View source for African Americans

{{Short description|Ethnic and cultural group in the United States}}
{{Redirect|Afro-American|the newspaper|Baltimore Afro-American{{!}}''Baltimore Afro-American''}}{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = African Americans
| native_name      = 
| image            = Black_Americans_2020_County.png
| image_caption    = <div style="text-align: center">Proportion of Black Americans in each [[County (United States)|U.S. county]], as of the [[2020 United States census|2020 U.S. census]]</div>
| pop              = '''Alone (one race):'''<br />{{increase}} '''41,104,200'''<ref name="Black Population 2020">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html|title=Race and Ethnicity in the United States|date=August 12, 2021|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=August 17, 2021}}</ref><br />{{decrease}} 12.40% of the total U.S. population<br /><br />'''In combination ([[Multiracial Americans|mixed race]]):'''<br />{{increase}} '''5,832,533'''<ref name="Black Population 2020"/><br />{{increase}} 1.76% of the total U.S. population<br /><br />'''Alone or in combination:'''<br />{{increase}} '''46,936,733'''<ref name="Black Population 2020"/><br />{{increase}} 14.16% of the total U.S. population
| popplace         = Predominantly the [[Southern United States]] and [[List of United States urban areas|American urban centers]], including:
| region1          = {{flag|Texas}}
| pop1             = 3,552,997
| ref1             = <ref name="Black Population 2020"/>
| region2          = {{flag|Georgia (U.S. state)|name=Georgia}}
| pop2             = 3,320,513
| ref2             = <ref name="Black Population 2020"/>
| region3          = {{flag|Florida}}
| pop3             = 3,246,381
| ref3             = <ref name="Black Population 2020"/>
| region4          = {{flag|New York}}
| pop4             = 2,986,172
| ref4             = <ref name="Black Population 2020"/>
| region5          = {{flag|California}}
| pop5             = 2,237,044
| ref5             = <ref name="Black Population 2020"/>
| languages        = [[American English]] (incl. [[African-American English]] and [[African-American Vernacular English]]), [[Gullah language|Gullah]], [[Louisiana Creole]]
| religions        = '''Majority:'''<br />[[Christianity in the United States|Christianity]] (78%){{NoteTag|Predominantly [[Protestantism in the United States|Protestantism]] (71%), including the [[Black church|African-American Church]] (53%), [[Evangelicalism in the United States|Evangelicalism]] (14%), and [[Mainline Protestantism]] (4%). Other [[Christian denominations]] include [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholicism]] (5%) and [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] (2%).}}<br />'''Other:'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/compare/religious-tradition/by/racial-and-ethnic-composition/|title=Religious tradition by race/ethnicity (2014)|publisher=[[Pew Research Center|The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life]]|access-date=April 5, 2019|archive-date=May 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518010639/https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/compare/religious-tradition/by/racial-and-ethnic-composition/|url-status=live}}</ref><br />[[Irreligion in the United States|Irreligion]] (18%)<br />[[Islam in the United States|Islam]] (2%)<br />''See: [[Religion of Black Americans]]''
}}

{{African American topics sidebar}}

'''African Americans''', also known as '''Black Americans''' and formerly called '''Afro-Americans''', are an [[Race and ethnicity in the United States|American racial and ethnic group]] who, as defined by the [[United States census]], consists of [[Americans]] who have ancestry from "any of the [[Black people|Black]] racial groups of [[Africa]]".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220301190109/http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-06.pdf "The Black Population: 2010" (PDF)], Census Bureau, September 2011. "Black or African Americans" refers to a person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. The Black racial category includes people who marked the "Black, African Am., or Negro" checkbox. It also includes respondents who reported entries such as African American; Sub-Saharan African entries, such as Kenyan and Nigerian; and Afro-Caribbean entries, such as Haitian and Jamaican."</ref> African Americans constitute the second largest racial and ethnic group in the U.S. after [[White Americans]].<ref>{{cite web   |title=Measuring Racial and Ethnic Diversity for the 2020 Census |url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2021/08/measuring-racial-ethnic-diversity-2020-census.html |access-date=2023-04-23 |website=The United States Census Bureau |language=EN-US |archive-date=April 30, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430114126/https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2021/08/measuring-racial-ethnic-diversity-2020-census.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of [[Slavery in the United States|Africans enslaved in the United States]].<ref name="Locke">{{cite book|last1=Locke |first1=Don C.|last2=Bailey|first2=Deryl F.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7nJFBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA106|title=Increasing Multicultural Understanding|publisher=Sage Publications|year=2013|isbn=978-1-4833-1421-1|page=106|quote=African American refers to descendants of enslaved Black people who are from the United States. The reason we use an entire continent (Africa) instead of a country (e.g., Irish American) is because slave masters purposefully obliterated tribal ancestry, language, and family units in order to destroy the spirit of the people they enslaved, thereby making it impossible for their descendants to trace their history prior to being born into slavery.|access-date=March 7, 2018|archive-date=August 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818040343/https://books.google.com/books?id=7nJFBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA106|url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="wilkersonnyt" /> According to annual estimates from the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]], as of July 1, 2024, the Black population was estimated at 42,951,595, representing approximately 12.63% of the total [[Demographics of the United States|U.S. population]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-kits/2025/2024-population-estimates-characteristics.html |title=Vintage 2024 Population Estimates by Age, Sex, Race, Hispanic Origin |access-date=2025-07-31 |website=Census.gov |language=en}}</ref>

[[African-American history]] began in the 16th century, when [[Slavery in Africa|African slave traders]] sold African artisans, farmers, and warriors to [[Atlantic slave trade|European slave traders]], who [[Middle Passage|transported them across the Atlantic]] to [[Slavery in the colonial history of the United States|the Western Hemisphere]]. They were [[slavery in the colonial history of the United States|sold as slaves]] to European colonists and put to work on [[plantation]]s, particularly [[plantation complexes in the Southern United States|in the southern colonies]]. A few were able to achieve freedom through [[manumission]] or escape, and founded independent communities before and during the [[American Revolution]]. After the United States was founded in 1783, most [[slavery in the United States|Black people continued to be enslaved]], primarily concentrated in the [[Southern United States|American South]], with four million enslaved people only [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|liberated]] with the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] in 1865.<ref>{{cite news |last=Harris |first=Paul |date=October 8, 2015 |title=How the end of slavery led to starvation and death for millions of black Americans |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jun/16/slavery-starvation-civil-war |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116000423/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jun/16/slavery-starvation-civil-war |archive-date=January 16, 2023}}</ref>

During [[Reconstruction Era|Reconstruction]], African Americans gained [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|citizenship]] and adult-males the [[Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|right to vote]]; however, due to widespread [[White supremacy in the United States|White supremacy]], they were treated as [[second-class citizen]]s and soon [[Disfranchisement after the Reconstruction era|disenfranchised in the South]]. These circumstances changed due to participation in the [[Military history of African Americans|military conflicts of the United States]], substantial [[Great Migration (African American)|migration out of the South]], the elimination of legal [[Racial segregation in the United States|racial segregation]], and the [[civil rights movement]] which sought political and social freedom. However, [[racism against African Americans]] and [[Racial inequality in the United States|racial socioeconomic disparity]] remain a problem into the 21st century.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, immigration has played an increasingly significant role in the African-American community. As of 2022, 10% of the U.S. Black population were immigrants, and 20% were either immigrants or the children of immigrants.<ref>{{cite web |title=One-in-Ten Black People Living in the U.S. Are Immigrants {{!}} Immigration Research Library |url=https://www.immigrationresearch.org/node/3361#:~:text=In%20addition,%20a%20significant%20share,immigrant%20or%20children%20of%20immigrants. |access-date=July 4, 2024 |website=www.immigrationresearch.org}}</ref> While some Black immigrants or their children may also come to identify as African American, the majority of first-generation immigrants do not, preferring to identify with their nation of origin.<ref>{{cite news |last=Forson |first=Tracy Scott |date=February 21, 2018 |title=Who is an 'African American'? Definition evolves as USA does |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/02/21/black-history-african-american-definition/1002344001/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230516231442/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/02/21/black-history-african-american-definition/1002344001/ |archive-date=May 16, 2023 |access-date=May 14, 2023 |work=USA Today |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=United States Census Bureau |title=What Updates to OMB's Race/Ethnicity Standards Mean for the Census Bureau |url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2024/04/updates-race-ethnicity-standards.html |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=Census.gov}}</ref> Most African Americans are of [[West Africa]]n and coastal [[Central Africa]]n ancestry, with varying amounts of [[Western Europe]]an and [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] ancestry.<ref name="auto2">{{cite book |author=Gates, Henry Louis Jr |author-link=Henry Louis Gates Jr. |title=In Search of Our Roots: How 19 Extraordinary African Americans Reclaimed Their Past |date=2009 |publisher=New York: Crown Publishing |pages=20–21}}</ref>

[[African-American culture]] has had a significant influence on worldwide culture, making numerous contributions to [[African-American art|visual arts]], [[African-American literature|literature]], the English language, [[Africana philosophy|philosophy]], politics, [[Soul food|cuisine]], [[African Americans in sports|sports]], and [[African-American music|music]]. The African-American contribution to popular music is so profound that most [[Music of the United States|American music]], including [[jazz]], [[Gospel music|gospel]], [[blues]], [[rock and roll]], [[funk]], [[disco]], [[house music|house]], [[techno]], [[Hip hop music|hip hop]], [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]], [[Trap music|trap]], and [[Soul music|soul]], has its origins either partially or entirely in the African-American community.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eaglin |first=Maya |date=February 21, 2021 |title=The soundtrack of history: How Black music has shaped American culture through time |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/soundtrack-history-how-black-music-has-shaped-american-culture-through-n1258474 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419033050/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/soundtrack-history-how-black-music-has-shaped-american-culture-through-n1258474 |archive-date=April 19, 2022 |access-date=April 14, 2022 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Osei |first=Sarah |date=November 4, 2020 |title=How Black People Created All Your Favorite Music |url=https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/black-music-genres/ |access-date=April 14, 2022 |website=Highsnobiety |language=en}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|African American history}}{{See also|African immigration to the United States}}

