Turkish American
Encyclopedia
Turkish Americans are people who have Turkish
ancestry and are citizens of the United States
.
where economy suffered severely from the last World War. After the 1950s, a well-skilled and highly educated group immigrated to the United States, the majority being medical doctors, engineers, and scientists. Today, Turkish Americans are visible in virtually every community and walk of life.
clashes between the Ottoman fleets and the Portuguese. Many Turkish
and Moorish seamen ended up as Portuguese
galley slaves bound for the Canary Islands
and the New World
. The presence of Turks in the Americas dates to the 17th century. Ottoman mariners and prisoners of war forced to slave labor on numerous Spanish galleons, have also allegedly escaped when some of these ships were wrecked near American shores and settled among Indians. Some Melungeon
researchers claim Melungeons descend from these Ottomans. However, there is little authoritative evidence for this link claim. The myth of Sir Francis Drake leaving a large number of Turks on Roanoke Island in 1586 has been thoroughly debunked. Some anthropologists long questioned the Cherokee
and Tuscarora Indians have Turkic and perhaps Basque
ancestry from the trans-oceanic fishermen from the regions of Asturias
, Cantabria
, Galiza and Navarre
of northern Spain
in the 16th century instead.
It is also known that during the American Civil War
, Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid
, in support of the North had sent a symbolic camel caravan of material and goods and many of the Turks who came with this shipment settled down in Michigan
, esp. the Detroit area. By the turn of the 20th century, both ethnic Turks and national groups under the Ottoman Empire: i.e. Albanians
, Greeks
, Bulgarians
, Romanians
, Ukrainians
, Armenians
, Georgians
, Serbs
, Bosnians
and Arab Christians
were already immigrating to and settled the industrial cities of the Northeast and Midwest U.S.
From the 1820s until 1920 over 1.2 million people from the Ottoman Empire
immigrated to North America
. Approximately 15% of these immigrants (roughly 200,000) were Muslims, including about 50,000 ethnic Turks
. Many ethnic Turks from Harput, Elâzığ
, Akçadağ
, Antep and Macedonia
embarked for the Americas from Beirut
, Mersin
, Izmir
, Trabzon
and Salonica but declared themselves as Syrians or even Armenians in order to avoid discrimination and gain easy access at the port of entry.
The largest number of ethnic Turks appear to have entered the United States
prior to World War I
, roughly between 1900 and 1914 when American immigration policies were quite liberal. The Ottoman entry into World War I put an end to the Ottoman emigration to the United States. However, a fairly large number of ethnic Turks from the Balkan provinces of Albania
, Kosovo
, Western Thrace
, and Bulgaria
emigrated and settled in the United States. They were listed as Albanians, Bulgarians and Serbians according to their country of origin, even though many of them were ethnically Turkish and identified themselves as such. Moreover, many immigrant families who were ethnically Albanian, Bulgarian, Greek, Macedonian or Serbian included children of Turkish origin whose parents had been cleansed after Macedonia was partitioned between Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece
following the Balkan War of 1912-13
. These Turkish children had been sheltered, baptised and adopted, and then used as field laborers. When the adopting families had to emigrate to America, they listed these children as family members, but most of these Turkish children still remembered their origin.
and Greek occupation of Izmir
, fights broke out between Turks and Greeks in factories and streets and about half of the Turkish community in the United States returned to Turkey to participate in the Turkish War for Independence
. In the 1920s, some hundreds of Turkish immigrants including Arabs from the Levant
arrived as agricultural laborers in the valleys of California
and Arizona
.
A second exodus of Turks occurred during the Great Depression. Turkish President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
sent Turkish ships to America, offering free passage home to any Turk who would leave, so many Turks took up the offer and returned to Turkey. Another wave of migration came right after World War II
when the United States passed the Alien Registration Act. After this date, especially more elite Turks, academics and professionals, migrated to the United States for better educational and economic opportunities. Along with the brain drain
immigrants, many working class Turks also settled in the United States. A brief history of the Turkish presence in the United States can be found at AmerikadakiTurk.
Most Turks who first came to the United States were rural
, illiterate and poor
but showed a remarkable degree of ethnic solidarity and sought to preserve their traditions. Most Ottoman migrants to North America belonged to low income groups and their main goal was to work for a number of years in any job, without becoming a part of the country, and to save enough money to buy land and houses upon returning to their homeland. The rate of returnees among Ottoman Turks was very high; with more than half of the Muslims returning to their native lands.
One factor compelling ethnic Turks to return home was the lack of suitable Muslim women for them to marry in the United States. The great majority of Turkish immigrants at the time were men; only a few brought their wives and families. Moreover, those Turks who did marry non-Muslim women were assimilated into American culture and thus the number of Turks who survived culturally as Turks in America was very low. Those who maintained a degree of their ethnic identity did so either because they had formed their own small communities, or were gathered around a makeshift mosque, or had enough of an education and strength of personality and willpower to preserve their identity as Turks. Most Turks looked upon America as a culturally alien land where they had been driven by sheer necessity and where they wanted to stay as little time as possible. Consequently they refused to strike permanent roots, build mosques, and establish their own communities as Muslims. At the start of the First World War the Turks ethnic identity was just beginning to differentiate itself from their basic Islamic identity and they, therefore, found it difficult to understand how one could be a Turk and a Muslim and live in a predominantly Christian country.
