They didn't tar and feather all of them yet?
True. But do you know why they hide it? Or is that even true they hide it? Is it just because they are ashamed of who they are ?
It is estimated that there are one million
Romani people in the United States. Though the Romani population in the
United States has largely assimilated into American society, the largest concentrations are in
Southern California, the
Pacific Northwest,
Texas and the
Northeast as well as in cities such as
Chicago and
St. Louis.
[1][4]
The largest wave of Romani immigrants came as a result of the abolition of Romani slavery in the occupied
Balkan region of the weakening
Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. Romani immigration to the United States has continued at a steady rate ever since, with an increase of Romani immigration following the 1989
collapse of Communism in
Central and Eastern Europe.
[1]
The size of the Romani American population and the absence of a historical and cultural presence, such as the Romani have in Europe, make Americans largely unaware of the existence of the Romani as a people.
[1] The term's lack of significance within the United States prevents many Romani from using the term around non-Romani: identifying themselves by nationality rather than heritage.
[5] The U.S. Census does not distinguish Romani as a group since it is neither a nationality nor a religion.
[1]
Romani Americans are the least integrated group in the United States, along with
Native Americans.
[6][7] Some Romani Americans prefer to pass as another ethnic group such as Native American, Mexican or Romanian.
[8][9]
Residing in all states, their largest concentrations are in
New York,
Virginia,
Illinois, Texas,
Massachusetts, and the Pacific Coast.
[10]
Romani Americans usually sell used cars and trailers, black-topping driveways and roofing to earn money.
[11] Romani American careers are also
psychics,
astrologers,
palm readers,
tarot card readers, metal recycling and auto-body and fender repair.
[12] Other sources of
income for Romani Americans is seasonal farm labor,
welfare, selling
flowers on the street and begging.
[13] They usually live in
mobile homes and
trailer parks.
[14]