===Colonial era===
{{Main|Slavery in the colonial history of the United States}}
{{See also|Atlantic slave trade}}
[[File:Africa slave Regions.svg|thumb|upright=0.9|right|Major slave trading regions of Africa, 15th–19th centuries]]
The vast majority of those who were enslaved and transported in the [[Atlantic slave trade|transatlantic slave trade]] were people from several [[Middle Africa|Central]] and [[West Africa]]n ethnic groups. They had been captured directly by European slave traders in coastal raids,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zy7fr82/revision/3|title=The transatlantic slave trade|publisher=BBC|access-date=May 6, 2021|archive-date=May 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506163511/https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zy7fr82/revision/3|url-status=live}}</ref> or sold by West African slave traders, or by half-European "merchant princes"<ref>{{cite web|title=Implications of the slave trade for African societies|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zxt3gk7/revision/7|publisher=BBC|access-date=June 12, 2020|location=[[London]]|archive-date=June 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609025050/https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zxt3gk7/revision/7|url-status=live}}</ref> to European slave traders, who brought them to the Americas.<ref>{{cite web|title=The capture and sale of slaves|url=http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ism/slavery/africa/capture_sale.aspx|publisher=[[International Slavery Museum]]|access-date=October 14, 2015|location=[[Liverpool]]|archive-date=December 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229214612/https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ism/slavery/africa/capture_sale.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

The first African slaves in what is now the United States arrived in the early 16th century. Africans were among [[Juan Ponce de León]]'s 1513 voyage that landed in what would become [[Spanish Florida]], and enslaved Africans arrived around the same time to [[Spanish settlement of Puerto Rico|Spanish Puerto Rico]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |first2= |title=African Americans in St. Augustine 1565-1821 - Castillo de San Marcos National Monument (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/casa/learn/historyculture/african-americans-in-st-augustine-1565-1821.htm |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hall |first=Stephanie |date=2019-08-28 |title=Beyond 1619: Slavery and the Cultures of America {{!}} Folklife Today |url=https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2019/08/beyond-1619/ |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=The Library of Congress}}</ref>

Africans also came via [[Captaincy General of Santo Domingo|Santo Domingo]] in the [[Caribbean]] to the [[San Miguel de Gualdape]] colony (most likely located in the [[Winyah Bay]] area of present-day [[South Carolina]]), founded by Spanish explorer [[Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón]] in 1526.<ref name="wright">{{cite journal|last=Robert Wright|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Robert Wright|year=1941|title=Negro Companions of the Spanish Explorers|journal=Phylon|volume=2|issue=4}}</ref> The ill-fated colony was almost immediately disrupted by a fight over leadership, during which the slaves revolted and fled the colony to seek refuge among local [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]]. De Ayllón and many of the colonists died shortly afterward, due to an epidemic and the colony was abandoned. The settlers and the slaves who had not escaped returned to the Island of [[Hispaniola]], whence they had come.<ref name="wright" />

The enslaved explorer [[Estevanico|Esteban]] arrived in Florida with the [[Narváez expedition]] in 1528, a journey that first landed in Santo Domingo and later traveled into [[Spanish Texas]] and the [[Southwestern United States|Southwest]] before ending in Mexico.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Estevanico |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/estevanico |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=Texas State Historical Association |language=en}}</ref>

The marriage between Luisa de Abrego, a free Black domestic servant from [[Seville]], and Miguel Rodríguez, a White [[Segovia]]n conquistador in 1565 in [[St. Augustine, Florida|St. Augustine]] (Spanish Florida), is the first known and recorded Christian marriage anywhere in what is now the continental United States.<ref>{{citation|url=https://laflorida.org/florida-stories/|title=Luisa de Abrego: Marriage, Bigamy, and the Spanish Inquisition|publisher=University of South Florida|author1-link=J. Michael Francis|author=J. Michael Francis|work=La Florida |access-date=July 21, 2018|archive-date=July 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721163646/https://laflorida.org/florida-stories/}}</ref>

[[File:1670 virginia tobacco slaves.jpg|thumb|left|Slaves processing tobacco in 17th-century Virginia, illustration from 1670]]
The first recorded Africans in [[British America|English America]] (including most of the future United States) were [[First Africans in Virginia|"20 and odd negroes"]] who arrived in [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]], [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]] via [[Old Point Comfort|Cape Comfort]] in August 1619 as [[indentured servant]]s.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Frank E. Jr.|last1=Grizzard|author-link1=Frank E. Grizzard Jr.|first2=D. Boyd|last2=Smith |title=Jamestown Colony: A Political, Social, and Cultural History|year=2007|publisher=ABC-CLIO |location=Santa Barbara, CA|isbn=978-1-85109-637-4|page=198}}</ref> As many Virginian settlers began to die from harsh conditions, more and more Africans were brought to work as laborers.<ref>{{cite book|first=Betty|last=Wood|title=The Origins of American Slavery: Freedom and Bondage in the English Colonies|year=1997|publisher=Hill and Wang|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8090-1608-2|chapter=Tobacco Slaves: The Chesapeake Colonies|pages=68–93}}</ref>

An indentured servant (who could be White or Black) would work for several years (usually four to seven) without wages. The status of indentured servants in early Virginia and Maryland was similar to slavery. Servants could be bought, sold, or leased, and they could be physically beaten for disobedience or attempting to running away. Unlike slaves, they were freed after their term of service expired or if their freedom was purchased. Their children did not inherit their status, and on their release from contract they received "a year's provision of corn, double apparel, tools necessary", and a small cash payment called "freedom dues".<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Tim |last=Hashaw |title=The First Black Americans |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070121/29african.htm |magazine=[[U.S. News & World Report]] |date=January 21, 2007 |access-date=February 13, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202205901/https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070121/29african.htm |archive-date=February 2, 2011 }}</ref> Africans could legally raise crops and cattle to purchase their freedom.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-147667728.html?Q=Jamestown|title=The shaping of Black America: forthcoming 400th celebration|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia.com|date=June 26, 2006|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080305014338/http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-147667728.html?Q=Jamestown|archive-date=March 5, 2008}}</ref> They raised families, married other Africans and sometimes [[Interracial marriage|intermarried]] with Native Americans or European [[settler]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070121/29african.htm |title=The First Black Americans  |publisher=Usnews.com – U.S. News & World Report |date=January 29, 2007 |access-date=January 20, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202205901/https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070121/29african.htm |archive-date=February 2, 2011 }}</ref>
[[File:First Slave Auction 1655 Howard Pyle.jpg|thumb|upright|The first slave auction at [[New Amsterdam]] in 1655; illustration from 1895 by [[Howard Pyle]]<ref>{{cite web |title=New Netherland Institute :: Slave Trade |url=https://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/digital-exhibitions/slavery-exhibit/slave-trade/ |website=newnetherlandinstitute.org |publisher=[[New Netherland Institute]] |access-date=July 8, 2019 |archive-date=July 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708145212/https://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/digital-exhibitions/slavery-exhibit/slave-trade/ |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
By the 1640s and 1650s, several African families owned farms around [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]], and some became wealthy by colonial standards and purchased indentured servants of their own. In 1640, the Virginia General Court recorded the earliest documentation of lifetime slavery when they sentenced [[John Punch (slave)|John Punch]], a Negro, to lifetime servitude under his master [[Hugh Gwyn]], for running away.<ref>{{Cite book|title=White Over Black: American attitudes Toward the Negro, 1550–1812|first=Winthrop|last=Jordan|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|year=1968|isbn=978-0-8078-7141-6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=In the Matter of Color: Race and the American Legal Process: The Colonial Period|first=A. Leon|last=Higginbotham|publisher=Greenwood Press|year=1975|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ErPg7VegkcMC&pg=PR7|isbn=978-0-19-502745-7}}</ref>

In [[Spanish Florida]], some [[Spaniards|Spanish]] married or had [[Placage|unions with]] [[Pensacola people|Pensacola]], [[Muscogee|Creek]] or [[List of ethnic groups of Africa|African]] women, both enslaved and free, and their descendants created a mixed-race population of [[mestizo]]s and [[mulatto]]s. The Spanish encouraged slaves from the [[Province of Georgia|colony of Georgia]] to come to Florida as a refuge, promising freedom in exchange for conversion to [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]]. [[Charles II of Spain|King Charles II]] issued a royal proclamation freeing all slaves who fled to Spanish Florida and accepted conversion and baptism. Most went to the area around [[St. Augustine, Florida|St. Augustine]], but escaped slaves also reached Pensacola. St. Augustine had mustered an all-Black [[militia]] unit defending Spanish Florida as early as 1683.<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/sanctuary-in-the-spanish-empire.htm|title=Sanctuary in the Spanish Empire: An African American officer earns freedom in Florida|author=Gene Allen Smith, Texas Christian University|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=April 5, 2018|archive-date=January 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110103703/https://www.nps.gov/articles/sanctuary-in-the-spanish-empire.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Slave Auction Ad.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|left|Reproduction of a handbill advertising a slave auction in [[Charleston, South Carolina]], in 1769]]
One of the Dutch African arrivals, [[Anthony Johnson (American Colonial)|Anthony Johnson]], would later own one of the first Black "slaves", [[John Casor]], resulting from the court ruling of a civil case.<ref name="russell">[https://archive.org/stream/freenegro00russrich#page/28/mode/2up/search/page+29 John Henderson Russell, ''The Free Negro In Virginia, 1619–1865''], Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1913, pp. 29–30, scanned text online.</ref><ref name="Sweet2005">{{Cite book|first=Frank W.|last=Sweet|title=Legal History of the Color Line: The Rise and Triumph of the One-Drop Rule|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kezflCVnongC&pg=PA117|date=July 2005|publisher=Backintyme|isbn=978-0-939479-23-8|page=117|access-date=June 16, 2015|archive-date=January 7, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107112641/https://books.google.com/books?id=kezflCVnongC&pg=PA117#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

The popular conception of a race-based slave system did not fully develop until the 18th century. The [[Dutch West India Company]] introduced slavery in 1625 with the importation of eleven Black slaves into [[New Amsterdam]] (present-day New York City). All the colony's slaves, however, were freed upon its surrender to the English.<ref name="branchandroot">{{Citation|last=Hodges|first=Russel Graham|title=Root and Branch: African Americans in New York and East Jersey, 1613–1863|place=Chapel Hill |publisher=University of North Carolina Press|year=1999}}</ref>

