They talk over one another, sometimes in English, other times in Romani, a language that is one of the healthiest immigrant dialects in the United States, carried throughout the generations with little threat of endangerment, according to Ian F Hancock, Romani activist and professor of linguistics at the University of Texas at Austin. He pulls out bags of potato chips, sandwich materials, sweet treats and more soda. On days off, Tom says his family likes to enjoy a soft drink amongst their dead, leaving the soda can behind as a momento.
For decades, the Evans were chronicled in the Dallas newspaper. The Evans clan has long been known for leadership and literacy. Not far from the cemetery is the suburban neighbourhood of White Settlement, Fort Worth. Flat, generic and strewn with fuel stations, odd shops and intersecting residential streets, the region appears untouched by the gentrification of big box stores just beyond the overpass.
Parks of mobile homes are a frequent sight, some of which have been bought by Roma families. Along with Houston, the city of Fort Worth holds the largest population of Roma in the state of Texas, which is home to about 20, Romani Americans — most of which are Romanichal and Vlax — out of a national population of around one million.
The Vlax are typically Eastern Orthodox and celebrate both Christmas and Easter, while the Romanichals remain predominately Protestant. Revelry among clans has been reported by the Dallas Morning News as far back as , when six Roma clans swarmed into Dallas, threatening warfare after the shooting of a year-old boy belonging to the Green tribe, allegedly shot by a member of the Evans. Being non-White, having no country, alien in language, dress and religion, they were quickly and easily targeted as scapegoats.
Nevertheless their artisan skills, particularly in metalworking, made them indispensable to the Balkan economy; as they started to move away from southeastern Europe to escape the increasingly rigorous demands upon them, legislation began to be put into effect making them the property of their employers.
By the early fourteenth century, they had become slaves in Moldavia and Wallachia present-day Romania. Slavery was not fully abolished there until , after which date an ongoing migration out of the area to America and elsewhere began.
Gypsies originating in this part of Europe are known collectively as Vlax x as ch in German Achtung , and are divided into a number of distinct groups, depending upon their occupational or regional background in the Balkans. The two biggest groups in Texas as well as in the rest of the country are the Kalderasha and the Machwaya, who have been in the United States for about a century.
Those who moved on into the rest of Europe had reached all of the countries in the North and the West by A. There, strict laws came into effect rooted in fear of the foreign intruders; Gypsies were the first people of color to come into Europe in large numbers-their descendants there today number about eight million.
Having no country of their own, denied access to housing and schooling, they were in every sense outsiders, a fact that is having serious consequences today. Cromwell shipped Romanichal Gypsies i. Too much involvement in the non-Romani world can debilitate you and can affect you socially. We can be Americans and we can still call ourselves Gypsies. Despite his own deep-seated fears about loss of culture, John realizes the importance of education for the next generation of Roma.
We want to keep up with the times. The two families agree to a deal that Alex seems happy with. Great, successful price. Great deal, great situation. Search Search. Home United States U. Africa 54 - November 11, VOA Africa Listen live.
VOA Newscasts Latest program. VOA Newscasts. Previous Next. April 06, PM. People commonly known as 'Gypsies' face stereotyping, discrimination. Roma Part 1. Roma Part 2. Locked down in her New York City apartment in May, Naomi Negron picked up an arts and crafts project to pass the time.
She sewed pairs of ribbons and decorated them with coins, bells, and satin flowers. These were not random adornments. Indeed, each creative choice held significance.
Negron is of Roma heritage, and each detail is a nod to that identity. Ribbons, for instance, are a traditional hair accessory in several Roma communities.
The embellishments and colors—such as red for good luck—are more subtle expressions of Roma identity. Lois Jones, a good friend of Negron, joined in the project from overseas. She reached out to members of the Roma diaspora through Facebook groups to gauge the interest in their product.
Soon enough, she had about orders. People wanted the ribbons but other goods, too. For example, Dikhlo, headscarves worn by many Roma. Eventually, the project evolved into the Dikhlo Collective , a community-building, identity-supporting nonprofit. These packages are shipped across the U. They are free; however, Negron and Jones appreciate donations. The Dikhlo Collective has an Etsy shop that brings in some revenue, but the parcels are otherwise funded by Negron and Jones themselves.
In addition to the packages, the Dikhlo Collective has an active social media presence. It has established an aesthetic of vibrant pinks, oranges, greens, and blues. The goal of this look, as with the packages, is to create uplifting emotions, Negron said. Rather than use a similar branding to Romani activism pages, Negron and Jones seek to choose colors, patterns, and fonts that resemble the other content followers find in their social media feeds. At a time when connections and community moved online, the Dikhlo Collective has created a more in-person community for the Roma diaspora.
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