations have the goal of teaching the language, culture, and religious traditions of Belarus. Thus the Belarusian culture is represented by choirs, theatrical groups, and musical and dance ensembles. One of the more prominent associations is the Belarusan American Association.

Red, white, black and green colors dominate in the national costume. The national costumes differ depending on the region of Belarus. In the 1950s the St. Euphrosynia Belarusian Orthodox Church was created in South River, New Jersey.

Belarusian cuisine has left a trace in the life of the Americans. One of the proofs is the traditional bagel. The Americans also know Belarusian pierogi, kielbasy and cabbages. The Belarusian cuisine is dominated by various grains, potatoes, beef, pork and mushrooms. Actually, many dishes are cooked from potatoes; for example, draniki, babka, etc. There are also dishes similar to the ones of neighboring countries (Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, Russia, Poland): cabbage rolls, bortsch, cold beetroot soup or meat jelly.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HTWNDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA18|title=Ethnic American Cooking: Recipes for Living in a New World|page=18|isbn=978-1-4422-6734-3 |last1=Long |first1=Lucy M. |date=July 15, 2016 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield }}

{{Americans}}

• Mary Antin{{cite book |last1=Gümüş |first1=Gamze Katı |title=Introduction to Migration Studies |date=2022 |publisher=Springer |page=565 |url=https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/78129185/icomir_Kitap_Bolumu_3-libre.pdf?1641401284=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DTURKIYEDE_YASAYAN_GECICI_KORUMA_KAPSAMIN.pdf&Expires=1734644919&Signature=P4BsyjcCP4e10gFuEvbzBNDHArckuabRFbQfewjDi6qDcrdaSqrfzcHHwECwHmhNR8qU73ORWPLxTm2GEWm-L63T4wJQvZsQ3bwPPaJQrgM3ldrjWbZyaPDF4-BVsmg0EwYEcnadW4xQH49xPigNdncb3HeJbVQYWqwhSU~hDdQfydjH1yHc-1kop4sz89b4Ky73mSGkyXyOMwWMMkdDc~zwQao1ijeHTLqt4QO9yh63mF8LrNlKxE6oK4yptzTmS86ksEVW9jIe6~p7XRgBZZoltOxpkbcegG1UrSBFxwesh8jmInq7QqAU4w2SpMdlRNdP4jljwk8g-eIjwfhOTw__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA#page=565 |access-date=19 December 2024 |language=en}}
• Irving Berlin{{cite book |last1=Kaplan |first1=James |title=Irving Berlin: New York Genius |date=1 January 2019 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-18048-0 |page=280 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Irving_Berlin/42-1DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Irving+Berlin+%22belarus%22&pg=PA280&printsec=frontcover |access-date=19 December 2024 |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Arcari |first1=Maurizio |last2=Papanicolopulu |first2=Irini |last3=Pineschi |first3=Laura |title=Trends and Challenges in International Law: Selected Issues in Human Rights, Cultural Heritage, Environment and Sea |date=22 April 2022 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-030-94387-5 |page=297 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Trends_and_Challenges_in_International_L/rXtsEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Irving+Berlin+%22Talachyn%22&pg=PA297&printsec=frontcover |access-date=19 December 2024 |language=en}}
• Larry Brown{{cite news |last1=Gabler |first1=Neal |title=What Makes Larry Run? |url=https://grantland.com/features/what-larry-brown-doing-coaching-college-hoops/ |access-date=19 December 2024 |work=Grantland |date=12 February 2013}}
• Dick Dale{{cite news |title=Dick Dale: 'King of Surf Rock' guitarist dies aged 81 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-47606592 |access-date=19 December 2024 |work=BBC |date=17 March 2019}}
• Kirk Douglas{{cite news |title=Belarus Jewish community holds memorial for Kirk Douglas, its most famous descendant |url=https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/belarus-jewish-community-holds-memorial-for-kirk-douglas-its-most-famous-descendant |access-date=19 December 2024 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=10 February 2020}}
• Harrison Ford{{cite book |last1=Jenkins |first1=Garry |title=Harrison Ford : imperfect hero |date=1999 |publisher=Carol Pub. Group |location=Secaucus, N.J. |isbn=978-0-8065-8016-6 |page=9 |url=https://archive.org/details/harrisonfordimpe0000jenk/page/8/mode/2up?q=minsk |access-date=19 December 2024}}
• Al Franken
• Alex Galchenyuk{{cite news |last1=O'Brien |first1=Derek |title=Alex Galchenyuk signs with Amur Khabarovsk |url=https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/alex-galchenyuk-signs-with-amur-khabarovsk |access-date=19 December 2024 |work=Hockey News |date=17 May 2024 |language=en}}
• Wayne Gretzky
• Scarlett Johansson
• Larry King{{cite news |title=Larry King, broadcaster whose CNN show was the platform of choice for politicians and celebrities – obituary |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2021/01/23/larry-king-broadcaster-whose-cnn-show-platform-choice-politicians/ |access-date=19 December 2024 |work=The Telegraph |date=23 January 2021}}
• Barys Kit
• Olga Korbut
• Tadeusz Kościuszko
• Lisa Kudrow
• Jared Kushner
• Ralph Lauren
• Louis B. Mayer
• George de Mohrenschildt
• Siarhei Navumchyk
• Dasha Nekrasova
• Gwyneth Paltrow
• Zianon Pazniak
• Greg Puciato
• Dmitry Sholokhov
• Nikolai Sudzilovsky
• Jazep Varonka
• Gary Vaynerchuk
• Jurka Vićbič
• Marianne Williamson
• Jan Zaprudnik
• Zebbler

{{Portal|Belarus|United States}}

• Belarusian Americans in New York City
• Belarus–United States relations
• Belarusians in Chicago

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book|last=Kipel|first=Vitaut|title=Belarusans in the United States|year=1999|location=Lanham|publisher=University Press of America|isbn=9780761813064|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HYB1AAAAMAAJ}}

• [http://belmov.org/ Belarusian Youth Movement of America]
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20161231225103/http://www.bazahq.org/ The Belarusan-American Association]}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20101125061605/http://forsecurity.org/international-seminar-belarusian-diaspora-past-and-present-took-place-minsk The international seminar Belarusian Diaspora: Past and Present took place in Minsk]

{{Slavic Americans}}

{{European Americans}}

{{East Slavic Americans}}

{{Belarusian diaspora}}

Category:European diaspora in the United States

Category:Belarusian diaspora in North America