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Virgin Islander American   |
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| Notable Virgin Islander Americans: Tim Duncan Roy Innis Alexander Hamilton Hubert Harrison Sonny Rollins Kelsey Grammer |
| Total population |
| U.S. Virgin Islands origin 15,0141 British Virgin Islands origin |
| Regions with significant populations |
| South Florida, Orlando, Atlanta, New York City |
| Languages |
| English, Virgin Islands Creole |
| Religion |
| Predominantly Christianity, Rastafari |
Virgin Islander Americans are persons from the U.S. Virgin Islands or British Virgin Islands who reside in the United States, or Americans of Virgin Islands heritage.
Persons born in the U.S. Virgin Islands are technically United States citizens, and as a result do not go through the legal immigration procedures a typical West Indian immigrant would. However, 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 inter-Caribbean migration, most native-born U.S. Virgin Islanders are descended from natives of 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."
Contents |
History
Virgin Islands-United States relations before 1917 U.S. Virgin Islands transfer
Harlem Renaissance
Virgin Islander contributions today
Cultural expression
Music
Carnival
Organizations
List of prominent Virgin Islander 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), hip hop music video performer, actress; born on St. Thomas.
Artists
- Austin Hansen (1910-1996), photographer; born on St. Thomas.
- William Thornton (1759-1828), architect, inventor, painter; born on Jost Van Dyke.
Athletes
- 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.
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.
- Full Force, American hip hop and R&B group; born in New York, of U.S. Virgin Islands descent.
- Jon Lucien, jazz musician; born on Tortola, raised on St. Thomas.
- Rock City, a hip hop/songwriting duo of 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 on Nevis, raised on St. Croix.
- Hubert Henry Harrison (1883–1927), orator, political activist; born on St. Croix.
- Elizabeth Anna Hendrickson (1884–1946), civil rights leader; born on St. Croix.
- Casper Holstein (born 1888), humanitarian; born on St. Croix.
- Roy Innis (born 1934), African-American activist, civil rights leader; born on St. Croix.
- J. Raymond Jones (1899–1991), political leader, humanitarian; born on St. Thomas.
- John de Jongh (born 1957), current governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, entrepreneur; born on St. Thomas.
- William Leidesdorff (1810–1848), entrepreneur; born on St. Croix.
- Ruby Margaret Rouss (1921–1988) first black woman to be elected to preside over a state legislature; born on 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.
Writers and Intellectuals
- Barbara Christian (1943–2000), educator, feminist critic; born on St. Thomas.
- Gus Edwards, playwright; born on St. Thomas.
- Geraldo Guirty, journalist, historian; born on St. Thomas.
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References
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