African Americans

African Americans, also known as Black Americans, are an important racial and ethnic group in the United States. They are people whose ancestors came from Africa and were brought to America during a difficult time in history. Today, African Americans are the third-largest racial group in the country, making up about 12.6% of the U.S. population.

Their history began in the 1500s when people from Africa were taken from their homes and forced to work as slaves in America. Many were sold to work on farms in the southern parts of the country. Even after the United States became a country, most Black people were still slaves until they were finally freed after the Civil War in the 1860s.

Even after gaining freedom, African Americans faced unfair treatment and were not treated equally. But over time, many worked hard to change this. Important movements helped improve rights and opportunities for African Americans. Today, their culture has greatly influenced American life, especially in music, food, and language.

History

Main article: African American history

See also: African immigration to the United States

Colonial era

Main article: Slavery in the colonial history of the United States

See also: Atlantic slave trade

Many people from Central and West African ethnic groups were captured and brought to the Americas as part of the slave trade. The first Africans arrived in what is now the United States in the early 1500s. They were among explorers and settlers in places like Spanish Florida and Spanish Puerto Rico.

Africans also came to the Caribbean and then to places like South Carolina. Some early settlers included enslaved people who later gained freedom or mixed with other groups. In Jamestown, Virginia, the first recorded Africans arrived in 1619 as workers. Over time, some Africans became landowners and even owned other enslaved people.

By the 1600s, laws began to change, making slavery permanent for some people. In Spanish Florida, some freed slaves were allowed to live there and even form their own defense groups. In other places, slavery became a lasting part of life for many Africans brought to America.

From the American Revolution to the Civil War

Main article: Slavery in the United States

During the American Revolution, both enslaved and free Africans helped the American cause. After the war, some Africans left with the British to live in places like England or Canada.

Slavery was protected in the US Constitution, and laws made it harder for enslaved people to escape. By the time of the Civil War, millions of Africans were enslaved, while some lived as free people with limited rights. Enslaved people were important to the economy, especially in growing crops like cotton.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared that enslaved people in Confederate areas were free. This led to the end of slavery after the Civil War, with amendments to the Constitution granting citizenship and voting rights to African Americans.

Reconstruction era and Jim Crow

Main articles: Reconstruction era and Jim Crow laws

After the Civil War, African Americans built their own schools, churches, and communities. However, by the late 1800s, new laws called Jim Crow laws enforced separation and limited voting rights for African Americans. These laws created unequal treatment and often led to violence.

Great migration and civil rights movement

Main articles: Great Migration and civil rights movement

In the early 1900s, many African Americans moved from the South to Northern and Western cities looking for better opportunities. This movement, called the Great Migration, changed communities but also brought new challenges like unfair treatment in jobs and housing.

By the 1950s, the civil rights movement worked to end unfair laws and practices. Important events included protests, laws that banned discrimination, and efforts to ensure voting rights for all. Leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. played key roles in these changes.

Post–civil rights era

Main article: Post–civil rights era in African-American history

African Americans have continued to make progress in politics and society. In 1967, Thurgood Marshall became the first African American Supreme Court Justice. In 2008, Barack Obama was elected as the first African American president of the United States. Many African Americans have held important positions in government and continue to work toward equality and justice.

Demographics

African Americans, also known as Black Americans, are a racial and ethnic group in the United States. They are defined as Americans with ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. They are the third-largest racial and ethnic group in the U.S., following White Americans and Hispanic and Latino Americans. The term "African American" usually refers to descendants of Africans who were enslaved in the United States.

In 1790, the first U.S. census recorded about 760,000 Africans, making up about 19.3% of the population. By 1860, this number had grown to 4.4 million, though it dropped to 14% of the population. Most were enslaved, with only a small number counted as free people. By 1900, the Black population had doubled to 8.8 million.

For much of the 20th century, most African Americans lived in the South. Many moved north during the Great Migration, seeking better jobs and escaping unfair laws and violence. This movement lasted from the 1890s to the 1970s, with over six million African Americans relocating. Later, trends shifted, and many moved back south.

By 1990, the African American population reached about 30 million, representing 12% of the U.S. population. In the 2000 census, about 55% lived in the South, with significant populations also in the Northeast and Midwest. California, despite being in the West, had a notable African American community.

Today, African Americans have diverse backgrounds, including those from the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, and other countries. Most, however, are direct descendants of West and Central Africans brought to the U.S. as slaves.

