Total population | |
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Ancestries and ethnic origin; 2019 American Community Survey[1] 29,153 Sierra Leonean-born, 2013[2] 35,213 | |
Regions with significant populations | |
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Languages | |
Religion | |
Islam, Christianity (Protestant majority, Catholic minority) | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Sierra Leonean Americans are an ethnic group of Americans of full or partial Sierra Leonean ancestry. This includes Sierra Leone Creoles whose ancestors were African American Black Loyalists freed after fighting on the side of the British during the American Revolutionary War.[3] Some African Americans trace their roots to indigenous enslaved Sierra Leoneans exported to the United States between the 18th and early 19th century. In particular, the Gullah people of partial Sierra Leonean ancestry, fled their owners and settled in parts of South Carolina, Georgia, and the Sea Islands, where they still retain their cultural heritage. The first wave of Sierra Leoneans to the United States, after the slavery period, was after the Sierra Leone Civil War in the 1990s and early 2000s. According to the American Community Survey, there are 34,161 Sierra Leonean immigrants living in the United States.[2]