International Roma Day, April 8

By Martha F. Davis

April 8 is designated as International Roma Day every year, a day to celebrate and increase awareness of Roma culture.  “Roma” are not a single group, but a collection of communities with languages and cultures that share common roots. In addition, Roma share a history of discrimination.  In Europe, Roma are the largest and most visible minority, yet Roma children still experience school segregation and Roma communities still face challenges in obtaining even such basic amenities as water.  Advocacy groups such as the European Centre for Roma Rights are engaged in impact litigation strategies on a number of fronts in an effort to combat these persistent inequalities. 

In the United States, however, Roma are largely invisible.  Because the US census does not inquire about Roma identity, there are no certain numbers, though many estimates put Roma at about 1,000,000 strong in the US. The few media reports on American Roma stress the group’s efforts to blend in, and keep a low profile. According to Roma scholar Ethel Brooks, there can be advantages to this invisibility, which is made easier because of the relative diversity of the U.S.

But the invisibility of real, everyday Roma in the US also opens the door to manipulation and misrepresentation in the media.  When My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding premiered in 2012, many were dismayed that the producers seemed intent on reinforcing stereotypes.  A counter to these stereotypes are  two short films  made by Voice of America in 2011 about the challenges facing American Roma as members of the community question what the impacts of further assimilation might be on the future of Romani culture in the U.S.