- May 24, 2016
- Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis
- Staff Report
Immigrants and immigrant communities face many of the same challenges as African-Americans and African-American communities, and there are critical policy solutions that
would make a big difference to both. While most immigrants living in Virginia are people of color, most people of color in Virginia – including most Hispanic and/or Latino Virginians – are not immigrants. Most significant, of course, is Virginia’s African-American community. There are almost 1.5 million Black and/or African-American Virginians who are U.S. born. That’s 18 percent of Virginia’s total population. Most African-American Virginians are descendents of people who were brought to the United States in chains and faced generations of enslavement, legal segregation, and continued discrimination – a far different history than that of most immigrant Virginians. And yet, there are a number of areas where African-American Virginians and immigrant Virginians face similar challenges today. By identifying those challenges and working together for solutions that benefit everyone, Virginia can be made a better place for all.