, engineers, and other technicians came to America for training, and a number of them stayed on, becoming immigrants. The estimates of this brain drain
from Turkey
for the years 1948-80 range between ten and twenty-five thousand people. Although a large number of professionals returned to Turkey, a significant number took advantage of the quota system, which gave priority to professionals whose skills were needed in the United States. The same was true for a large number of capable students who earned graduate
degrees
and were offered attractive positions in U.S academia, industry and business management. The number of Turkish students in the United States varied between 800-2,000 per year and about 10-15% of Turkish students obtaining postgraduate degrees stayed permanently in the United States and received the green card; five years later they could receive U.S. citizenship. Eventually Turkey also accepted dual citizenship and many Turks who had become U.S. citizens and cut off their ties to Turkey then renewed their interest in their old society. The difference between these post-World War II immigrants and their Ottoman predecessors is evident in key areas, such as the definition of identity, level of education and income, and social position. The new wave of immigrants not only identified themselves from the beginning as Turks
but also defended and promoted the cultural
and political
aspects of their Turkishness in an open and direct fashion, either individually or as organized groups. Their education and income placed these early professionals turned immigrants at a social level far above both the destitute, largely uneducated and ignored Ottoman immigrants and the average American.
Turkish immigration to the United States underwent another qualitative transformation beginning in the mid-1970s as the result of various unrelated factors, such as the rising interest in business, the lack of employment opportunities in Turkey, the proliferation of well-trained professionals, and political-ideological conflicts. During this period the number of legal and illegal immigrants from Turkey to the United States began to increase steadily. So too did the number of ethnic Turks born in the USSR and Balkan countries, who took advantage of the protection offered by the United States to people escaping from behind the Iron Curtain. However, the overwhelming majority of Turks who came to America after 1970 still had been born and educated in Turkey and shared the common political culture of the Turkish republic, its values and its identity.
The Turkish immigrants arriving after the mid-1970s consisted mostly of professionals, including engineers, economists, and teachers
, whose numbers tended to increase while the number of incoming doctors was decreasing by a series of new qualifications requested by American medical authorities. The new Turkish immigrants also included many small businessmen, artisans and skilled workers, as well as unskilled laborers who found employment in a variety of occupations such as construction and building maintenance. A number of these latter immigrants, following the American interest in ethnic cuisines, began to opened restaurants serving Turkish food.
. Still others came for educational purposes.
According to the 2000 US census, there are 117,575 Americans (and to 2005 American Community Survey there are 164,945) of full or partial Turkish descent. From the beginning of Turkish immigration to the United States
, many Turks have settled in or around large urban centers. The greatest number have settled in Paterson, New Jersey
and the New York City Metropolitan Area, Boston
, Chicago
, Detroit, and Philadelphia. Other concentrations of Turkish Americans may be found along the East Coast in New York, New Jersey
, Connecticut
, Maryland
and Virginia
; and some have ventured into California
(esp. Los Angeles
), Minnesota
, Indiana
, Texas
, Florida
and Alabama
.
Little Istanbul is a neighborhood in the South Paterson
area of Paterson, New Jersey and represents the largest ethnic Turkish enclave in the United States. Paterson is a major traditional gateway for immigrants looking to make a start in the new world. Today, the faces in Paterson are often of immigrants from the Islamic world. Little Istanbul is bordered by Madison Avenue to the north, Crooks Avenue to the south, Hazel Street to the west, and East Railway Avenue to the east.
The Turkish American community is becoming more close-knit as their social life is revolved around coffee houses and benevolent societies. In Peabody
, Massachusetts
, coffee houses on Walnut Street became a congregating place for the Turks living in the area. It was here the community members exchange news about their villages while sipping Turkish coffee and noshing on sweet pastry. The Boston metropolitan area has been an area of choice for late 20th century Turkish immigration.
The top US communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Turkish ancestry in 2000 are:
' founder, Ahmet Ertegün
. His promotion of some of the most famous R&B and soul artists
in North America and contribution to the American music industry has earned him a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
together with his brother Nesuhi Ertegün
. Arif Mardin
is another major popular music producer and arranger in America. Ertegun's clients included the Rolling Stones
, Eric Clapton
, Led Zeppelin
, ABBA
, The Cult
, Peter Frampton
, Manowar, Queensryche
, Twisted Sister
, AC/DC
, Jimi Hendrix
, Aretha Franklin
, the Bee Gees
, Carly Simon
, Roberta Flack
, Bette Midler
and many more. After briefly meeting Ahmet Ertegün
at the Newport Jazz Festival, he joined Atlantic Records
and served as their Vice President until his death.
and have generally supported the positions taken by the Turkish government. They have been lobbying for Turkey's entry into the European Union
and other Western European forums for cooperation. They have also defended Turkish involvement in Cyprus. Turkish Americans have also expressed concerns about the Greek lobby in the United States undermining the typically good Turkish-American relations.
(born June 11, 1960) is a Turkish-American cardiothoracic surgeon and author
. He has made frequent appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show
, as well as appearances on Larry King
, CNN, and other networks.
