The culture of the Coastal South was shaped by the immigration of African Americans, Latin Americans, and Vietnamese people. The first small group of African slaves was brought to Virginia in 1619. African influences on the region were music, food, language, and architecture. Such influences were BBQ chicken in Texas, jazz and blues in New Orleans, and ironwork in Georgia.
African Immigration
After the African migration to the coastal South, other ethnic groups began to settle as well. In 1959, Fidel Castro lead an escape of thousands of Cuban refugees (Cuban Revolution) to Miami. Immigrants from other parts of Latin America are also currently living in South Florida.
Cuban Revolution
On the west side of the Coastal South, a community of Vietnamese refugees resided along the Gulf Coast. The Vietnamese people began to work in the fishing industry and other urban-area jobs in places such as Houston and New Orleans.
New York City
The late 19th century in America was seen as the land of opportunity and New York City was the "gateway." Religious and political freedom were the main factors for migration. New York City was a place for all people from all different religions and nationalities. Italians freed from their government and Austrian rules. Living in New York City provided work, accessibility to ports, and the ability for immigrants to build their own communities. Old immigrants included Germans, Irish, Italians, Russians, Polish, Austrians, and Chinese.
New York City's Chinatown (Queens, New York), the largest Chinatown in the United States is located on the east side of Manhattan, New York. It has the largest Chinese population on the western hemisphere. Chinese immigrants began to civilize in New York in the middle of the 18th century to work and earn money. As expansion continues, the Chinese immigrants were faced with the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 which was created to force-stop the immigration of Chinese people. However, this act was eventually lifted, and Chinese immigration began to increase again. Chinatown began to boom, taking over parts of Little Italy. They created their own businesses and did anything to survive and develop income for themselves. Today Chinatown (Queens, New York) is home to the majority of Chinese immigrants and a place for tourists to travel from all over the world. There are hundreds of stores, restaurants, and markets for residents and tourists to travel through.
Chinatown
http://www.ny.com/articles/chinatown.html
http://www.new-york-chinatown.info/chinatown-history.html
http://immigrants1900.weebly.com/