Mauritanian Americans

Most Mauritanians in the United States arrived as refugees or asylum seekers, particularly during the late 1980s and 1990s. Key factors contributing to emigration include: Ethnic conflict, slavery and post-slavery discrimination, political repression and economic hardship.

By the late 2000s and early 2010s, family reunification and secondary migration within the U.S. also contributed to population growth. There are Mauritanian immigrant communities in several parts of United States, such as Brooklyn, New York, and Memphis, Tennessee, but at least one-third of the people of Mauritanian origin resides in Ohio (mostly in Cincinnati and Columbus) and Erlanger, Kentucky.^[4] Some of them were historically enslaved Blacks (Haratin) or they were White Moors.^[1] Some of the White Moors who settled in the Cincinnati area had clashed with the Mauritanian government, either because they supported a failed candidate for president or because their families spoke out against government policies, including slavery.^[1] Some "Afro-Mauritanians", who have a darker skin but were never enslaved, are also present in the United States.^[1] The White Moors and Black Moors speak dialects of Arabic, while the Afro-Mauritanians speak African languages.^[1]

أنشأ الأمريكيون من أصل موريتاني العديد من الجمعيات المجتمعية في الولايات المتحدة، مثل جمعية الصداقة والجالية الموريتانية في إيرلانجر، كنتاكي (والتي تتألف في معظمها من الموريتانيين البيض) وجمعية الجالية الموريتانية في أوهايو، سينسيناتي (والتي تتألف بالكامل تقريبًا من الموريتانيين من أصل أفريقي). ^{[ 1 ]} وتهدف هذه الجمعية الأخيرة إلى مساعدة الأمريكيين من أصل موريتاني "في جوانب عديدة: إنسانية واجتماعية وثقافية". وتشمل خططها المستقبلية تقديم المساعدة للاجئين الموريتانيين في السنغال ومالي ، وللأشخاص المقيمين في موريتانيا. ^{[ 5 ]}