In the fall of 2009, Winfrey's Harpo Productions
and Sony Pictures launched a syndicated daily talk show featuring Oz, called The Dr. Oz Show
.
(1921–1993) was the J. Willard Gibbs Professor Emeritus of Physics at Yale University. He contributed major studies on the group structure of elementary particles and the symmetries of interactions. Professor Gursoy helped bridge the gap between physicists and mathematicians at Yale. He was the winner of the prestigious Oppenheimer Prize and Wigner Medal.
Muzafer Şerif (born July 29, 1906, in Ödemiş, İzmir, Turkey – died October 16, 1988, in Fairbanks, Alaska) was one of the founders of social psychology. He helped develop social judgment theory and realistic conflict theory.
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
ancestry and are citizens of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
Early Turkish immigrants to the United States were predominantly from Turkey's rural community. They settled in large, industrial cities and found employment as unskilled laborers. The majority came to economically support their families in TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
where economy suffered severely from the last World War. After the 1950s, a well-skilled and highly educated group immigrated to the United States, the majority being medical doctors, engineers, and scientists. Today, Turkish Americans are visible in virtually every community and walk of life.
Pre World War I: Ottoman Immigration
Significant data shows an astounding number of sixteenth-century Mediterranean SeaMediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
clashes between the Ottoman fleets and the Portuguese. Many Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
and Moorish seamen ended up as Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
galley slaves bound for the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
and the New World
The New World
The New World is a 2005 drama/romance film written and directed by Terrence Malick, a historical adventure depicting the founding of the Jamestown, Virginia settlement and inspired by the historical figures Captain John Smith and Pocahontas...
. The presence of Turks in the Americas dates to the 17th century. Ottoman mariners and prisoners of war forced to slave labor on numerous Spanish galleons, have also allegedly escaped when some of these ships were wrecked near American shores and settled among Indians. Some Melungeon
Melungeon
Melungeon is a term traditionally applied to one of a number of "tri-racial isolate" groups of the Southeastern United States, mainly in the Cumberland Gap area of central Appalachia, which includes portions of East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and East Kentucky. Tri-racial describes populations...
researchers claim Melungeons descend from these Ottomans. However, there is little authoritative evidence for this link claim. The myth of Sir Francis Drake leaving a large number of Turks on Roanoke Island in 1586 has been thoroughly debunked. Some anthropologists long questioned the Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
and Tuscarora Indians have Turkic and perhaps Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
ancestry from the trans-oceanic fishermen from the regions of Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
, Cantabria
Cantabria
Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...
, Galiza and Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
of northern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in the 16th century instead.
It is also known that during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid
Abdul Hamid II
His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...
, in support of the North had sent a symbolic camel caravan of material and goods and many of the Turks who came with this shipment settled down in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, esp. the Detroit area. By the turn of the 20th century, both ethnic Turks and national groups under the Ottoman Empire: i.e. Albanians
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
, Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, Bulgarians
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
, Romanians
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
, Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
, Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
, Georgians
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
, Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, Bosnians
Bosnians
Bosnians are people who reside in, or come from, Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the modern state definition a Bosnian can be anyone who holds citizenship of the state. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the constituent ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and...
and Arab Christians
Arab Christians
Arab Christians are ethnic Arabs of Christian faith, sometimes also including those, who are identified with Arab panethnicity. They are the remnants of ancient Arab Christian clans or Arabized Christians. Many of the modern Arab Christians are descendants of pre-Islamic Christian Arabian tribes,...
were already immigrating to and settled the industrial cities of the Northeast and Midwest U.S.
From the 1820s until 1920 over 1.2 million people from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
immigrated to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Approximately 15% of these immigrants (roughly 200,000) were Muslims, including about 50,000 ethnic Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
. Many ethnic Turks from Harput, Elâzığ
Elazig
Elâzığ is a city in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey and the seat of Elâzığ Province. It has a population of331,479 according to the 2010 census, and the plain on which the city extends has an altitude of 1067 metres....
, Akçadağ
Akçadag
Akçadağ is a district of Malatya Province of Turkey. The mayor is İbrahim Koşar ....
, Antep and Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
embarked for the Americas from Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Mersin
Mersin
-Mersin today:Today, Mersin is a large city spreading out along the coast, with Turkey's second tallest skyscraper , huge hotels, an opera house, expensive real estate near the sea or up in the hills, and many other modern urban...
, Izmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
, Trabzon
Trabzon
Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast...
and Salonica but declared themselves as Syrians or even Armenians in order to avoid discrimination and gain easy access at the port of entry.
The largest number of ethnic Turks appear to have entered the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
prior to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, roughly between 1900 and 1914 when American immigration policies were quite liberal. The Ottoman entry into World War I put an end to the Ottoman emigration to the United States. However, a fairly large number of ethnic Turks from the Balkan provinces of Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, Western Thrace
Western Thrace
Western Thrace or simply Thrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece...
, and Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
emigrated and settled in the United States. They were listed as Albanians, Bulgarians and Serbians according to their country of origin, even though many of them were ethnically Turkish and identified themselves as such. Moreover, many immigrant families who were ethnically Albanian, Bulgarian, Greek, Macedonian or Serbian included children of Turkish origin whose parents had been cleansed after Macedonia was partitioned between Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
following the Balkan War of 1912-13
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
. These Turkish children had been sheltered, baptised and adopted, and then used as field laborers. When the adopting families had to emigrate to America, they listed these children as family members, but most of these Turkish children still remembered their origin.
