Editing Omaha, Nebraska (section)

===People===
{{Main|Ethnic groups in Omaha, Nebraska}}
[[File:OmahaNE StCecilia.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Saint Cecilia Cathedral]]]]

[[Native American tribes in Nebraska|Native Americans]] were the first residents of the Omaha area. The city of Omaha was established by white settlers from neighboring Council Bluffs who arrived from the [[Mid-Atlantic states]] a few years earlier. While much of the early population was of [[Upland South|Upland Southern]] stock, over the next 100 years numerous [[Ethnic groups in Omaha, Nebraska|ethnic groups]] moved to the city. In 1910, the Census Bureau reported Omaha's population as 96.4% White and 3.6% Black.<ref>{{cite web |title=Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |access-date=April 21, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812191959/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |archive-date=August 12, 2012}}</ref> [[Irish in Omaha, Nebraska|Irish]] immigrants in Omaha originally moved to an area in present-day North Omaha called [[Gophertown]], as they lived in dug-out [[sod house]]s.<ref name="Bristow 2000" /> That population was followed by [[Poles in Omaha, Nebraska|Polish immigrants]] in the [[Sheelytown]] neighborhood, and many immigrants were recruited for jobs in South Omaha's [[Union Stockyards (Omaha)|stockyards]] and meatpacking industry.<ref>Peattie, E.W. "How they live at Sheely: Pen picture of a strange settlement and its queer set of inhabitants", March 31, 1895. in (2005) ''Impertinences: Selected Writings of Elia Peattie, a Journalist in the Gilded Age''. University of Nebraska Press. p. 31.</ref> The [[Germans in Omaha, Nebraska|German community]] in Omaha was largely responsible for founding its once-thriving beer industry,<ref>Sullenger, T.E. (1937) "Problems of Ethnic Assimilation in Omaha", ''Social Forces. 15''(3) pp. 402–410.</ref> including the [[Metz Brewery|Metz]], [[Krug Brewery|Krug]], [[Falstaff Brewing Corporation|Falstaff]] and [[Storz Brewery|Storz]] breweries.

Since its founding, [[Ethnic groups in Omaha, Nebraska|ethnic groups in the city]] have clustered in [[Ethnic enclave|enclaves]] in [[North Omaha, Nebraska|north]], [[South Omaha, Nebraska|south]] and [[downtown Omaha]]. In its early days, the [[History of Omaha, Nebraska|sometimes lawless nature of a new frontier city]] included [[Crime in Omaha|crime]], such as [[Gambling in Omaha, Nebraska|illicit gambling]] and [[List of riots and civil unrest in Omaha, Nebraska|riots]].

In the early 20th century, [[Jews and Judaism in Omaha, Nebraska|Jewish]] immigrants set up many businesses along the [[North 24th Street]] commercial area. It suffered with the loss of industrial jobs in the 1960s and, later, the shifting of population west of the city. The commercial area is now the center of the [[African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska|African-American community]], concentrated in North Omaha.<ref>(1980) ''A Comprehensive Program for Historic Preservation in Omaha'', [[Government of Omaha|City of Omaha]] [[Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission]]. p. 54.</ref> The African American community has maintained its social and religious base, while it is experiencing an economic revitalization.

The [[Little Italy (Omaha)|Little Italy]] neighborhood grew south of downtown, as many Italian immigrants came to the city to work in the [[Union Pacific Railroad Omaha Shops Facility|Union Pacific shops]].<ref>Federal Writers' Project. (1936) ''Omaha: A Guide to the City and Environs.'' American Guide Series. p. 161.</ref> Scandinavians first came to Omaha as [[Mormon]] settlers in the [[Florence, Nebraska|Florence neighborhood]].<ref>Matteson, E. and Matteson, J. "Mormon Influence on Scandinavian Settlement in Nebraska", in Larsen, B.F., Bender, H. and Veien, K. (eds) (1993) ''On Distant Shores: Proceedings of the Marcus Lee Hansen Immigration Conference; Aalborg, Denmark June 29 – July 1, 1992.'' Aalborg, Denmark: Danes Worldwide Archives and Danish Society for Emigration History.</ref><ref>Nelson, O.N. (1899) ''History of the Scandinavians and Successful Scandinavians in the United States: parts 1 & 2.'' O. N. Nelson & Company. p. 44, 237, 502.</ref> [[Czechs in Omaha, Nebraska|Czechs]] had a strong political and cultural voice in Omaha,<ref>Capek, T. (August 27, 1898) "Bohemia past and present." ''[[Omaha Bee]]''.</ref> and were involved in a variety of trades and businesses, including banks, wholesale houses, and funeral homes. The [[Notre Dame Academy and Convent]] and [[Czechoslovak Museum]] are legacies of their residence.<ref>Sisson, R., Zacher, C.K. and Cayton, A.R.L. (2007) ''The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia''. [[Indiana University Press]]. p. 235.</ref> Today the legacy of the city's early European immigrant populations is evident in many social and cultural institutions in Downtown and South Omaha.