[[Massachusetts Bay Colony|Massachusetts]] was the first English colony to legally recognize slavery in 1641. In 1662, Virginia passed a law that children of enslaved women would take the status of the mother, rather than that of the father, as was the case under [[common law]]. This legal principle was called ''[[partus sequitur ventrum]]''.<ref name="Banks">[https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/fac_pubs/52/ Taunya Lovell Banks, "Dangerous Woman: Elizabeth Key's Freedom Suit – Subjecthood and Racialized Identity in Seventeenth Century Colonial Virginia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024221530/https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/fac_pubs/52/ |date=October 24, 2019 }}, 41 ''Akron Law Review'' 799 (2008), Digital Commons Law, University of Maryland Law School. Retrieved April 21, 2009</ref><ref>PBS. ''Africans in America: the Terrible Transformation.'' "[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1narr3.html From Indentured Servitude to Racial Slavery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070604113622/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1narr3.html |date=June 4, 2007 }}." Accessed September 13, 2011.</ref>

By an act of 1699, Virginia ordered the deportation of all free Blacks, effectively defining all people of African descent who remained in the colony as slaves.<ref name="Wood">[https://books.google.com/books?id=BEd85InqqAIC&pg=PA48 William J. Wood, "The Illegal Beginning of American Slavery"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107112637/https://books.google.com/books?id=BEd85InqqAIC&pg=PA48#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=January 7, 2024 }}, ''ABA Journal'', 1970, American Bar Association</ref> In 1670, the colonial assembly passed a law prohibiting free and baptized Blacks (and Native Americans) from purchasing Christians (in this act meaning White Europeans) but allowing them to buy people "of their owne nation".<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Colored Freemen as Slave Owners in Virginia|first=John H.|last=Russell|journal=Journal of Negro History|date=June 1916|volume=1|issue=3|pages=233–242|doi=10.2307/3035621|jstor=3035621|doi-access=free | issn = 0022-2992}}</ref>

[[File:Runaway slave advertisement 9-15-1774-NY.gif|thumb|right|1774 image of a [[Fugitive slaves in the United States|fugitive slave]] in a New York newspaper, offering a $10 reward ({{Inflation|US|10|1774|fmt=eq}}). Slave owners, including [[George Washington]] and [[Thomas Jefferson]], placed around 200,000 runaway slave adverts in newspapers across the US before slavery ended in 1865.<ref name="Runaway">{{cite news |title=Runaway! How George Washington, Other Slave Owners Used Newspapers to Hunt Escaped Slaves |url=https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2019/10/runaway-how-george-washington-and-other-slave-owners-used-newspapers-to-hunt-escaped-slaves/ |access-date=August 30, 2022 |work=Library of Congress |archive-date=August 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830181110/https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2019/10/runaway-how-george-washington-and-other-slave-owners-used-newspapers-to-hunt-escaped-slaves/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Fugitives"/>]]
In [[Louisiana (New Spain)|Spanish Louisiana]], although there was no movement toward abolition of the African slave trade, Spanish rule introduced a new law called [[Coartación (slavery)|''coartación'']], which allowed slaves to buy their freedom, and that of others.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Berquist |first1=Emily |title=Early Anti-Slavery Sentiment in the Spanish Atlantic World, 1765–1817 |journal=Slavery & Abolition |date=June 2010 |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=181–205 |doi=10.1080/01440391003711073|s2cid=145434799 }}</ref> Although some did not have the money to do so, government measures on slavery enabled the existence of many free Blacks. This caused problems to the Spaniards with the [[French creoles]] (French who had settled in [[New France]]) who had also populated Spanish Louisiana. The French creoles cited that measure as one of the system's worst elements.<ref name="louisiana">{{citation|url=https://www.knowlouisiana.org/entry/slavery-in-spanish-colonial-louisiana|publisher=knowlouisiana.org|title=Slavery in Spanish Colonial Louisiana|access-date=July 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721134124/https://www.knowlouisiana.org/entry/slavery-in-spanish-colonial-louisiana|archive-date=July 21, 2018}}</ref>

First established in South Carolina in 1704, groups of armed White men—[[slave patrol]]s—were formed to monitor enslaved Black people.<ref name="Patrols"/> Their function was to police slaves, especially fugitives. Slave owners feared that slaves might organize revolts or [[slave rebellion]]s, so state militias were formed to provide a military command structure and discipline within the slave patrols. These patrols were used to detect, encounter, and crush any organized slave meetings which might lead to revolts or [[rebellion]]s.<ref name="Patrols">{{cite web|date=July 10, 2019|title=Slave Patrols: An Early Form of American Policing|url=https://lawenforcementmuseum.org/2019/07/10/slave-patrols-an-early-form-of-american-policing/|access-date=June 16, 2020|website=National Law Enforcement Museum|language=en-US|archive-date=June 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609091807/https://lawenforcementmuseum.org/2019/07/10/slave-patrols-an-early-form-of-american-policing/}}</ref>

The earliest African American congregations and churches were organized before 1800 in both northern and southern cities following the [[First Great Awakening|Great Awakening]]. By 1775, Africans made up 20% of the population in the [[Thirteen Colonies|American colonies]], which made them the second largest ethnic group after [[English Americans]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dalhousielodge.org/Thesis/scotstonc.htm|title=Scots to Colonial North Carolina Before 1775|publisher=Dalhousielodge.org|date=n.d.|access-date=April 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219045151/http://www.dalhousielodge.org/Thesis/scotstonc.htm|archive-date=February 19, 2012}}</ref>

===From the American Revolution to the Civil War===
{{Main|Slavery in the United States}}
[[File:Crispus Attucks.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Crispus Attucks]], the first "[[Martyr (politics)|martyr]]" of the [[American Revolution]]. He was of [[Black Indians in the United States|Native American and African American]] descent.]]
During the 1770s, Africans, both enslaved and free, helped rebellious American colonists secure their independence by defeating the British in the [[American Revolutionary War]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/DIASPORA/REV.HTM |title=African Americans in the American Revolution |publisher=Wsu.edu:8080 |date=June 6, 1999 |access-date=January 20, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514085114/https://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/DIASPORA/REV.HTM |archive-date=May 14, 2011 }}</ref> Blacks played a role in both sides in the American Revolution. Activists in the Patriot cause included [[James Armistead]], [[Prince Whipple]], and [[Oliver Cromwell (American soldier)|Oliver Cromwell]].<ref>Benjamin Quarles, ''The Negro in the American revolution'' (1961).</ref><ref>Gary B. Nash, "The African Americans' Revolution" in ''The Oxford Handbook of the American Revolution'' ed. by Jane Kamensky and Edward G. Gray (2012) online at {{doi|10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199746705.013.0015}}</ref> Around 15,000 [[Black Loyalist]]s left with the British after the war, most of them ending up as free Black people in England<ref>{{cite book|last=Braidwood|first=Stephen|
year=1994|title=Black Poor and White Philanthropists: London's Blacks and the Foundation of the Sierra Leone Settlement, 1786–1791|publisher=Liverpool University Press|isbn=978-0-85323-377-0}}</ref> or its colonies, such as the [[Black Nova Scotians]] and the [[Sierra Leone Creole people]].<ref name="Duke Law">{{cite book |last=Finkelman |first=Paul |date=2012 |chapter=Slavery in the United States: Persons or Property? |editor-last=Allain |editor-first=Jean |title=The Legal Understanding of Slavery: From the Historical to the Contemporary |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=105–134 [116] |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199660469.003.0007 |chapter-url=https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/faculty_scholarship/2709/ |isbn=978-0-19-174550-8 |access-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418120304/https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/faculty_scholarship/2709/ }}</ref><ref name=Walker>{{cite book|last=Walker |first=James W. |year=1992 |chapter=Chapter Five: Foundation of Sierra Leone |title=The Black Loyalists: The Search for a Promised Land in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone, 1783–1870 |location=Toronto |publisher=University of Toronto Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/blackloyalistsse0000walk/page/94 94]–114 |url=https://archive.org/details/blackloyalistsse0000walk |url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-8020-7402-7}} Originally published by Longman & Dalhousie University Press (1976).</ref>

In the [[Spanish Louisiana]], Governor [[Bernardo de Gálvez]] organized Spanish free Black men into two militia companies to defend [[New Orleans]] during the American Revolution. They fought in the 1779 battle in which Spain captured [[Baton Rouge]] from the British. Gálvez also commanded them in campaigns against the British outposts in [[Mobile, Alabama|Mobile]], [[Alabama]], and [[Pensacola]], Florida. He recruited slaves for the militia by pledging to free anyone who was seriously wounded and promised to secure a low price for ''coartación'' (buy their freedom and that of others) for those who received lesser wounds. During the 1790s, Governor [[Francisco Luis Héctor de Carondelet|Francisco Luis Héctor, baron of Carondelet]] reinforced local fortifications and recruit even more free Black men for the militia. Carondelet doubled the number of free Black men who served, creating two more militia companies—one made up of Black members and the other of [[pardo]] (mixed race). Serving in the militia brought free Black men one step closer to equality with Whites, allowing them, for example, the right to carry arms and boosting their earning power. However, actually these privileges distanced free Black men from enslaved Blacks and encouraged them to identify with Whites.<ref name="louisiana"/>

Slavery had been tacitly enshrined in the [[US Constitution]] through provisions such as Article I, Section 2, Clause 3, commonly known as the [[3/5 compromise]]. Due to the restrictions of [[Article One of the United States Constitution#Clause 1: Slave trade|Section 9, Clause 1]], Congress was unable to pass an [[Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves]] until 1807.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://abolition.nypl.org/print/us_constitution/ | title=The Abolition of The Slave Trade | publisher=New York Public Library | date=2007 | access-date=August 30, 2021 | author=Finkelman, Paul | archive-date=October 9, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009202811/http://abolition.nypl.org/print/us_constitution/ }}</ref> [[Fugitive slave laws in the United States|Fugitive slave laws]] (derived from the [[Fugitive Slave Clause]] of the Constitution—[[Article Four of the United States Constitution#Clause 3: Fugitive Slave Clause|Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3]]) were passed by Congress in both [[Fugitive Slave Act of 1793|1793]] and [[Fugitive Slave Act of 1850|1850]], guaranteeing the right of a slaveholder to recover an escaped slave anywhere within the US.<ref name="Fugitives">{{cite news |title=Fugitive Slave Laws |url=https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/fugitive-slave-laws/ |access-date=February 18, 2022 |work=Encyclopedia Virginia |archive-date=February 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218075405/https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/fugitive-slave-laws/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Slave owners, who viewed enslaved people as property, ensured that it became a federal crime to aid or assist those who had fled slavery or to interfere with their capture.<ref name="Runaway"/> By that time, slavery, which almost exclusively targeted Black people, had become the most critical and contentious political issue in the [[Antebellum United States]], repeatedly sparking crises and conflicts. Among these were the [[Missouri Compromise]], the [[Compromise of 1850]], the infamous [[Dred Scott decision]], and [[John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry]].

