The Balch Institute Collections, The Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Vera Viditz-Ward

Thirty-four percent of African immigrants come from the western part of the continent. They represent the largest African group in the United States. They are overwhelmingly Anglophone, but the immigration of men and women from French-speaking West Africa has increased steadily. Virtually unseen twenty years ago, immigrants from Senegal, Mali, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Niger are still far fewer in number than their English-speaking counterparts, but they have established vibrant communities in many cities where they own restaurants, stores, braiding salons, and other businesses.