Ottoman Returnees
However, upon knowledge of the allied occupation of IstanbulOccupation of Istanbul
The Occupation of Constantinople was the occupation of the capital of the Ottoman Empire by the Triple Entente, following the Armistice of Mudros which ended Ottoman participation in the First World War. The first French troops entered the city on November 12, 1918, followed by British troops the...
and Greek occupation of Izmir
Occupation of Izmir
The Occupation of Smyrna occurred from 15 May 1919 to 8 September 1922 by Greek forces under the High Commissioner Aristidis Stergiadis in the Smyrna district, aligned with the Allied partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. There were no military hostilities between Greece and the Ottoman Empire...
, fights broke out between Turks and Greeks in factories and streets and about half of the Turkish community in the United States returned to Turkey to participate in the Turkish War for Independence
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
. In the 1920s, some hundreds of Turkish immigrants including Arabs from the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
arrived as agricultural laborers in the valleys of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
A second exodus of Turks occurred during the Great Depression. Turkish President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
sent Turkish ships to America, offering free passage home to any Turk who would leave, so many Turks took up the offer and returned to Turkey. Another wave of migration came right after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when the United States passed the Alien Registration Act. After this date, especially more elite Turks, academics and professionals, migrated to the United States for better educational and economic opportunities. Along with the brain drain
Brain drain
Human capital flight, more commonly referred to as "brain drain", is the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge. The reasons usually include two aspects which respectively come from countries and individuals...
immigrants, many working class Turks also settled in the United States. A brief history of the Turkish presence in the United States can be found at AmerikadakiTurk.
Most Turks who first came to the United States were rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
, illiterate and poor
Poor
Poor is an adjective related to a state of poverty, low quality or pity.People with the surname Poor:* Charles Henry Poor, a US Navy officer* Charles Lane Poor, an astronomer* Edward Erie Poor, a vice president of the National Park Bank...
but showed a remarkable degree of ethnic solidarity and sought to preserve their traditions. Most Ottoman migrants to North America belonged to low income groups and their main goal was to work for a number of years in any job, without becoming a part of the country, and to save enough money to buy land and houses upon returning to their homeland. The rate of returnees among Ottoman Turks was very high; with more than half of the Muslims returning to their native lands.
One factor compelling ethnic Turks to return home was the lack of suitable Muslim women for them to marry in the United States. The great majority of Turkish immigrants at the time were men; only a few brought their wives and families. Moreover, those Turks who did marry non-Muslim women were assimilated into American culture and thus the number of Turks who survived culturally as Turks in America was very low. Those who maintained a degree of their ethnic identity did so either because they had formed their own small communities, or were gathered around a makeshift mosque, or had enough of an education and strength of personality and willpower to preserve their identity as Turks. Most Turks looked upon America as a culturally alien land where they had been driven by sheer necessity and where they wanted to stay as little time as possible. Consequently they refused to strike permanent roots, build mosques, and establish their own communities as Muslims. At the start of the First World War the Turks ethnic identity was just beginning to differentiate itself from their basic Islamic identity and they, therefore, found it difficult to understand how one could be a Turk and a Muslim and live in a predominantly Christian country.
Post World War II: Late Turkish Immigration
Thousands of Turkish doctorsPhysician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, engineers, and other technicians came to America for training, and a number of them stayed on, becoming immigrants. The estimates of this brain drain
Brain drain
Human capital flight, more commonly referred to as "brain drain", is the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge. The reasons usually include two aspects which respectively come from countries and individuals...
from Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
for the years 1948-80 range between ten and twenty-five thousand people. Although a large number of professionals returned to Turkey, a significant number took advantage of the quota system, which gave priority to professionals whose skills were needed in the United States. The same was true for a large number of capable students who earned graduate
Graduate school
A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
degrees
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
and were offered attractive positions in U.S academia, industry and business management. The number of Turkish students in the United States varied between 800-2,000 per year and about 10-15% of Turkish students obtaining postgraduate degrees stayed permanently in the United States and received the green card; five years later they could receive U.S. citizenship. Eventually Turkey also accepted dual citizenship and many Turks who had become U.S. citizens and cut off their ties to Turkey then renewed their interest in their old society. The difference between these post-World War II immigrants and their Ottoman predecessors is evident in key areas, such as the definition of identity, level of education and income, and social position. The new wave of immigrants not only identified themselves from the beginning as Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
but also defended and promoted the cultural
Culture of Turkey
The culture of Turkey combines a largely diverse and heterogeneous set of elements that are derived from the Ottoman, European, Middle Eastern and Central Asian traditions...
and political
Politics of Turkey
Politics of Turkey takes place in a framework of a strictly secular parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Turkey is the head of government, and of a multi-party system...
aspects of their Turkishness in an open and direct fashion, either individually or as organized groups. Their education and income placed these early professionals turned immigrants at a social level far above both the destitute, largely uneducated and ignored Ottoman immigrants and the average American.