[[File:Frederick Douglass by Samuel J Miller, 1847-52.png|thumb|upright|left|[[Frederick Douglass]], {{circa|1850}}]]

Prior to the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], eight serving presidents had owned slaves, a practice that was legally protected under the US Constitution.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Calore|first1=Paul|title=The Causes of the Civil War: The Political, Cultural, Economic and Territorial Disputes between North and South|date=2008|publisher=McFarland|page=10}}</ref> By 1860, the number of enslaved Black people in the US had grown to between 3.5 and 4.4 million, largely as a result of the [[Atlantic slave trade]]. In addition, 488,000–500,000 Black people lived free (with legislated limits)<ref name="ACS">[https://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=731&issue_id=75 "Background on conflict in Liberia"], Friends Committee on National Legislation, July 30, 2003 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070214051143/https://www.fcnl.org/issues/item.php?item_id=731&issue_id=75|date=February 14, 2007}}</ref> across the country.<ref name="GomezPremdas">{{cite book|last1=Gomez|first1=Edmund Terence|last2=Premdas|first2=Ralph|title=Affirmative Action, Ethnicity and Conflict|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XU_XDHfO3jsC&pg=PA48|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-64506-5|page=48|access-date=September 26, 2015|archive-date=January 7, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107112637/https://books.google.com/books?id=XU_XDHfO3jsC&pg=PA48#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> With legislated limits imposed upon them in addition to "unconquerable prejudice" from Whites according to [[Henry Clay]].<ref>Maggie Montesinos Sale (1997). ''The Slumbering Volcano: American Slave Ship Revolts and the Production of Rebellious Masculinity'', Duke University Press, 1997, p. 264. {{ISBN|0-8223-1992-6}}</ref> In response to these conditions, some free Black people chose to leave the US and emigrate to [[Liberia]] in West Africa.<ref name="ACS"/> Liberia had been established in 1821 as a settlement by the [[American Colonization Society]] (ACS), with many abolitionist members of the ACS believing Black Americans would have greater opportunities for freedom and equality in Africa than they would in the US.<ref name="ACS"/>

Slaves not only represented a significant financial investment for their owners, but they also played a crucial role in producing the country's most valuable product and export: [[King Cotton|cotton]]. Enslaved people were instrumental in the construction of several prominent structures such as, the [[United States Capitol]], the [[White House]] and other [[Slavery in the District of Columbia|Washington, D.C.–based]] buildings.<ref>"[https://emancipation.dc.gov/page/ending-slavery-district-columbia Ending slavery in the District of Columbia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119044541/https://emancipation.dc.gov/page/ending-slavery-district-columbia |date=November 19, 2018 }}", consulted June 20, 2015.</ref> Similar building projects existed in the [[slave states and free states|slave states]].

[[File:Crowe-Slaves Waiting for Sale - Richmond, Virginia.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|''Slaves Waiting for Sale: Richmond, Virginia'', 1853. Note the new clothes. The [[domestic slave trade]] broke up many families, and individuals lost their connection to families and clans.]]

By 1815, the [[Slavery in the United States#Domestic slave trade and forced migration|domestic slave trade]] had become a significant and major economic activity in the United States, continuing to flourish until the 1860s.<ref name="CUP">Marcyliena H. Morgan (2002). [https://books.google.com/books?id=mhJcsiydNe8C&pg=PA20 ''Language, Discourse and Power in African American Culture''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107112637/https://books.google.com/books?id=mhJcsiydNe8C&pg=PA20#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=January 7, 2024 }}, p. 20. Cambridge University Press, 2002.</ref> Historians estimate that nearly one million individuals were subjected to this forced migration, which was often referred to as a new "Middle Passage". The historian [[Ira Berlin]] described this internal forced migration of enslaved people as the "central event" in the life of a slave during the period between the American Revolution and the Civil War. Berlin emphasized that whether enslaved individuals were directly uprooted or lived in constant fear that they or their families would be involuntarily relocated, "the massive deportation traumatized Black people" throughout the US.<ref>Berlin, ''Generations of Captivity'', pp. 161–162.</ref> As a result of this large-scale forced movement, countless individuals lost their connection to families and clans, and many ethnic Africans lost their knowledge of varying tribal origins in Africa.<ref name="CUP" />

The 1863 photograph of [[Wilson Chinn]], a branded slave from Louisiana, along with the famous image of [[Gordon (slave)|Gordon]] and his scarred back, served as two of the earliest and most powerful examples of how the newborn medium of photography could be used to visually document and encapsulate the brutality and cruelty of slavery.<ref>{{cite news|last=Paulson Gage|first=Joan|title=Icons of Cruelty|url=http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/05/icons-of-cruelty/|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 5, 2013|access-date=February 16, 2022|archive-date=August 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823025616/http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/05/icons-of-cruelty/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Auction and negro sales 1864.jpg|thumb|left|Slave trader's business on Whitehall Street [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], 1864 during the American Civil War with a [[Union Army|Union]] corporal of the [[United States Colored Troops]] sitting by the door]]

Emigration of free Blacks to their continent of origin had been proposed since the Revolutionary war. After [[Haiti]] became independent, it tried to recruit African Americans to migrate there after it re-established trade relations with the United States. The Haitian Union was a group formed to promote relations between the countries.<ref name="Nikki">Taylor, Nikki M. ''Frontiers of Freedom: Cincinnati's Black Community, 1802–1868.'' Ohio University Press, 2005, {{ISBN|0-8214-1579-4}}, pp. 50–79.</ref> After riots against Blacks in [[Cincinnati]], its Black community sponsored founding of the [[Wilberforce Colony]], an initially successful settlement of African American immigrants to Canada. The colony was one of the first such independent political entities. It lasted for a number of decades and provided a destination for about 200 Black families emigrating from a number of locations in the United States.<ref name="Nikki"/>

In 1863, during the [[American Civil War]], President [[Abraham Lincoln]] signed the [[Emancipation Proclamation]]. The proclamation declared that all slaves in Confederate-held territory were free.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Emancipation Proclamation|website=Featured Documents|publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration]]|access-date=June 7, 2007|url=https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607051115/https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/|archive-date=June 7, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> Advancing Union troops enforced the proclamation, with Texas being the last state to be emancipated, in 1865.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.juneteenth.com/history.htm|title=History of Juneteenth|publisher=Juneteenth.com|year=2005|access-date=June 7, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070527081441/https://www.juneteenth.com/history.htm|archive-date=May 27, 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Harriet Tubman c1868-69 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Harriet Tubman]], {{circa|1869}}]]
Slavery in a few border states continued until the ratification of the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Thirteenth Amendment]] in December 1865.<ref>[https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=013/llsl013.db&recNum=803 Seward certificate] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721102957/https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=013/llsl013.db&recNum=803 |date=July 21, 2018 }} proclaiming the Thirteenth Amendment to have been adopted as part of the Constitution as of December 6, 1865.</ref> While the [[Naturalization Act of 1790]] limited US citizenship to Whites only,<ref name="Schultz">{{cite book|last=Schultz|first=Jeffrey D.|title=Encyclopedia of Minorities in American Politics: African Americans and Asian Americans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WDV40aK1T-sC&pg=PA284|page=284|year=2002|publisher=Oryx Press|access-date=October 8, 2015|isbn=978-1-57356-148-8|archive-date=February 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204144206/https://books.google.com/books?id=WDV40aK1T-sC&pg=PA284|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Sato">Leland T. Saito (1998). "Race and Politics: Asian Americans, Latinos, and Whites in a Los Angeles Suburb". p. 154. University of Illinois Press</ref> the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|14th Amendment]] (1868) gave Black people citizenship, and the [[Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|15th Amendment]] (1870) gave Black men the right to vote.<ref>{{cite news |title=Black voting rights, 15th Amendment still challenged after 150 years |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/02/03/black-voting-rights-15th-amendment-still-challenged-after-150-years/4587160002/ |access-date=November 19, 2020 |work=USA Today |archive-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425165501/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/02/03/black-voting-rights-15th-amendment-still-challenged-after-150-years/4587160002/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Reconstruction era and Jim Crow===
{{Main|Reconstruction era|Jim Crow laws}}
African Americans quickly set up congregations for themselves, as well as schools and community/civic associations, to have space away from White control or oversight. While the post-war Reconstruction era was initially a time of progress for African Americans, that period ended in 1876. By the late 1890s, Southern states enacted Jim Crow laws to enforce [[racial segregation]] and [[disfranchisement after the American Civil War|disenfranchisement]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Creating Jim Crow: In-Depth Essay |last=Davis |first=Ronald L.F.|website=The History of Jim Crow |publisher=[[New York Life Insurance Company]] |access-date=June 7, 2007 |url=https://www.jimcrowhistory.org/history/creating2.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020614223755/https://jimcrowhistory.org/history/creating2.htm |archive-date=June 14, 2002 }}</ref> Segregation was now imposed with Jim Crow laws, using signs used to show Blacks where they could legally walk, talk, drink, rest, or eat.<ref name="Leon Litwack 2004">Leon Litwack, ''Jim Crow Blues'', Magazine of History (OAH Publications, 2004)</ref> For those places that were racially mixed, non-Whites had to wait until all White customers were dealt with.<ref name="Leon Litwack 2004"/> Most African Americans obeyed the Jim Crow laws, to avoid [[ethnic violence|racially motivated violence]]. To maintain self-esteem and dignity, African Americans such as [[Anthony Overton]] and [[Mary McLeod Bethune]] continued to build their own [[Historically Black colleges and universities|schools]], [[Black church|churches]], banks, social clubs, and other businesses.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jimcrowhistory.org/history/surviving.htm|title=Surviving Jim Crow|last=Davis|first=Ronald|website=The History of Jim Crow|publisher=[[New York Life Insurance Company]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120526204619/http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/history/surviving.htm|archive-date=May 26, 2012}}</ref>

