Greek American
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Greek American is a citizen of the United States of Greek heritage or descent. According to the 2000 U.S. Census Report, there were 1,153,295 people of Greek heritage living in the United States that year.[1] According to the State Department in 2005 an estimated 3,000,000 Americans residents in the United States claim Greek descent.[2] 365,435 Americans spoke Greek at home. Greek Americans have a heavy concentration in New York City (most notably in Astoria, in the NYC borough of Queens), Detroit, and Chicago. Tarpon Springs, Florida is also home to a large Greek-American community.
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[edit] History
The first Greek known to have arrived on U.S. soil was a man named Don Theodoro, who landed on Florida with the Narváez expedition in 1528 [1][2]. He died during the expedition, as did most of his companions.
In 1592, Greek captain Juan de Fuca (Ioannis Fokas or Apostolos Valerianos) sailed up the Pacific Coast in search of the fabled Northern Passage between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. He reported discovering a body of water that was later identified as the strait that today bears his name. The Juan de Fuca Strait forms part of the International Boundary between the United States and Canada.
In 1768, about 500 Greeks from Smyrna, Crete and Mani settled in New Smyrna, Florida (near present-day New Smyrna Beach). The colony was unsuccessful, and the settlers moved to St. Augustine, Florida in 1776, where their traces were lost to history.
The first significant Greek community to develop was in New Orleans during the 1850s. By 1866, the community was numerous and prosperous enough to have a Greek consulate and the first Greek Orthodox church in the United States.[5]. During that period, most Greek immigrants to the New World came from Asia Minor, and those Aegean islands still under Ottoman rule. By 1890, there were almost 15,000 Greeks living in the U.S.
Immigration picked up in the 1890s, mostly because economic opportunity in the U.S., displacement caused by the hardships of Ottoman rule, the Balkan Wars and World War I. 450,000 Greeks arrived to the States between 1890 and 1917, most working in the cities of the Northeast and smaller numbers hired labor for the railroads and mines of the American West; another 70,000 arrived between 1918 and 1924.
Greek immigration, contrasted with most other European immigration to the US, at this time was over 90% male (Italian and Irish immigration which averaged 50% to 60% male). Many Greek immigrants expected to work and return to their homeland after earning capital and dowries for their families. Two factors changed attitudes and facilitated permanent immigration. 1) Loss of homeland: In 1913 at the conclusion of the Balkan Wars, the home towns of 60,000 Greeks in America were converted to Bulgarian territory, and, in 1923, the homes of approximately 250,000 Greeks in America were converted from Ottoman to Turkish territory and, in both cases, these Greeks were de jure denaturalized from those homelands and lost the right of return and their families were made refugees. 2) The first widely implemented US immigration limits against Europeans were made in 1923, creating an impetus for immigrants to apply for citizenship, bring their families and permanently settle in the U.S. Less than 30,000 arrived between 1925 and 1945, many of whom were "picture brides" for single Greek men.[6]
The events of the early 1920s also provided the stimulus for the first permanent national Greek American religious and civic organizations.
Greeks again began to arrive in large numbers after 1945, fleeing the economic devastation caused by World War II and the Greek Civil War. From 1946 until 1982, approximately 211,000 Greeks emigrated to the United States. These later immigrants were less influenced by the powerful assimilation pressures of the 1920s and 1930s and revitalized Greek American identity, especially in areas such as Greek language media.
After the 1981 admission of Greece to the European Union, numbers fell to an average of less than 2,000 annually. In recent years, Greek immigration to the United States has been minimal; in fact, net migration has been towards Greece. Over 72,000 U.S. citizens currently live in Greece (1999); most of them are Greek Americans.
The predominant religion among Greeks and Greek-Americans is Eastern Orthodox Christianity. There are also a number of Americans who descend from Greece's large Sephardic and Romaniote Jewish communities.
[edit] Popular culture
- Greek-American novelist Jeffrey Eugenides won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for his novel Middlesex, about a Greek-American family in Detroit.
- The 1970's television-series [Arni] depicted aspects of Greek American life.
- In 1967, Academy Award-winning film-director Elia Kazan published a novel, [The Arrangement], about a conflicted Greek-American living a double life as an advertising executive and muckraking journalist. Kazan, who died in September 2003, was a Greek-American.
- The popular 1970s show Kojak featured Telly Savalas as Greek-American police detective Theo Kojak, and his brother George as Detective Stavros. Kojak was originally supposed to be Polish (hence the name), but this was changed to match Savalas' profile.
- The 2002 comedy film My Big Fat Greek Wedding portrayed the love story of a Greek-American woman (portrayed by Greek Canadian Nia Vardalos) and a non-Greek-American man. It also examines the protagonist's troubled love/hate relationship with her cultural heritage and value system. The movie spawned an unsuccessful TV series, My Big Fat Greek Life.
- The Famous Teddy Z was an acclaimed but short-lived TV series about a fictional talent agent named Teddy Zakalakis, portrayed by Jon Cryer.
- The TV series Full House was about a family that included Greek-American Uncle Jesse, portrayed by John Stamos. Jesse's Greek dad was also recurring character.
- The Olympia Cafe was a recurring sketch in the early years of Saturday Night Live. More recently, Tina Fey has often joked about her Greek heritage on the show.
- Tom's Restaurant, a Greek-American owned business, has become one of the symbols of urban New York life.
- Elektra Natchios is a Marvel Comics superhero, portrayed by Jennifer Garner in the 2005 movie Elektra.
- In the 1973 blockbuster The Exorcist, Jason Miller starred as Greek-American Father Damien Karras, one of the priests who exorcised young Regan. In one scene, Karras’ mother, played by Greek actress Vasiliki Maliaros, is listening to a Greek radio station broadcasting the song Ιστορία μου αμαρτία μου (My Story, My sin) by the late popular Greek singer Rita Sakellariou.
- Several entertainers, including John Aniston, Jennifer Aniston and Billy Zane, are of Greek descent.
- Writer, performer and radio-commentator David Sedaris satirizes growing up in a Greek-American household in North Carolina in several of his essays.
[edit] Major Greek-American organizations
There are hundreds of regional, religious and professional Greek-American organizations. Some of the largest and most notable include:
- AHEPA -- the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, is the largest community organization of Greek Americans. It was founded in Atlanta, Georgia in 1922 during a period of anti-Greek attacks by the Ku Klux Klan. Its current membership exceeds 18,000.
- The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America is the religious organization most closely associated with the Greek-American community. It was established in 1921, and is under the leadership of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople. The church operates the Greek Orthodox Youth of America (GOYA), the largest Greek youth group in the United States.
- The American Hellenic Institute, a lobbying group for Greek Americans.
- The Council of Hellenes Abroad is a Greek government sponsored umbrella organization for Greek immigrant organizations worldwide.
- The PAIDEIA organization- USA is an organization promoting the preservation of Hellenic education and culture in the United States.
- The National Hellenic Student Association is a PAIDEIA sponsored University based organization promoting Hellenic culture on university campuses.
- Many topika somatea or clubs representing the local regional homeland of Greeks in America. Among the scores of such clubs, larger ones include the Pan Macedonian Association, the Panepirotic Federation, the Pan Cretan Association, the Pan Pontian Federation of U.S.A-Canada and several associations of refugees from areas in the former Ottoman territories.
[edit] See also
- Greek diaspora
- List of Greek Americans
- Greek Canadians
- Greek Australian
- Greeks in Great Britain
- Greeks
- Greek Cypriots
- Hyphenated American
- Greek-American organized crime
- Diaspora politics in the United States
- Greeks in Omaha, Nebraska
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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