Modern Immigration
The Turkish immigrants arriving after the mid-1970s consisted mostly of professionals, including engineers, economists, and teachers
Teachers
Teachers may refer to:* Teachers, people who provide schooling for pupils and students* Teachers , one of the five Ascension Gift Ministries* Teachers , a British sitcom* Teachers Teachers may refer to:* Teachers, people who provide schooling for pupils and students* Teachers (ministry), one of the...
, whose numbers tended to increase while the number of incoming doctors was decreasing by a series of new qualifications requested by American medical authorities. The new Turkish immigrants also included many small businessmen, artisans and skilled workers, as well as unskilled laborers who found employment in a variety of occupations such as construction and building maintenance. A number of these latter immigrants, following the American interest in ethnic cuisines, began to opened restaurants serving Turkish food.
Demographics
Since the 1970s, the number of Turkish immigrants has risen to more than 2,000 per year. Members of this most recent immigrant group vary widely. Many opened small businesses in the United States and created Turkish American organizations, thus developing Turkish enclaves, particularly in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Still others came for educational purposes.
According to the 2000 US census, there are 117,575 Americans (and to 2005 American Community Survey there are 164,945) of full or partial Turkish descent. From the beginning of Turkish immigration to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, many Turks have settled in or around large urban centers. The greatest number have settled in Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
and the New York City Metropolitan Area, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Detroit, and Philadelphia. Other concentrations of Turkish Americans may be found along the East Coast in New York, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
; and some have ventured into California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
(esp. Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
), Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
.
Little Istanbul is a neighborhood in the South Paterson
South Paterson
-Location:It is bounded by NJ 19 on the west, the Clifton, New Jersey, border to the south, the Passaic River to the east and I-80 to the north. The Arab community has existed since the late 19th century when many Lebanese and Syrian immigrants moved in. Since then, immigrants from Lebanon and...
area of Paterson, New Jersey and represents the largest ethnic Turkish enclave in the United States. Paterson is a major traditional gateway for immigrants looking to make a start in the new world. Today, the faces in Paterson are often of immigrants from the Islamic world. Little Istanbul is bordered by Madison Avenue to the north, Crooks Avenue to the south, Hazel Street to the west, and East Railway Avenue to the east.
The Turkish American community is becoming more close-knit as their social life is revolved around coffee houses and benevolent societies. In Peabody
Peabody, Massachusetts
Peabody is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population is about 53,000. Peabody is located in Boston's North Shore suburban area.- History :...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, coffee houses on Walnut Street became a congregating place for the Turks living in the area. It was here the community members exchange news about their villages while sipping Turkish coffee and noshing on sweet pastry. The Boston metropolitan area has been an area of choice for late 20th century Turkish immigration.
The top US communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Turkish ancestry in 2000 are:
| Community | Place type | % Turkish |
|---|---|---|
| Islandia, NY | village | 2.5 |
| Edgewater Park, NJ | township | 1.9 |
| Fairview, NJ | borough | 1.7 |
| Goldens Bridge, NY Golden's Bridge, New York Goldens Bridge is a hamlet located in the town of Lewisboro in Westchester County, New York. The population was 1,630 at the 2010 census.... |
populated place | 1.6 |
| Point Lookout, NY | populated place | 1.4 |
| Marshville, NC | town | 1.4 |
| Boonton, NJ | town | 1.3 |
| Bellerose Terrace, NY Bellerose Terrace, New York Bellerose Terrace is a hamlet in Nassau County, New York, USA. The population was 2,198 at the 2010 census.Bellerose Terrace is located in the town of Hempstead on the border of Queens County, New York.-Geography:... |
populated place | 1.3 |
| Cliffside Park, NJ | borough | 1.3 |
| Franksville, WI | populated place | 1.3 |
| Ridgefield, NJ | borough | 1.3 |
| Chester, OH | township | 1.3 |
| Bay Harbor Islands, FL | town | 1.2 |
| Herricks, NY Herricks, New York Herricks is a hamlet in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 4,295 at the 2010 census.Herricks is a community in the southern part of Town of North Hempstead.-Geography:... |
populated place | 1.2 |
| Barry, IL | city | 1.2 |
| Cloverdale, IN | town | 1.2 |
| Highland Beach, FL | town | 1.2 |
| Friendship Village, MD | populated place | 1.2 |
| New Egypt, NJ | populated place | 1.1 |
| Delran, NJ | township | 1.1 |
| Trumbull County, Ohio Trumbull County, Ohio As of the census of 2000, there were 225,116 people, 89,020 households, and 61,690 families residing in the county. The population density was 365 people per square mile . There were 95,117 housing units at an average density of 154 per square mile... |
township | 1.1 |
| Summit, IL | village | 1.1 |
| Haledon, NJ | borough | 1.0 |
Notable individuals
Numerous Turkish Americans have made notable contributions to American society, particularly in the fields of education, medicine, arts and science.Arts
Tunç Yalman, artistic director of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, and Osmar Karakas, who was awarded the 1991 National Press Award for the best news photograph, have contributed significantly to the arts.Music industry
Perhaps the most successful Turkish name associated with music outside of Turkey and in the United States is Atlantic RecordsAtlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
' founder, Ahmet Ertegün
Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum...