In the last decade of the 19th century, racially discriminatory laws and racial violence aimed at African Americans began to mushroom in the United States, a period often referred to as the "[[nadir of American race relations]]". These discriminatory acts included racial segregation—upheld by the United States Supreme Court decision in ''[[Plessy v. Ferguson]]'' in 1896—which was legally mandated by southern states and nationwide at the local level of government, [[voter suppression in the United States|voter suppression]] or disenfranchisement in the southern states, denial of economic opportunity or resources nationwide, and private acts of violence and mass racial violence aimed at African Americans unhindered or encouraged by government authorities.<ref>''[[Plessy v. Ferguson]]'' {{Ussc|163|537|1896}}</ref>

===Great migration and civil rights movement===
{{Main|Great Migration (African American)|l1=Great Migration|civil rights movement}}
[[File:Omaha courthouse lynching.jpg|thumb|right|A group of White men pose for a 1919 photograph as they stand over the Black victim, Will Brown, who had been [[lynched]] and had his body mutilated and burned during the [[Omaha race riot of 1919]] in [[Omaha, Nebraska]]. Postcards and photographs of lynchings were popular souvenirs in the US.<ref>Moyers, Bill. [https://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11232007/profile2.html "Legacy of Lynching"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829121124/https://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11232007/profile2.html |date=August 29, 2017 }}. PBS. Retrieved July 28, 2016.</ref>]]
The desperate conditions of African Americans in the South sparked the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]] during the first half of the 20th century which led to a growing African American community in [[Northern United States|Northern]] and Western United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/reference/articles/great_migration.html|title=The Great Migration|access-date=October 22, 2007|website=African American World|publisher=[[PBS]]|year=2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012201420/https://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/reference/articles/great_migration.html|archive-date=October 12, 2007}}</ref> The rapid influx of Blacks disturbed the racial balance within Northern and Western cities, exacerbating hostility between both Blacks and Whites in the two regions.<ref>Michael O. Emerson, Christian Smith (2001). "Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America". p. 42. Oxford University Press</ref> The [[Red Summer]] of 1919 was marked by hundreds of deaths and higher casualties across the US as a result of race riots that occurred in more than three dozen cities, such as the [[Chicago race riot of 1919]] and the [[Omaha race riot of 1919]]. Overall, Blacks in Northern and Western cities experienced [[Racism against Black Americans|systemic discrimination]] in a plethora of aspects of life. Within employment, economic opportunities for Blacks were routed to the lowest-status and restrictive in potential mobility. At the 1900 [[Hampton Negro Conference]], Reverend Matthew Anderson said: "...the lines along most of the avenues of wage earning are more rigidly drawn in the North than in the South."<ref>{{cite book|title=Annual Report of the Hampton Negro Conference|chapter=The Economic Aspect of the Negro Problem|first=Anderson|last=Matthew|series=Hampton bulletinno. 9–10, 12–16|editor1-last=Browne|editor1-first=Hugh|editor2-last=Kruse|editor2-first=Edwina|editor4-last=Moton|editor3-last=Walker|editor3-first=Thomas C.|editor4-first=Robert Russa|editor4-link=Robert Russa Moton|editor5-last=Wheelock|editor5-first=Frederick D.|publisher=Hampton Institute Press|location=[[Hampton, Virginia]]|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gkQ9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA39|hdl=2027/chi.14025588?urlappend=%3Bseq=43|volume=4|year=1900|page=39|access-date=November 19, 2020|archive-date=January 7, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107112637/https://books.google.com/books?id=gkQ9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA39#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref> Within the housing market, stronger discriminatory measures were used in correlation to the influx, resulting in a mix of "targeted violence, [[Exclusionary covenants|restrictive covenants]], [[redlining]] and [[racial steering]]".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Tolnay|first=Stewart|title=The African American 'Great Migration' and Beyond|journal=Annual Review of Sociology|year=2003|volume=29|issue=1 |pages=218–221|doi=10.1146/annurev.soc.29.010202.100009|jstor=30036966}}</ref> While many Whites defended their space with violence, intimidation, or legal tactics toward African Americans, many other Whites migrated to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions, a process known as [[White flight]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Seligman|first=Amanda|title=Block by block: neighborhoods and public policy on Chicago's West Side|year=2005|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0-226-74663-0|pages=213–14}}</ref>

[[File:Rosa Parks being fingerprinted by Deputy Sheriff D.H. Lackey after being arrested for refusing to give up her seat for a white passenger on a segregated municipal bus in Montgomery, Alabama.jpg|thumb|left|[[Rosa Parks]] being fingerprinted after being arrested for not giving up her seat on a bus to a White person]]
Despite discrimination, drawing cards for leaving the hopelessness in the South were the growth of African American institutions and communities in Northern cities. Institutions included Black oriented organizations (e.g., [[Urban League]], [[NAACP]]), churches, businesses, and newspapers, as well as successes in the development in African American intellectual culture, music, and popular culture (e.g., [[Harlem Renaissance]], [[Chicago Black Renaissance]]). The [[Cotton Club]] in Harlem was a Whites-only establishment, with Blacks (such as [[Duke Ellington]]) allowed to perform, but to a White audience.<ref>{{cite book |title=Ella Fitzgerald |date=1989 |publisher=Holloway House Publishing |page=27}}</ref> Black Americans also found a new ground for political power in Northern cities, without the enforced disabilities of [[Jim Crow]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Tolnay|first=Stewart|title=The African American 'Great Migration' and Beyond|journal=Annual Review of Sociology|year=2003|volume=29|issue=1 |page=217 |doi=10.1146/annurev.soc.29.010202.100009|jstor=30036966}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Wilkerson |first=Isabel |date=September 2016 |title=The Long-Lasting Legacy of the Great Migration |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/long-lasting-legacy-great-migration-180960118/ |magazine=Smithsonian Magazine |access-date=November 19, 2019 |archive-date=February 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215000512/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/long-lasting-legacy-great-migration-180960118/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

By the 1950s, the [[civil rights movement]] was gaining momentum. A 1955 lynching that sparked public outrage about injustice was that of [[Emmett Till]], a 14-year-old boy from Chicago. Spending the summer with relatives in [[Money, Mississippi]], Till was killed for allegedly having [[wolf-whistle]]d at a White woman. Till had been badly beaten, one of his eyes was gouged out, and he was shot in the head. The visceral response to his mother's decision to have an open-casket funeral mobilized the Black community throughout the US.<ref name="Atlantic">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/02/how-the-blood-of-emmett-till-still-stains-america-today/516891/|title=How 'The Blood of Emmett Till' Still Stains America Today|last=Newkirk II|first=Vann R.|work=The Atlantic|access-date=July 29, 2017|archive-date=July 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728213446/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/02/how-the-blood-of-emmett-till-still-stains-america-today/516891/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Vann Newkirk]] wrote "the trial of his killers became a pageant illuminating the tyranny of [[White supremacy]]".<ref name="Atlantic"/> The state of Mississippi tried two defendants, but they were speedily acquitted by an [[all-White jury]].<ref>Whitfield, Stephen (1991). A Death in the Delta: The story of Emmett Till. pp 41–42. JHU Press.</ref> One hundred days after Emmett Till's murder, [[Rosa Parks]] refused to give up her seat on the bus in Alabama—indeed, Parks told Emmett's mother [[Mamie Till]] that "the photograph of Emmett's disfigured face in the casket was set in her mind when she refused to give up her seat on the Montgomery bus."<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Assassination of Fred Hampton|last=Haas|first=Jeffrey|publisher=Chicago Review Press|year=2011|isbn=978-1-56976-709-2|location=Chicago|page=17}}</ref>

[[File:March on washington Aug 28 1963.jpg|thumb|[[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom]], August 28, 1963, shows civil rights leaders and union leaders.]]
The [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom]] and the conditions which brought it into being are credited with putting pressure on presidents [[Presidency of John F. Kennedy|John F. Kennedy]] and [[Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson|Lyndon B. Johnson]]. Johnson put his support behind passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] that banned discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and [[Trade union|labor unions]], and the [[Voting Rights Act]] of 1965, which expanded federal authority over states to ensure Black political participation through protection of voter registration and elections.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/intro/intro_b.php|title=History of Federal Voting Rights Laws: The Voting Rights Act of 1965|publisher=United States Department of Justice|access-date=August 12, 2017|date=August 6, 2015|archive-date=January 6, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210106161217/https://www.justice.gov/crt/history-federal-voting-rights-laws|url-status=live}}</ref> By 1966, the emergence of the [[Black Power]] movement, which lasted from 1966 to 1975, expanded upon the aims of the civil rights movement to include economic and political self-sufficiency, and freedom from White authority.<ref name="abbeville">{{cite web|url=https://www.abbeville.com/civilrights/washington.asp |title=The March On Washington, 1963 |access-date=October 22, 2007 |publisher=Abbeville Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012121716/https://abbeville.com/civilrights/washington.asp |archive-date=October 12, 2007 }}</ref>

During the post-war period, many African Americans continued to be economically disadvantaged relative to other Americans. Average Black income stood at 54 percent of that of White workers in 1947, and 55 percent in 1962. In 1959, median family income for Whites was $5,600 ({{Inflation|US|5600|1959|fmt=eq}}), compared with $2,900 ({{Inflation|US|2900|1959|fmt=eq}}) for non-White families. In 1965, 43 percent of all Black families fell into the poverty bracket, earning under $3,000 ({{Inflation|US|3000|1965|fmt=eq}}) a year. The 1960s saw improvements in the social and economic conditions of many Black Americans.<ref name="ReferenceA">''The Unfinished Journey: America Since World War II'' by William H. Chafe {{ISBN?}}{{page needed|date=November 2024}}</ref>

From 1965 to 1969, Black family income rose from 54 to 60 percent of White family income. In 1968, 23 percent of Black families earned under $3,000 ({{Inflation|US|3000|1968|fmt=eq}}) a year, compared with 41 percent in 1960. In 1965, 19 percent of Black Americans had incomes equal to the national median, a proportion that rose to 27 percent by 1967. In 1960, the median level of education for Blacks had been 10.8 years, and by the late 1960s, the figure rose to 12.2 years, half a year behind the median for Whites.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