[[Mexicans in Omaha, Nebraska|Mexicans]] originally immigrated to Omaha to work in the rail yards. Today they account for most of South Omaha's Hispanic population and many have taken jobs in [[meat processing]].<ref>T. Earl Sullenger, (1929) "The Mexican Population of Omaha", ''Journal of Applied Sociology'', VIII. May–June. p. 289.</ref> Other large early ethnic populations in Omaha included [[Danes in Omaha, Nebraska|Danes]], [[Poles in Omaha|Poles]], and [[Swedes in Omaha, Nebraska|Swedes]].

A growing number of African immigrants have made their homes in Omaha in the last twenty years.{{When|date=June 2018}} There are approximately 8,500 [[Sudan]]ese living in Omaha, including the largest population of [[Sudanese refugees]] in the United States. Most have immigrated since 1995 because of [[Second Sudanese Civil War|warfare in Sudan]]. They represent ten ethnic groups, including the [[Nuer people|Nuer]], [[Dinka]], [[Equatoria]]ns, [[Mauban]]s and [[Nubian people|Nubians]]. Most Sudanese people in Omaha speak the [[Nuer language]].<ref>Burbach, C. "Rally features Sudanese vice president", ''[[Omaha World-Herald]]''. July 22, 2006.</ref> Other Africans have immigrated to Omaha as well, with one-third from [[Nigeria]], and large populations from [[Kenya]], [[Togo]], [[Cameroon]] and [[Ghana]].<ref>Greater Omaha Economic Partnership. (2007) p. 18.</ref><ref>Goodsell, P. [https://archive.today/20120524220842/http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10287909 "More Nebraskans move from rural counties to metro areas"], ''[[Omaha World-Herald]]''. March 20, 2008. Retrieved 5/28/08.</ref><ref>Gonzalez, C. [https://archive.today/20120524220751/http://omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10377702 "Communities experiencing big growth, census report says"], ''[[Omaha World-Herald]]''. July 10, 2008.</ref>

With the expansion of railroad and industrial jobs in meatpacking, Omaha attracted many immigrants and migrants. As the major city in Nebraska, it has historically been more racially and ethnically diverse than the rest of the state.<ref>Baltensperger, B.H. (1985) ''Nebraska: a geography.'' Westview Press. p. 248.</ref> At times rapid population change, overcrowded housing and job competition have aroused [[Racial Tension in Omaha, Nebraska|racial and ethnic tensions]]. Around the start of the 20th century, violence towards new immigrants in Omaha often erupted out of suspicion and fear.<ref>Hickey, D.R., Wunder, S.A. and Wunder, J.R. (2007) ''Nebraska Moments: New Edition.'' University of Nebraska Press. p. 197.</ref>