. His promotion of some of the most famous R&B and soul artists
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
in North America and contribution to the American music industry has earned him a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
together with his brother Nesuhi Ertegün
Nesuhi Ertegun
Nesuhi Ertegun was a Turkish record producer and executive of Atlantic Records and WEA International.-Background:Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Nesuhi and his family, including younger brother Ahmet, moved to Washington, D.C...
. Arif Mardin
Arif Mardin
Arif Mardin was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco, and country...
is another major popular music producer and arranger in America. Ertegun's clients included the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
, The Cult
The Cult
The Cult are a British rock band that was formed in 1983. They gained a dedicated following in Britain in the mid 1980s as a post-punk band with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s as a hard rock band with singles such as "Love...
, Peter Frampton
Peter Frampton
Peter Kenneth Frampton is an English musician, singer, producer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. He was previously associated with the bands Humble Pie and The Herd. Frampton's international breakthrough album was his live release, Frampton Comes Alive!. The album sold over 6 million copies...
, Manowar, Queensryche
Queensrÿche
thumb|250px|right|Queensrÿche's classic line-up performing at the [[Sauna Open Air Metal Festival]] 2011 in [[Tampere]], [[Finland]]. Left to right: bass Eddie Jackson, lead vocals Geoff Tate, drums Scott Rockenfield and guitars Michael Wilton....
, Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister is an American heavy metal band from Long Island. Musically, the band implements elements of traditional heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, along with a style that is similar to early glam metal bands...
, AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, the Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
, Carly Simon
Carly Simon
Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records, and has since been the recipient of two Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for her work...
, Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...
, Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
and many more. After briefly meeting Ahmet Ertegün
Ahmet Ertegun
Ahmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum...
at the Newport Jazz Festival, he joined Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
and served as their Vice President until his death.
Politics
Turkish American organizations have primarily tried to promote the Turkish culture as well as Turkey’s position in international affairsDiplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
and have generally supported the positions taken by the Turkish government. They have been lobbying for Turkey's entry into the European Union
Accession of Turkey to the European Union
Turkey's application to accede to the European Union was made on 14 April 1987. Turkey has been an associate member of the European Union and its predecessors since 1963...
and other Western European forums for cooperation. They have also defended Turkish involvement in Cyprus. Turkish Americans have also expressed concerns about the Greek lobby in the United States undermining the typically good Turkish-American relations.
Medicine
Mehmet OzMehmet Oz
Mehmet Cengiz Oz , also known as Dr. Oz, is a Turkish-American cardiothoracic surgeon, author, talk show host, and commentator for The Dr. Oz Show, a daily television program focusing on medical issues/personal health....
(born June 11, 1960) is a Turkish-American cardiothoracic surgeon and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He has made frequent appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, as well as appearances on Larry King
Larry King Live
Larry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
, CNN, and other networks.
In the fall of 2009, Winfrey's Harpo Productions
Harpo Productions
Harpo Productions, Inc. is an incorporated US-based multimedia production company founded by Oprah Winfrey . It also includes Harpo Films & Harpo Radio, Inc....
and Sony Pictures launched a syndicated daily talk show featuring Oz, called The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show is an American syndicated television talk show, hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and teaching professor at Columbia University who became famous for his appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show from 2004 until 2009....
.
Science
Feza GürseyFeza Gürsey
Feza Gürsey was a Turkish mathematician and physicist. His best known contribution to theoretical physics is his work on the Nonlinear Chiral Lagrangian.-Biography:...
(1921–1993) was the J. Willard Gibbs Professor Emeritus of Physics at Yale University. He contributed major studies on the group structure of elementary particles and the symmetries of interactions. Professor Gursoy helped bridge the gap between physicists and mathematicians at Yale. He was the winner of the prestigious Oppenheimer Prize and Wigner Medal.
Muzafer Şerif (born July 29, 1906, in Ödemiş, İzmir, Turkey – died October 16, 1988, in Fairbanks, Alaska) was one of the founders of social psychology. He helped develop social judgment theory and realistic conflict theory.
Turkish Radio and TV Broadcasts in the U.S.A.
- Ebru TV - broadcasts educational programs about sciences, art, and culture as well as news and sports events in the vein of the Gülen MovementGülen movementThe Gülen movement is a transnational civic society movement inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic theologian Fethullah Gülen. His teachings about hizmet have attracted a large number of supporters in Turkey, Central Asia and increasingly in other parts of the world...
. It can be watched online: http://www.ebru.tv/en - The Young TurksThe Young Turks (talk show)The Young Turks is a progressive Internet talk show via live web stream and YouTube, and starting in late 2011, a weeknight news and political commentary program airing on Current TV. It was Sirius Satellite Radio's first original talk programming. The Young Turks claims to be the first Internet...
- Is the first ever Internet TV news show, which is hosted by Turkish American Cenk UygurCenk UygurCenk Kadir Uygur , is the main host and co-founder of the liberal Internet and talk radio show, The Young Turks . A naturalized U.S. citizen, Uygur was born in Turkey and raised from age eight in the United States. He worked as an attorney in Washington D.C. and New York before beginning his career...