===Post–civil rights era===
{{Main|Post–civil rights era in African-American history}}
[[File:Crowd at JJ Hill - Philando Castile (27547111053).jpg|thumb|[[Black Lives Matter]] protest in response to the [[Killing of Philando Castile|fatal shooting of Philando Castile]] in July 2016]]

Politically and economically, African Americans have made substantial strides during the post–civil rights era. In 1967, [[Thurgood Marshall]] became the [[List of African-American federal judges|first African American]] Supreme Court Justice. In 1968, [[Shirley Chisholm]] became the first Black woman elected to the [[United States Congress|US Congress]]. In 1989, [[Douglas Wilder]] became the first African American elected governor in US history. [[Clarence Thomas]] succeeded Marshall to become the second African American Supreme Court Justice in 1991. In 1992, [[Carol Moseley-Braun]] of [[Illinois]] became the first African American woman elected to the [[United States Senate|US Senate]]. There were 8,936 Black officeholders in the United States in 2000, showing a net increase of 7,467 since 1970. In 2001, there were 484 Black mayors.<ref>{{citation|last=Jordan|first=John H.|title=Black Americans 17th Century to 21st Century: Black Struggles and Successes|publisher=[[Trafford Publishing]]|page=3|year=2013}}</ref>

In 2005, the number of Africans immigrating to the United States, in a single year, surpassed the peak number who were involuntarily brought to the United States during the [[Atlantic slave trade]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Roberts|first=Sam|date=February 21, 2005|title=More Africans Enter U.S. Than in Days of Slavery|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/21/nyregion/21africa.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050912203241/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/21/nyregion/21africa.html |archive-date=September 12, 2005 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=October 26, 2014}}</ref> On November 4, 2008, [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[United States Senator|Senator]] [[Barack Obama]]—the son of a White American mother and a Kenyan father—[[2008 United States presidential election|defeated]] [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] Senator [[John McCain]] to become the first African American to be elected president. At least 95 percent of African American voters voted for Obama.<ref name=CNN-Obama>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/exit.polls/|title=Exit polls: Obama wins big among young, minority voters|date=November 4, 2008|publisher=CNN|access-date=June 22, 2010|archive-date=August 10, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100810011229/http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/04/exit.polls/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Politico-Obama>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2008/11/exit-polls-how-obama-won-015297|title=Exit polls: How Obama won|last=Kuhn|first=David Paul|date=November 5, 2008|website=[[Politico (newspaper)|Politico]]|access-date=June 22, 2010|archive-date=March 26, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326033743/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15297.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He also received overwhelming support from young and educated Whites, a majority of [[Asian Americans|Asians]],<ref name=exitpoll>{{cite news|url=https://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/exit-polls.html|title=Exit polls|year=2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 6, 2012|archive-date=August 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816170447/http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/exit-polls.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanics]],<ref name=exitpoll/> picking up a number of new states in the Democratic electoral column.<ref name=CNN-Obama/><ref name=Politico-Obama/> Obama lost the overall White vote, although he won a larger proportion of White votes than any previous non-incumbent Democratic presidential candidate since [[Jimmy Carter]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Noah|first=Timothy|url=https://www.slate.com/id/2204251/|title=What We Didn't Overcome|work=Slate|date=November 10, 2008|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124183415/https://www.slate.com/id/2204251/|archive-date=January 24, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Obama was [[2012 United States presidential election|reelected]] for a second and [[term limit|final term]], by a similar margin on November 6, 2012.<ref>{{cite news |last=Barnes |first=Robert |title=Obama wins a second term as U.S. president |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/after-grueling-campaign-polls-open-for-election-day-2012/2012/11/06/d1c24c98-2802-11e2-b4e0-346287b7e56c_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 6, 2012 |access-date=August 12, 2017 |archive-date=April 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417162701/http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/after-grueling-campaign-polls-open-for-election-day-2012/2012/11/06/d1c24c98-2802-11e2-b4e0-346287b7e56c_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2021, [[Kamala Harris]], the daughter of a Jamaican father and Indian mother, became the first woman, the first African American, and the first [[Asian American]] to serve as [[Vice President of the United States]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Blood|first1=Michael R.|last2=Riccardi|first2=Nicholas|date=December 5, 2020|title=Biden officially secures enough electors to become president|url=https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-elections-electoral-college-3e0b852c3cfadf853b08aecbfc3569fa|access-date=March 2, 2021|work=Associated Press|archive-date=December 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208201209/https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-elections-electoral-college-3e0b852c3cfadf853b08aecbfc3569fa|url-status=live}}</ref>{{failed verification|reason=source doesn't mention Harris|date=April 2025}} In June 2021, [[Juneteenth]], a day which commemorates the end of slavery in the US, became a federal holiday.<ref name="Juneteenth">{{Cite web |date=June 17, 2021 |title=President Biden Signs the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act Into Law |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUjBhwFcQ4U&t=3811s |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/lUjBhwFcQ4U |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |via=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{Further|Historical racial and ethnic demographics of the United States#Black population as a percentage of the total population by U.S. region and state (1790–2010)|List of U.S. communities with African-American majority populations|List of U.S. counties with African-American majority populations|List of U.S. states by African-American population}}
[[File:Black Americans population pyramid in 2020.svg|thumb|Black Americans (alone) population pyramid in 2020]]
[[File:African Americans by state.svg|thumb|<div style="text-align: center">Proportion of African Americans in each US state, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico as of the 2020 United States Census</div>]]
[[File:Black Americans by county.png|thumb|<div style="text-align: center">Proportion of [[Black Americans]] (alone or in combination) in each county of the [[List of states and territories of the United States|fifty states]], [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[Puerto Rico]] as of the [[2020 United States census]]</div>]]
[[File:2020_Census - Majority-Black Counties in the United States.png|thumb|<div style="text-align: center">[[List of majority-Black counties in the United States|Majority Black American counties]] in the United States according to the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]]</div>]]
[[File:Absenceblacks.png|thumb|US census map indicating US counties with fewer than 25 Black or African American inhabitants]]
[[File:Percentage of African American population living in the American South.png|thumb|Graph showing the percentage of the African American population living in the American South, 1790–2010. Note [[Great Migration (African American)|the major declines between 1910 and 1940]] and [[Second Great Migration (African American)|1940–1970]], and [[New Great Migration|the reverse trend post-1970]]. Nonetheless, the absolute majority of the African American population has always lived in the American South.]]

In 1790, when the [[1790 United States census|first US census]] was taken, Africans (including slaves and free people) numbered about 760,000—about 19.3% of the population. In 1860, at the start of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the African American population had increased to 4.4 million, but the percentage rate dropped to 14% of the overall population of the country. The vast majority were slaves, with only 488,000 counted as "[[Freedman|freemen]]". By 1900, the Black population had doubled and reached 8.8 million.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen1990/wepeople/we-1.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/prod/cen1990/wepeople/we-1.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title= We the Americans: Blacks|website= US Bureau of Census|access-date= May 3, 2019}}</ref>

In 1910, about 90% of African Americans lived in the South. Large numbers began migrating north looking for better job opportunities and living conditions, and to escape [[Jim Crow laws]] and racial violence. The [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]], as it was called, spanned the 1890s to the 1970s. From 1916 through the 1960s, more than 6 million [[Black people]] moved north. But in the 1970s and 1980s, [[New Great Migration|that trend reversed]], with more African Americans moving south to the [[Sun Belt]] than leaving it.<ref>{{cite book|title=Time: Almanac 2005|publisher=Time Incorporated Home Entertainment|page=[https://archive.org/details/timealmanac2006w00brun/page/377 377]|url=https://archive.org/details/timealmanac2006w00brun|url-access=registration|date=December 7, 2004|isbn=978-1-932994-41-4}}</ref>

The African American population in the United States declined over time as a percentage of the total population until 1930, and has been rising since then:
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:85%;"
|+ African Americans in the United States<ref>This table gives the African American population in the United States over time, based on US census figures. (Numbers from years 1920 to 2000 are based on US census figures as given by the ''Time Almanac'' of 2005, p. 377.)</ref>
! Year||Number||% of total<br />population||% Change<br />(10 yr)||Slaves||% in slavery
|-
|1790||757,208||19.3% (highest)||&nbsp;–||697,681||92%
|-
|1800||1,002,037||18.9%||32.3%||893,602||89%
|-
|1810||1,377,808||19.0%||37.5%||1,191,362||86%
|-
|1820||1,771,656||18.4%||28.6%||1,538,022||87%
|-
|1830||2,328,642||18.1%||31.4%||2,009,043||86%
|-
|1840||2,873,648||16.8%||23.4%||2,487,355||87%
|-
|1850||3,638,808||15.7%||26.6%||3,204,287||88%
|-
|1860||4,441,830||14.1%||22.1%||3,953,731||89%
|-
|1870||4,880,009||12.7%||9.9%||&nbsp;–||&nbsp;–
|-
|1880||6,580,793||13.1%||34.9%||&nbsp;–||&nbsp;–
|-
|1890||7,488,788||11.9%||13.8%||&nbsp;–||&nbsp;–
|-
|1900||8,833,994||11.6%||18.0%||&nbsp;–||&nbsp;–
|-
|1910||9,827,763||10.7%||11.2%||&nbsp;–||&nbsp;–
|-
|1920||10.5&nbsp;million||9.9%||6.8%||&nbsp;–||&nbsp;–
|-
|1930||11.9&nbsp;million||9.7% (lowest)||13%||&nbsp;–||&nbsp;–
|-
|1940||12.9&nbsp;million||9.8%||8.4%||&nbsp;–||&nbsp;–
|-
|1950||15.0&nbsp;million||10.0%||16%||&nbsp;–||&nbsp;–
|-
|1960||18.9&nbsp;million||10.5%||26%||&nbsp;–||&nbsp;–
|-
|1970||22.6&nbsp;million||11.1%||20%||&nbsp;–||&nbsp;–
|-
|1980||26.5&nbsp;million||11.7%||17%||&nbsp;–||&nbsp;–
|-
|1990||30.0&nbsp;million||12.1%||13%||&nbsp;–||&nbsp;–
|-
|2000||34.6&nbsp;million||12.3%||15%||&nbsp;–||&nbsp;–
|-
|2010||38.9&nbsp;million||12.6%||12%||&nbsp;–||&nbsp;–
|-
|2020||41.1&nbsp;million||12.4%||5.6%||&nbsp;–||&nbsp;–
|}

