The Ethiopian American Council (EAC) is a grassroots civic organization dedicated to bringing awareness to and advancing the social, political, and economic concerns of Ethiopian Americans nationwide.
The mission of EAC—is to strengthen and expand the U.S.-Ethiopia relationship in ways that enhance bilateral ties, including trade, technology transfer and international efforts to combat terrorist in the region. We engage in a wide variety of political and educational activities and educate policymakers about the bonds that unite the two countries, and how it is in America’s best interest to help ensure that Ethiopia and the Horn remain safe and secure
Professor Larry Diamond, Senior Fellow, the Hoover Institution and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University
Professor Richard A. Joseph, political science, Northwestern University; among the four inaugural Martin Luther King Visiting Professors, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
This special civic ceremony is a salute to the Ethiopian flag and a heartfelt remembrance of Ethiopian roots and heritage. Presently, San Jose is the only city in America to have established a week long tradition, annual acknowledgment of the heritage and history of Ethiopian-Americans. When the Ethiopian flag was first flown over New City Hall in 2005, it was a historical event in that no other foreign flag had been so honored in the history of the new city hall.
American shores have been blessed with a group that already has deep connections with the American psyche because of their importance in biblical heritage and also because of their ancient dreams of being always a free, liberty-loving, and independent people – Ethiopians. Ethiopia is the only nation in Africa that was never colonized. It holds a diverse society made up of many ethnic groups and tolerates a number of religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam among them. In many ways it mirrors American society.
Presently, North America boasts a population of over a half-million Ethiopian-Americans, Ethiopian immigrants, and other members of the Ethiopian Diaspora Community. About 250,000 live in the Washington D.C. Metro area, over100,000 reside in Northern and Southern California, and New York, Atlanta, Dallas, Boston, Houston, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Seattle all have significant populations. In these areas, previous generations of Ethiopians have established social and economic foundations that facilitate the transition for many incoming Ethiopians.