. The video of the show is streamed daily on their website, and available for podcast. - Turkish American Hour - Turkish American Hour - English program produced by TATV (Turkish-American TV).Home based in Fairfax Public Access, VA and re-broadcast in Maryland and DC. http://www.turkishamericanhour.org
- Turk Amerikan Televizyonu - Turkish program produced by TATV (Turkish-American TV).Home based in Fairfax Public AccessFairfax Public AccessFairfax Public Access was established in October 1981 as a non-profit Public, educational, and government access cable tv station based in Fairfax, Virginia, and now operates three channels....
, VA and re-broadcast in Maryland and DC. http://www.turkishamericanhour.org/turkce - Turkish Hour TV Show - Entirety of the USA. Monday through Sunday.
- Voice of Anatolia TV - WNYE Channel 25, Sundays at 3:30 PM to 4PM (Can be received off the air in the NYC metropolitan area, also everyday from 7:30 to 8 PM on cable Channel 57 in some NYC boroughs.)
- Turkish Hour - Cultural Cable Channel, Ch. 50 on Cox Cable in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mondays 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays7:00 - 8:00 p.m. Sundays 9:30 - 10:30 p.m. An ITVFC Program.
- Turkish Hour - Channels 7 & 10 on Warner Cable System, Cincinnati, OH. Mondays 8:30 pm (Ch. 7) Thursdays 2:00 pm (Ch. 10) Sundays 11:00 am (Ch. 10) Sponsored by Tri-State Turkish American Association.
- Voice of TurkeyVoice of TurkeyVoice of Turkey is the international service of Turkish state radio on shortwave, Turksat 3A satellite and the Internet.-History:Turkey’s first external broadcast was started on January 8, 1937 by the Ankara Radio Corporation...
- ICAT Channel 15 (Cable) in Rochester, NY Wednesdays & Saturdays 8 pm -10 pm by Ahmet Turgut.
Turkish Newspapers and Periodicals in the U.S.A.
- The Turkish Times- a weekly newspaper of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations which covers Turkish American issues with news articles, editorials, and business information.
- Turk of AmericaTurk of AmericaTurk of America is a Turkish magazine which reports news about Turkish businesses and the Turkish community in the United States. It was founded in 2002 with its first issue published in August of the same year...
- first Turkish American bi-monthly business magazine - Turkish Daily NewsTurkish Daily NewsThe Hürriyet Daily News, formerly Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review, is the oldest current English-language daily in Turkey....
- Turkey's English-language newspaper - TurkishSoccer.com
- Today's ZamanToday's ZamanToday's Zaman is one of two English-language dailies based in Turkey. Established on January 16, 2007, the newspaper's main competitor is the older Hürriyet Daily News....
- a daily newspaper which covers Turkish American issues with news articles,editorials, and business information.
Organizations and associations
- Turkish Coalition of AmericaTurkish Coalition of AmericaBased in Washington, D.C., The Turkish Coalition of America is an educational, lobbying, and charitable organization incorporated in February 2007.-Mission:...
(TCA) The Turkish Coalition of America is an educational nonprofit based in Washington, DC. Founded in 2007, TCA aims to foster a better understanding of issues related to US-Turkish relations and to Turkish Americans acting as part of the Turkish lobby in the United States. - Turkish Cultural CenterTurkish Cultural CenterTurkish Cultural Centers are the establishments to promote Turkish culture in places of Turkish diaspora.Initially serving the disaposra, today Turkish Cultural Centers play an important role in expanding the awareness of Turkey and Turkish culture all over the world....
(TCC) The Turkish Cultural Center is located in the heart of New York City. The Center is an institution committed to community involvement and is part of the Gulen MovementGülen movementThe Gülen movement is a transnational civic society movement inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic theologian Fethullah Gülen. His teachings about hizmet have attracted a large number of supporters in Turkey, Central Asia and increasingly in other parts of the world...
. The organization hopes to be a forum of international cultural exchange while promoting Turkish Cultural Heritage. www.turkishculturalcenter.org - Istanbul CenterIstanbul CenterIstanbul Center is a non profit organization headquartered in Atlanta, GA and has branches in several cities in the Southeastern United States. Established to promote better understanding and closer relations among the communities in Metro Atlanta and the Southeastern United States, the center...
(IC) The Istanbul Center is located in the Atlanta, GA. The Center is the largest Turkish-American organization in the Southeastern United States. promote a better understanding and closer relations between individuals and communities, building bridges between the Turkish, American and other communities in Atlanta and the Southeastern United States. - American Turkish Friendship CouncilAmerican Turkish Friendship CouncilThe American Turkish Friendship Council was founded in 2005 to encourage and foster mutual understanding, friendship and peace through tourism, cultural, economic and professional exchanges between the United States of America and the Republic of Turkey and their citizens...
(ATFC)- is devoted to increasing understanding of commercial, defense, and cultural issues involving the United States and Turkey. - Raindrop Turkish House was established in 2000 in Houston, Texas and operates in 6 states: Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Raindrop Foundation, which is part of the Gulen MovementGülen movementThe Gülen movement is a transnational civic society movement inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic theologian Fethullah Gülen. His teachings about hizmet have attracted a large number of supporters in Turkey, Central Asia and increasingly in other parts of the world...