By 1990, the African American population reached about 30 million and represented 12% of the US population, roughly the same proportion as in 1900.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/aap/timelin2.html|title=Time Line of African American History, 1881–1900|publisher=Lcweb2.loc.gov|date=n.d.|access-date=April 20, 2012|archive-date=May 19, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120519110018/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/aap/timelin2.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align: right; font-size: 95%;"
|+ African American groups in the USA
! rowspan="2" |Years
!colspan=2|Non-Hispanic Blacks
!colspan=2|[[Black Hispanic and Latino Americans|Black Hispanics]]
! rowspan="2" |Total
|-
! #
! %
! #
! %
|-
|2020
| 39,940,338
| 12.1%
| 1,163,862
| 0.3%
| 41,104,200
|-
|}

At the time of the [[2000 United States census|2000 US census]], 54.8% of African Americans lived in the [[Southern United States|South]]. In that year, 17.6% of African Americans lived in the [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]] and 18.7% in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]], while only 8.9% lived in the [[Western United States|Western]] states. The west does have a sizable Black population in certain areas, however. California, the nation's most populous state, has the fifth largest African American population, only behind New York, Texas, Georgia, and Florida. According to the 2000 census, approximately 2.05% of [[Black Hispanic and Latino Americans|African Americans identified as Hispanic or Latino in origin]],<ref name="tthqvu">{{cite web |author=American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau |title=United States – QT-P4. Race, Combinations of Two Races, and Not Hispanic or Latino: 2000 |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_QTP4&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-redoLog=false |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606042749/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_QTP4&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-redoLog=false |archive-date=June 6, 2011 |access-date=January 20, 2011 |publisher=}}</ref> many of whom may be of [[Afro-Brazilians|Brazilian]], [[Afro–Puerto Ricans|Puerto Rican]], [[Dominican Americans|Dominican]], [[Afro-Cubans|Cuban]], [[Haitian Americans|Haitian]], or other [[Afro–Latin Americans|Latin American]] descent. The only self-reported ''ancestral'' groups larger than African Americans are the [[Irish Americans|Irish]] and [[German Americans|Germans]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf|title=c2kbr01-2.qxd|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040920132346/https://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf|archive-date=September 20, 2004}}</ref>
[[File:Harlem Street rehearsal (125th street).jpg|thumb|upright=1|[[Marching band|Band rehearsal]] on [[125th Street (Manhattan)|125th Street]] in [[Harlem]], the historic epicenter of African American culture. New York City is home by a significant margin to the world's largest [[Black people|Black]] population of any city outside [[Africa]], at over 2.2 million. [[African immigration to the United States|African immigration to New York City]] is now driving the growth of the city's Black population.<ref name=AfricanMigrationNYC>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/13/nyregion/west-african-immigrants-nyc.html|title=African and Invisible: The Other New York Migrant Crisis|author=Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 13, 2023|access-date=January 26, 2023|archive-date=January 25, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230125220924/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/13/nyregion/west-african-immigrants-nyc.html|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

According to the [[2010 United States census|2010 census]], nearly 3% of people who self-identified as Black had recent ancestors who immigrated from another country. Self-reported [[West Indian Americans|non-Hispanic Black immigrants from the Caribbean]], mostly from Jamaica and Haiti, represented 0.9% of the US population, at 2.6 million.<ref name="factfinder2.census.gov">[https://archive.today/20150118121537/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_B04003&prodType=table "Total Ancestry Reported"], American FactFinder.</ref> Self-reported Black immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa also represented 0.9%, at about 2.8 million.<ref name="factfinder2.census.gov"/> Additionally, self-identified [[Black Hispanic and Latino Americans|Black Hispanics]] represented 0.4% of the United States population, at about 1.2 million people, largely found within the Puerto Rican and Dominican communities.<ref>[https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-04.pdf "The Hispanic Population: 2010"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127044304/https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-04.pdf |date=January 27, 2018 }}, 2010 Census Briefs. U.S. Census Bureau, May 2011.</ref> Self-reported Black immigrants hailing from other countries in the Americas, such as Brazil and Canada, as well as several European countries, represented less than 0.1% of the population. Mixed-race Hispanic and non-Hispanic Americans who identified as being part Black, represented 0.9% of the population. Of the 12.6% of United States residents who identified as Black, around 10.3% were "native Black American" or ethnic African Americans, who are direct descendants of West/Central Africans brought to the US as slaves. These individuals make up well over 80% of all Blacks in the country. When including [[Multiracial Americans|people of mixed-race origin]], about 13.5% of the US population self-identified as Black or "mixed with Black".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_DP05&prodType=table|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212055927/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_DP05&prodType=table|archive-date=February 12, 2020|title=American FactFinder – Results|website=factfinder2.census.gov}}</ref> However, according to the US Census Bureau, evidence from the 2000 census indicates that many African and Caribbean immigrant ethnic groups do not identify as "Black, African Am., or Negro". Instead, they wrote in their own respective ethnic groups in the "Some Other Race" write-in entry. As a result, the census bureau devised a new, separate "African American" ethnic group category in 2010 for ethnic African Americans.<ref name="Tcpms">{{cite web|title=2010 Census Planning Memoranda Series|url=https://www.census.gov/2010census/pdf/2010_Census_Race_HO_AQE.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/2010census/pdf/2010_Census_Race_HO_AQE.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=November 3, 2014}}</ref> [[Nigerian Americans]] and [[Ethiopian Americans]] were the most reported sub-Saharan African groups in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Over Half of Those Who Reported Their Race as Black or African American Identified as African American, Jamaican or Haitian |url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2023/10/2020-census-dhc-a-black-population.html |access-date=March 3, 2025 |website=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]}}</ref>

In the 2020 census, the African American population was undercounted at an estimated rate of 3.3%, up from 2.1% in 2010.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/10/2020-census-undercount-black-people-hispanics-native-americans-00016138 | first=Samuel | last=Benson | title=Census undercounted Black people, Hispanics and Native Americans in 2020 | website=[[Politico]] | date=March 10, 2022 | access-date=July 30, 2022 | archive-date=July 30, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220730024457/https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/10/2020-census-undercount-black-people-hispanics-native-americans-00016138 | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Proportion in each county===
<gallery mode="packed" caption="African American (Alone) population distribution over time">
File:Black Americans 1790 County.png|1790
File:Black Americans 1800 County.png|1800
File:Black American 1810 County.png|1810
File:Black Americans 1820 County.png|1820
File:Black Americans 1830 County.png|1830
File:Black Americans 1840 County.png|1840
File:Black Americans 1850 County.png|1850
File:Black Americans 1860 County.png|1860
File:Black Americans 1870 County.png|1870
File:Black Americans 1880 County.png|1880
File:Black Americans 1890 County.png|1890
File:Black Americans 1900 County.png|1900
File:Black Americans 1910 County.png|1910
File:Black Americans 1920 County.png|1920
File:Black Americans 1930 County.png|1930
File:Black Americans 1940 County.png|1940
File:Black Americans 1970 County.png|1970
File:Black Americans 1980 County.png|1980
File:Black Americans 1990 County.png|1990
File:Black Americans 2000 County.png|2000
File:Black Americans 2010 County.png|2010
File:Black Americans 2020 County.png|2020
</gallery>

[[Texas]] has the largest African American population by state. Followed by Texas is [[Florida]], with 3.8 million, and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], with 3.6 million.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/02/10/key-facts-about-black-americans/ |title=Key facts about the nation's 47.2 million Black Americans |first1=Mark Hugo |last1=Lopez |first2=Mohamad |last2=Moslimani |date=February 10, 2023 |website=Pew Research Center |access-date=July 27, 2023 |archive-date=July 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727125139/https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/02/10/key-facts-about-black-americans/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Mississippi]] is the state with the highest African American share of the population at 39%. Followed by Mississippi is [[Louisiana]] at 34%, and Georgia at 32%.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

===US cities===
{{Further|List of U.S. cities with large Black populations|List of U.S. metropolitan areas with large African-American populations}}

After 100 years of African Americans leaving the south in large numbers seeking better opportunities and treatment in the west and north, a movement known as the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]], there is now a reverse trend, called the [[New Great Migration]]. As with the earlier Great Migration, the New Great Migration is primarily directed toward cities and large urban areas, such as [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]], [[Houston]], [[Dallas]], [[Fort Worth]], [[Huntsville, Alabama|Huntsville]], [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], [[Tampa]], [[San Antonio]], [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]], [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], [[Nashville]], [[Jacksonville]], and so forth.<ref name="auto1">Greg Toppo and Paul Overberg, [https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/02/census-great-migration-reversal/21818127/ "After nearly 100 years, Great Migration begins reversal"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216191513/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/02/census-great-migration-reversal/21818127/ |date=February 16, 2021 }}, ''USA Today'', Feb 2, 2015.</ref> A growing percentage of African Americans from the west and north are migrating to the southern region of the US for economic and cultural reasons. In 2020, [[New York metropolitan area|New York City]], [[Chicago metropolitan area|Chicago]], and [[Greater Los Angeles|Los Angeles]] metropolitan areas had the highest decline in African Americans, while [[Metro Atlanta|Atlanta]], [[Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex|Dallas]], and [[Greater Houston|Houston]] had the highest increase respectively.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Felton |first1=Emmanuel |last2=Harden |first2=John D. |last3=Schaul |first3=Kevin |title=Still looking for a 'Black mecca,' the new Great Migration |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/01/14/black-migration-south/ |publisher=Washtington Post |access-date=8 September 2025}}</ref><ref>Felton&nbsp;Emmanuel (January  2022).</ref> Despite recent declines, as of 2020, the [[New York City metropolitan area]] still has the largest African American metropolitan population in the United States and the only to have over 3 million African Americans.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Closson |first1=Troy |last2=Hong |first2=Nicole |date=2023-01-31 |title=Why Black Families Are Leaving New York, and What It Means for the City |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/31/nyregion/black-residents-nyc.html |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=October 21, 2023 |archive-date=October 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028123130/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/31/nyregion/black-residents-nyc.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Top Metropolitan Areas In The USA, By African American Population |url=https://www.nationalmediaspots.com/top-metropolitan-areas-in-the-usa,-by-african-american-population.php |website=National Media Spots |date=2020 |access-date=October 20, 2023 |archive-date=October 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021172251/https://www.nationalmediaspots.com/top-metropolitan-areas-in-the-usa,-by-african-american-population.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

Among [[List of U.S. cities with large Black populations|cities of 100,000 or more]], [[South Fulton, Georgia]] had the highest percentage of Black residents of any large US city in 2020, with 93%. Other large cities with African American majorities include [[Jackson, Mississippi]] (80%), [[Detroit, Michigan]] (80%), [[Birmingham, Alabama]] (70%), [[Miami Gardens, Florida]] (67%), [[Memphis, Tennessee]] (63%), [[Montgomery, Alabama]] (62%), [[Baltimore|Baltimore, Maryland]] (60%), [[Augusta, Georgia]] (59%), [[Shreveport, Louisiana]] (58%), [[New Orleans, Louisiana]] (57%), [[Macon, Georgia]] (56%), [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]] (55%), [[Hampton, Virginia]] (53%), [[Newark, New Jersey]] (53%), [[Mobile, Alabama]] (53%), [[Cleveland, Ohio]] (52%), [[Brockton, Massachusetts]] (51%), and [[Savannah, Georgia]] (51%).

