Dominican Community in Birmingham

Where they come from

The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti and is known for its beaches, baseball and music. Spanish is its official language. Dominica is a small, mountainous island in the Eastern Caribbean, where English is spoken, and many Dominicans came to Britain in the Windrush era of the 1950s and 1960s.

The community in numbers

At the 2021 Census, out of a city population of 1,144,919, 4,460 people living in the city had been born in Caribbean countries other than Jamaica, a group that includes the Dominican Republic and Dominica; and 976 Birmingham residents described their ethnic group as Hispanic or Latin American.

Working for Birmingham

Dominicans from both islands work in healthcare, transport, education, hospitality and business. Families from Dominica who arrived in the 1950s and 1960s helped staff the city's hospitals and factories, and their children and grandchildren work in every profession.

Birmingham grew rich as the city of a thousand trades, and that spirit of making and doing is still strong. Today the trades sit alongside healthcare, education, finance, law, logistics and technology. The Dominican community brings energy to that mix, from people starting small businesses to those caring for patients, teaching in classrooms and keeping homes and workplaces in good repair.

Culture and community life

Merengue and bachata, both recognised by UNESCO, are the Dominican Republic's gifts to world music, while Dominica celebrates its Creole culture each October with the World Creole Music Festival. Food from both islands, including sancocho and callaloo, brings families together.

For anyone who wants to learn more, the best introduction is the simplest one: say hello. Birmingham's communities are at their best when they meet, share food and learn from one another, and the Dominican community is a warm part of that everyday exchange.