Genetics

See also: Genetic history of the African diaspora

Genome-wide studies

Recent studies of African Americans using genetic testing have found ancestry to vary by region and sex of ancestors. These studies found that on average, African Americans have 73.2–82.1% Sub-Saharan African, 16.7–24% European, and 0.8–1.2% Native American genetic ancestry, with large variation between individuals. Commercial testing services have reported similar variation.

According to a genome-wide study, the mixed ancestry of African Americans came about as the result of historical relationships between West/Central Africans and Europeans. This led to the 365 African Americans in their sample having a genome-wide average of 78.1% West African ancestry and 18.5% European ancestry, with large variation among individuals.

Research suggests that African Americans are a genetically diverse people. Around 58 percent of African Americans have at least 12.5% European ancestry, 19.6 percent have at least 25% European ancestry, and one percent have at least 50% European ancestry. Around five percent of African Americans also have at least 12.5% Native American ancestry.

Y-DNA

Africans bearing a certain genetic marker likely moved across the Sahara from east to west approximately 19,000 years ago. According to a study, the majority of African Americans belong to a common genetic paternal lineage also found among West/Central African males. The next most frequent Y-DNA lineage observed among African Americans is one that is most common today among Northwestern European males.

mtDNA

According to a study, the maternal lineages of African Americans are most similar to haplogroups that are today especially common in West Africa, followed closely by West-Central Africa and Southwestern Africa.

Formal political, economic and social discrimination against minorities has been present throughout American history. Those who economically gained the most from slavery were large-scale plantation owners. Having a prominent role in politics, some leaders kept control of their land and remained politically influential. Although they have gained a greater degree of social equality since the civil rights movement, African Americans have remained stagnant economically.

Economically, African Americans are the wealthiest and most successful racially Black ethnic group on the globe, with many families achieving millionaire status.

Policing and criminal justice

See also: Race and crime in the United States and Racial profiling in the United States

In the US, African Americans are overrepresented in the prison population. In 2023, they made up 38% of prison inmates, coming second to Whites, who made up 57%. In 2012, a New York City law led to many detentions, with a large percentage being African-Americans.

African American males are more likely to face serious issues with law enforcement compared to other races. This was one of the factors that led to a movement started in 2013. After widespread protests and efforts for police reform in the early 2020s, crime rates increased in many cities, especially in neighborhoods with many African Americans. As a result, some places scaled back police reform efforts and increased funding for law enforcement.

Social issues

After over 50 years, marriage rates for all Americans began to decline while divorce rates and births outside of marriage have climbed. These changes have been greatest among African Americans. Single-parent households have become common, and only about 38 percent of Black children live with both parents.

The first law banning marriages between different racial groups was passed in 1691. By 1924, such bans were still in place in 29 states. In 1967, a Supreme Court decision ruled these laws unconstitutional.

In 2008, many African Americans voted differently on a measure related to marriage rights compared to other groups. By 2012, support for marriage rights had grown significantly among African Americans.

Black Americans hold more conservative opinions on certain issues than Democrats as a whole. On financial issues, however, African Americans generally support more government spending on social services.

Political legacy

African Americans have fought in every war in the history of the United States.

The gains made by African Americans in the civil rights movement and in the Black Power movement not only obtained certain rights for African Americans but changed American society in important ways. Prior to the 1950s, Black Americans in the South were subject to unfair laws. They were often treated cruelly and violently.

The civil rights movement brought many changes to American life. It led to boycotts, sit-ins, peaceful demonstrations and marches, court battles, and worldwide media coverage. The movement removed unfair laws and segregation from American life and law, and influenced other groups fighting for civil rights and social equality.

Media and coverage

See also: Representation of African Americans in media and African-American newspapers

Some people feel that news shows don’t always show the full story about African American communities or show them in a fair way. To help change this, a man named Robert L. Johnson started a TV network called Black Entertainment Television, or BET. BET shows music, movies, and TV shows that many African American families enjoy. It also sometimes shows programs about important issues and religious shows on Sunday.

Another TV network for African Americans is called TV One. It’s owned by a company run by Catherine Hughes and focuses on entertainment for grown-ups. In 2009, NBC News started a website called TheGrio. It’s a news site that shares stories that other news places might miss.