, aims to introduce Turkish culture into American society and cultivate friendship and promote the understanding of diverse cultures through its unique services to the community, through dialog and corporation. - American Turkish Society (ATS) was founded in 1949, and has a membership of 400 American and Turkish diplomats, banks, corporations, businessmen, and educators. It promotes economic and commercial relations as well as cultural understanding between the people of the United States and Turkey.
- Assembly of Turkish American AssociationsAssembly of Turkish American Associations-Snapshot:Assembly of Turkish American Associations is the umbrella organization to create cohesion and cooperation between the large numbers of social/cultural Turkish American organizations around the United States. ATAA informs the Turkish American community on how to foster Turkish-American...
(ATAA) was founded in 1979, and has approximately 10,500 members and coordinates activities of regional associations for the purpose of presenting an objective view of Turkey and Turkish Americans and enhancing understanding between these two groups. - Federation of Turkish-American Associations (FTAA) was founded in 1956 and composed of about 30 local organizations of Turkish Americans, it works to advance educational interests and to maintain and preserve knowledge of Turkey's cultural heritage.
- Turkish American AssociationTurkish American AssociationThe Turkish American Association is a non-profit organizations which was established in 1956 for the purpose of uniting and supporting the Turkish community within the United States, it has successfully established a bond between both the Turkish and the American communities...
(TAA) was founded in 1965, and has approximately 15,000 members and promotes cultural relations between the United States and Turkey. - Turkish Women's League of AmericaTurkish Women's League of AmericaThe Turkish Women's League of America is an organisation for Americans of Turkish origin united to promote equality and justice for women.- Causes :...
(TWLA)was founded in 1958, and comprises Americans of Turkish origin united to promote equality and justice for women. - Turkish American Cultural AllianceTurkish American Cultural AllianceTurkish American Cultural Alliance is a non-profit, non-political Chicago based organization. It was formed in 1968. It creates public awareness for Turkish culture, Turkey and Turkish people in Chicago and Illinois, United States....
(TACA) founded in 1968 - Turkish Cultural Center Of Tampa Bay was established in 2006 as a 501c(3) non-profit, non-governmental organization and its activities involve not only the Turkish community but also the larger society in Tampa Bay, also providing intercultural and interfaith dialogue and cooperation opportunities for all organizations in Tampa Bay.
- Turkish-American Scientists and Scholars Association (TASSA) was formally established on June 5, 2004
- Turkish American Chamber of Commerce and IndustryTurkish American Chamber of Commerce and IndustryThe Turkish American Chamber of Commerce and Industry is anon-profit membership organization located in New York City. It was foundedin 2002.-Vision:TACCI's vision is establishing infrastructure and strategy necessary to...
(TACCI) is founded in 2002. TACCI is the Turkish-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry dedicated to advance the business, commerce and industry relations between Turkey and the United States. - American Turkish Chamber of CommerceAmerican Turkish Chamber of CommerceThe American Turkish Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit business organization, which was officially established on March 11, 2008 and headquartered at the prestigious Caplen Building in Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
is a non-profit business organization, which was officially established on March 11, 2008 and headquartered in New Jersey - Turkish American Cultural Center of Madison (TACC-Madison), unit of Turkish American Cultural Foundation of Wisconsin Inc., is a non-profit organization established in 2008 to promote a better understanding and closer relations between Turkish American Community and other communities in Madison, Wisconsin and United States.
- Lehigh Valley Turkish American Association - Association's goals include but not limited to: 1) Increase, improve, and promote public knowledge and understanding of Turkish culture, history and people; 2) Foster friendship and communication among the American and Turkish communities; 3) Promote the exchange of the arts, culture, music and cuisine of the United States and Turkey
- Istanbul University Alumni Association of USA (IUMEZUSA) is a non-political, non-profit organization founded in April, 2005 to promote better understanding between the American and Turkish peoples through social, educational, and cultural activities.
- Turkish American Cultural Association of Michigan (TACAM) is a non-profit organization to promote understanding of not only Turkish culture, but also American culture to Turkish visitors
See also
- List of Turkish-Americans
- Turkish-American relations
- Turkish Canadian
- Turks in EuropeTurks in EuropeThe Turks in Europe refers to Turkish people living in Europe. According to a 2011 academic estimate, there is approximately 9 million Turks living in Europe, excluding those who live in Turkey....
Further reading
- McCarthy, Justin A., The Turk in America: The Creation of an Enduring Prejudice (2010). ISBN 978-1-60781-013-1.
External links
- turkishreporter.com Leading Turkish-American Website with news in English
- Turka Magazine Coverage of Turkish events, nightlife, fashion, politics, and culture in the New York metropolitan area.
- Turkish Journal Leading exclusive Turkish-American news and researches.
- TurkishNY.com Leading Turkish-American Web Portal with news, classified ads, yellow pages, online radio, video and photo galleries.
- Turk North America (TurkNA) established in 2002 in NJ to support the Turkish community in the US, and quickly became the most visited Turkish website. It is also the largest Turkish Yahoo group.
- Turkic Cultures and Children's Festival in Houston, TX, US, Turkic Fest in US
- A History of Turks in America
- Alaturkaonline.com Leading source of news for Turkish Americans