In 1909, anti-Greek sentiment flared after increased Greek immigration, and worsened their tendency to become [[strikebreakers]]. The killing of a policeman of Irish descent enraged the Irish community; an angry mob violently stormed the Greek neighborhood in Omaha in what would become known as the [[Greek Town Riot]].<ref>Laliotou, I.L. (2004) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=f_WL0HT1_4EC Transatlantic Subjects: Acts of Migration and Cultures of Transnationalism Between Greece and America]'' {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115085247/https://books.google.com/books?id=f_WL0HT1_4EC&dq |date=January 15, 2016 }}, University of Chicago Press. p. 185.</ref> That mob violence forced the [[Greeks in Omaha, Nebraska|Greek]] immigrant population to flee from the city.<ref>Laliotou, I. (2004) ''Transatlantic Subjects: Acts of Migration and Cultures of Transnationalism Between Greece and America.'' University of Chicago Press. p. 185.</ref><ref>Burgess, T. (1913) ''Greeks in America: An Account of Their Coming, Progress, Customs, Living, and Aspirations; with an Historical Introduction and the Stories of Some Famous American-Greeks.'' Sherman-French Publishers. p. 163.</ref> By 1910, 53.7% of Omaha's residents and 64.2% of South Omaha's residents were foreign born or had at least one parent born outside of America.<ref>Wishart, D. (2004) "Omaha, Nebraska", in ''Encyclopedia of the Great Plains.'' University of Nebraska Press. p. 177.</ref>

Six years after the Greek Town Riot, in 1915, a mob killed Juan Gonzalez, a Mexican immigrant, near [[Scribner, Nebraska|Scribner]], a town in the Greater Omaha metropolitan area. The event occurred after an [[Omaha Police Department]] officer investigated a criminal operation that sold goods stolen from the nearby railroad yards. [[Racial profiling]] targeted Gonzalez as the culprit. After escaping the city, he was trapped along the [[Elkhorn River]], where the mob, including several policemen from Omaha, shot him more than twenty times. It was discovered Gonzalez was unarmed, and he had a reliable alibi for the time of the murder. No one was ever indicted for his killing.<ref>De La Garza, M. (2004) "The Lynching of Juan Gonzalez", ''Nebraska History.'' 85. (Spring). p. 24–35.</ref>

In the fall of 1919, following [[Red Summer]], postwar social and economic tensions, the earlier hiring of African Americans as strikebreakers, and job uncertainty contributed to a mob from South Omaha lynching [[Willy Brown]] and the ensuing [[Omaha Race Riot of 1919|Omaha Race Riot]]. Trying to defend Brown, the city's mayor, [[Edward Parsons Smith]], was lynched also, surviving only after a quick rescue.<ref name="Bristow 2000" />

Like other industrial cities in the U.S., Omaha suffered severe job losses in the 1950s, more than 10,000 in all, as the railroad and meatpacking industries restructured. Stockyards and packing plants were located closer to ranches, and union achievements were lost as wages declined in surviving jobs.<ref>Cordes, H.J. [https://web.archive.org/web/20071107070423/http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10176422 "Decline in industrial jobs hurts blacks"] ''Omaha World-Herald''. November 5, 2007. Retrieved 9/23/08.</ref> Many workers left the area if they could get to other jobs. Poverty deepened in areas of the city whose residents depended on those jobs, specifically North and South Omaha. At the same time, with reduced revenues, the city had less financial ability to respond to longstanding problems.

Despair after the April 1968 [[assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.]] contributed to [[King assassination riots|riots in North Omaha]], including one at the [[Logan Fontenelle Housing Project]].<ref>Luebtke, F.C. (2005) ''Nebraska: An Illustrated History.'' University of Nebraska Press. p. 334.</ref> For some, the [[civil rights movement in Omaha, Nebraska]] evolved towards [[black nationalism]], as the [[Black Panther Party]] was involved in tensions in the late 1960s. Organizations such as the [[Black Association for Nationalism Through Unity]] became popular among the city's African-American youth. This tension culminated in the ''[[cause célèbre]]'' trial of the [[Rice/Poindexter Case]], in which an [[Omaha Police Department]] officer was killed by a bomb while answering an emergency call.

Whites in Omaha have followed the [[white flight]] pattern, [[suburban]]izing to West Omaha.<ref>French, K. (2002) "Ethnic Groups in the Urban Fringe: An Analysis of Residential Patterns in Four Midland Cities, 1960 to 2000." University of Nebraska-Lincoln.</ref> In the late 1990s and early 2000s, gang violence and incidents between the [[Omaha Police Department|Omaha Police]] and Black residents undermined relations between groups in North and South Omaha.<ref>Webb, M. (1999) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=shwzim3gH8EC Coping with Street Gangs] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114212053/https://books.google.com/books?id=shwzim3gH8EC&dq |date=January 14, 2016 }}.'' The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 84.</ref>