There is a large Ethiopian American community in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. According to the Embassy of Ethiopia, this was the largest ethnic Ethiopian community outside of Africa.
History
Ethiopians began settling Washington, D.C. after the Derg overthrew Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie in 1974.
Ethiopians moved to Adams Morgan in the 1980s. Adams Morgan served as a center of business of the Ethiopian community. In the mid-1990s many Ethiopians began moving to the U Street area. Many moved out of Adams Morgan to other areas after rent became increasingly expensive.
The campaign to officially designate the U Street area as Little Ethiopia started around 2004. Elizabeth Chacko, the author of "Translocality in Washington, D.C. and Addis Ababa," stated that the Ethiopian community wanted the Little Ethiopia in Washington, D.C. because the city is the capital of the United States. This campaign was not successful. The author added that at that time, the Ethiopian area in Alexandria, Virginia had a higher concentration of Ethiopians compared to the one in Washington, D.C.
In 2004 the Mayor of Washington, D.C. signed the DC Language Access Act, which provided government services in five non-English languages including Amharic. The Ethiopians were among the groups campaigning for this act.
Demographics
According to the 2010 U.S. census, there were 30,000 Ethiopian immigrants in the Washington, D.C. area, making up 20% of the total number of Ethiopian immigrants throughout the country. The Ethiopian American Constituency Foundation and the Ethiopian Community Development Council stated that the figure is wrong and, as paraphrased by Derek Kravitz of The Washington Post, "the local figure has a history of being underreported and probably tops 100,000". Yeshimebeth T. "Mama Tutu" Belay, an area businessperson, estimated that the population in the metropolitan area was about 250,000 as of 2010. Misty Showalter of CNN stated "other estimates are much lower." Washington 101: An Introduction to the Nation's Capital states that "One common estimate is that 200,000 Ethiopians reside in the D.C. metropolitan area."
According to the 2000 U.S. census there were 15,000 in the Washington, D.C. area., but the Ethiopian embassy stated that the actual number is closer to 200,000, and Brian Westley of The Washington Post stated "those who study African immigration" told him the same thing that the Ethiopian embassy told him.
Silver Spring, Maryland also has a large Ethiopian and Ethiopian American population, restaurants, and businesses.
Little Ethiopia, Washington, D.C.
Little Ethiopia, a Business and Cultural Community in and sub-division of the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located around 9th and U Street Northwest. It is known for its concentration of Ethiopian businesses and residents.
Since the 1980s, Ethiopian-born business owners have been purchasing property in the neighborhood of Shaw, specifically Thirteenth and Ninth Streets. The area has since gained distinctive popularity in Washington even outside of the Ethiopian community. According to restaurant owner Tefera Zwedie: "I remember it was if I'm not mistaken somewhere between 2000, 2001 it was something big for us to see one non-Ethiopian coming to the restaurant. Now 95 percent of them are non-Ethiopian." The food has become a main attraction and reason for locals and tourists to commute to Shaw and experience the many local Ethiopian restaurants. This influx of Ethiopians has revitalized the area, prompting members of the Ethiopian American community to lobby the city government to officially designate the block as "Little Ethiopia". Although no legislation was proposed, Shaw residents have expressed opposition to the idea, concerned that such a designation would isolate that area from the historically African-American Shaw.
Geography
Ethnic Ethiopian populations are found in Washington, D.C., as well as in many communities in Virginia and Maryland.
Washington, D.C. communities with ethnic Ethiopian residents include Adams Morgan, Brightwood, and Columbia Heights. There is a Little Ethiopia in Shaw.