Black-owned and oriented media outlets

• The Africa Channel – Shows programs about African culture.
• aspireTV – A TV channel owned by Magic Johnson.
• ATTV – A channel for public affairs and learning.
• BET Media Group – A big group of media for African Americans.
  • BET
  • BET Her
  • VH1 – A music channel that now shows more African American culture.
• Bounce TV – A digital TV network.
• Fox Soul – A digital TV and online network with talk shows.
• Oprah Winfrey Network – A TV network started by Oprah Winfrey.
• Revolt – A music channel started by Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs.
• Soul of the South Network – A TV network for a specific area.
• TheGrio – A news and opinion website.
• TV One – An entertainment network for adults.
  • Cleo TV – A network for younger women.
• We TV – A TV network that shows shows for Black women.

Culture

Further information: African-American culture

See also: African-American art

African Americans have added a lot to American culture since they first arrived. They have influenced literature, art, farming skills, food, clothing, music, language, and new ideas. Many useful crops in the United States, like yams, peanuts, rice, okra, sorghum, grits, watermelon, indigo dyes, and cotton, came from West Africa or were improved by African Americans. A good example is George Washington Carver, who made almost 500 products from peanuts, sweet potatoes, and pecans. Soul food is a type of food that is popular with African Americans. It is similar to the food found in the cuisine of the Southern United States. Fried chicken is one food that African Americans helped make famous in the United States.

Language

Main article: African-American English

See also: Black American Sign Language, Gullah language, Afro-Seminole Creole, and Louisiana Creole

African-American English is a way of speaking English that many African Americans use. It is common in cities among working-class and middle-class African Americans. This way of speaking has some different sounds, ways of using tense, and sentence structures from Standard American English. It comes from West African languages. Almost everyone who speaks African-American English can also speak Standard American English. This way of speaking is used in many books and stories written by African Americans.

Other languages are spoken by some groups. The Gullah language is spoken along the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. Afro-Seminole Creole is spoken by Black Seminoles in Mexico and Brackettville, Texas. Louisiana Creole is a French-based language spoken in Louisiana.

Traditional names

Main article: African-American names

African-American names are special to African American culture. Many of these names started in the United States during the time of enslavement. Before the 1950s and 1960s, most African American names were similar to names used by European Americans. But with the civil rights movement, many new and creative names began to appear. Names like LaKeisha, JaMarcus, and DeAndre became popular. Some names have special spellings or use punctuation marks, like Mo'nique and D'Andre.

Music

African American music has had a big effect on American culture. Types of music like hip hop, R&B, funk, rock and roll, soul, blues, and others started in African American communities. These styles of music have influenced many other kinds of music around the world.

Dance

African Americans have also helped shape American dance. Dancers like Bill T. Jones and Alvin Ailey have created famous dance pieces that tell stories about the African American experience. Stepping is a dance style that comes from African American traditions and is now performed in competitions.

Sports

Literature and academics

Many African American writers have shared their experiences through stories, poems, and essays. African American literature is an important part of American books. Famous writers include Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Richard Wright, Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou.

African American inventors have created many useful things. Some of these include a machine to make shoes, devices for trains, and better light bulbs. Inventors like Norbert Rillieux, Jan Matzeliger, Elijah McCoy, Granville Woods, Garrett A. Morgan, Lewis Howard Latimer, and Frederick McKinley Jones made important contributions. African Americans have also started their own newspapers and publishing companies to share their history and stories.

Terminology

The term African American became popular in the 1980s, thanks to Jesse Jackson. Before that, people used other words like colored or negro, which some thought were unfair or unfair.

In the 1980s, people started using African American to honor the history and culture of descendants of American slaves. Surveys show that many Black Americans don’t strongly prefer one name over another, but some like Black more in everyday use and African American in formal situations.

Since 2020, words like Black are now written with a capital B when talking about people, to show respect for their identity and shared history. In 2023, the government started using more detailed ways to describe different groups of Black people in the United States.

The idea of African American also connects to thoughts shared by important leaders like Marcus Garvey, W. E. B. Du Bois, and George Padmore. Other words like Afro-Usonian are used less often.

Since 1977, the United States government has officially called Black people “having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.” This helps count and understand different groups better. For the 2010 US census, African Americans were described as Black people born in the United States, one of three main Black groups in the country.

Historically, mixing between Black and White people was not accepted in the United States. Laws against marriage or closeness between different races existed in many Southern states until 1967. Over time, more people began to accept mixed marriages. Today, many people approve of people from different races marrying.

Some people argue that the word Black should only describe descendants of slaves from Africa brought to America. Others think it should include all people with African roots, no matter where they come from. These ideas have led to discussions about how best to describe different groups of Black people in the United States.

Older words like negro are now rarely used. Some words that were once common are now considered very rude and hurtful. Even within some Black communities, certain words are used among friends but are still debated about whether they are okay to use.