[[Claiborne County, Mississippi]] is the Blackest [[county]] in the U.S. at 87% Black in 2020.  [[Cook County, Illinois]] has the largest Black population in the U.S. with 1,185,601 Black residents in 2020.

The nation's most affluent community with an African American majority resides in [[View Park–Windsor Hills, California]], with an annual median household income of $159,618 and median home price of about $1.5 million in 2025.<ref>https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/View-Park-Windsor-Hills_CA/overview</ref><ref>[https://atlantablackstar.com/2014/01/03/10-richest-black-communities-america/5/ "10 of the Richest Black Communities in America"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801103620/http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/01/03/10-richest-black-communities-america/5/ |date=August 1, 2018 }}, ''Atlanta Black Star'', January 3, 2014.</ref> Other largely affluent and African American communities include [[Prince George's County, Maryland|Prince George's County]] (namely [[Mitchellville, Maryland|Mitchellville]], [[Woodmore, Maryland|Woodmore]], [[Upper Marlboro, Maryland|Upper Marlboro]]) and [[Charles County, Maryland|Charles County]] in Maryland,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/prince-georges-county/charles-county-surpasses-prince-georges-as-wealthiest-black-county-in-us-post/3095774/ | title=Charles County Surpasses Prince George's as Wealthiest Black County in US: Post | date=July 8, 2022 | access-date=January 7, 2023 | archive-date=January 7, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230107130730/https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/prince-georges-county/charles-county-surpasses-prince-georges-as-wealthiest-black-county-in-us-post/3095774/ | url-status=live }}</ref> [[DeKalb County, Georgia|DeKalb County]] (namely [[Stonecrest, Georgia|Stonecrest]], [[Lithonia, Georgia|Lithonia]], [[Smoke Rise, Georgia|Smoke Rise]]) and South Fulton in Georgia, [[Charles City County, Virginia|Charles City County]] in Virginia, [[Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles|Baldwin Hills]] in California, [[Hillcrest, Rockland County, New York|Hillcrest]] and [[Uniondale, New York|Uniondale]] in New York, and [[Cedar Hill, Texas|Cedar Hill]], [[DeSoto, Texas|DeSoto]], and [[Missouri City, Texas|Missouri City]] in Texas. Additionally, there is a significant affluent Black presence in the southern Chicago suburbs of [[Cook County, Illinois]]. A report from the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) indicated that 5 of the top 10 municipalities nationwide (with at least 500 Black households) registering the highest Black homeownership rates were in this area - including [[Olympia Fields, Illinois|Olympia Fields]], [[South Holland, Illinois|South Holland]], [[Flossmoor, Illinois|Flossmoor]], [[Matteson, Illinois|Matteson]], and [[Lynwood, Illinois|Lynwood]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-08-16 |title=Where Black Homeownership Is The Norm: Several Chicago suburbs are exceptions to the national trend. |url=https://www.nareb.com/where-black-homeownership-is-the-norm-several-chicago-suburbs-are-exceptions-to-the-national-trend/ |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=National Association of Real Estate Brokers |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Queens|Queens County, New York]] is the only county with a population of 65,000 or more where African Americans have a higher median household income than White Americans.<ref name=Queens/>

[[Seatack, Virginia]] is currently the oldest African American community in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://rigell.house.gov/videos/?VideoID=Nkfj0D-Qw78|title=Video Gallery – U.S. Representative Scott Rigell|access-date=July 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821175636/https://rigell.house.gov/videos/?VideoID=Nkfj0D-Qw78|archive-date=August 21, 2016}}</ref> It survives today with a vibrant and active civic community.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archives.thenewjournalandguide.com/community/item/3764-seatack-community-celebrates-200%20-years-with-banquet|title=Seatack Community Celebrates 200+ Years With Banquet}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Education===
{{Main|History of African-American education}}
[[File:Former Slave Reading.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Former slave reading, 1870]]

During slavery, [[Anti-literacy laws in the United States|anti-literacy laws]] were enacted in the US that prohibited education for Black people. Slave owners saw literacy as a threat to the institution of slavery. As a North Carolina statute stated, "Teaching slaves to read and write, tends to excite dissatisfaction in their minds, and to produce insurrection and [[slave rebellion|rebellion]]."<ref>{{cite book|title=An Inquiry Into the Character and Tendency of the American Colonization, and American Anti-slavery Societies|author-link=William Jay (jurist)|first=William|last=Jay|year=1835|edition=2nd|location=New York|publisher=[[Dudley Leavitt (publisher)|Leavitt, Lord & Co.]]|url=https://archive.org/details/aninquiryintoch05jaygoog/page/n6/mode/2up}}</ref>

When slavery was finally abolished in 1865, public educational systems were expanding across the country. By 1870, around seventy-four institutions in the south provided a form of advanced education for African American students. By 1900, over a hundred programs at these schools provided training for Black professionals, including teachers. Many of the students at Fisk University, including the young [[W. E. B. Du Bois]], taught school during the summers to support their studies.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fultz |first1=Michael |title=Determination and Persistence: Building the African American Teacher Corps through Summer and Intermittent Teaching, 1860s–1890s |journal=History of Education Quarterly |date=February 2021 |volume=61 |issue=1 |pages=4–34 |doi=10.1017/heq.2020.65|doi-access=free }}</ref>

African Americans were very concerned to provide quality education for their children, but White supremacy limited their ability to participate in educational policymaking on the political level. State governments soon moved to undermine their citizenship by restricting their right to vote. By the late 1870s, Blacks were disenfranchised and segregated across the American South.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=James D. |title=The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860–1935 |date=1988 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |location=Chapel Hill |isbn=0-8078-1793-7}}</ref> White politicians in Mississippi and other states withheld financial resources and supplies from Black schools. Nevertheless, the presence of Black teachers, and their engagement with their communities both inside and outside the classroom, ensured that Black students had access to education despite these external constraints.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Span |first1=Christopher M. |title=From Cotton Field to Schoolhouse: African American Education in Mississippi, 1862–1875 |date=2009 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |location=Chapel Hill}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ladson-Billings |first1=Gloria |last2=Anderson |first2=James D. |title=Policy Dialogue: Black Teachers of the Past, Present, and Future |journal=History of Education Quarterly |date=February 3, 2021 |volume=61 |issue=1 |pages=94–102 |doi=10.1017/heq.2020.68|doi-access=free }}</ref>

During [[World War II]], demands for unity and racial tolerance on the home front provided an opening for the first Black history curriculum in the country.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Field |first1=Sherry |title=Intercultural Education and Negro History during the Second World War |journal=Journal of Midwest History of Education Society |date=1995 |volume=22 |pages=75–85}}</ref> For example, during the early 1940s, Madeline Morgan, a Black teacher in the Chicago public schools, created a curriculum for students in grades one through eight highlighting the contributions of Black people to the history of the United States. At the close of the war, Chicago's Board of Education downgraded the curriculum's status from mandatory to optional.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dennis |first1=Ashley D. |title="The Intellectual Emancipation of the Negro": Madeline Morgan and the Mandatory Black History Curriculum in Chicago during World War II |journal=History of Education Quarterly |date=May 2022 |volume=62 |issue=2 |pages=136–160 |doi=10.1017/heq.2022.2|s2cid=248406635 }}</ref>

Predominantly Black schools for kindergarten through twelfth grade students were common throughout the US before the 1970s. By 1972, however, desegregation efforts meant that only 25% of Black students were in schools with more than 90% non-White students. However, since then, a trend towards re-segregation affected communities across the country: by 2011, 2.9 million African American students were in such overwhelmingly minority schools, including 53% of Black students in school districts that were formerly under desegregation orders.<ref>Kozol, J. [https://www.thenation.com/doc/20051219/kozol "Overcoming Apartheid", ''The Nation''. December 19, 2005. p. 26] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325161054/http://www.thenation.com/doc/20051219/kozol |date=March 25, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url = https://www.propublica.org/article/segregation-now-full-text|title = Segregation Now|last = Hannah-Jones|first = Nikole|date = April 16, 2014|work = ProPublica|access-date = December 14, 2015|archive-date = December 13, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151213193910/https://www.propublica.org/article/segregation-now-full-text|url-status = live}}</ref>

As late as 1947, about one third of African Americans over 65 were considered to lack the literacy to read and write their own names. By 1969, [[illiteracy]] as it had been traditionally defined, had been largely eradicated among younger African Americans.<ref>Public Information Office, United States Census Bureau. [https://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2000/cb00-151.html High School Completions at All-Time High, Census Bureau Reports] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327134138/http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2000/cb00-151.html |date=March 27, 2010 }}. September 15, 2000.</ref>

[[File:Neil deGrasse Tyson - NAC Nov 2005.jpg|thumb|upright|Astrophysicist [[Neil deGrasse Tyson]] is director of New York City's [[Hayden Planetarium]].]]
Between 1995 and 2009, freshmen college enrollment for African Americans increased by 73 percent and only 15 percent for Whites.<ref>Michael A. Fletcher, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/minorities-and-whites-follow-unequal-college-paths-report-says/2013/07/31/61c18f08-f9f3-11e2-8752-b41d7ed1f685_story.html "Minorities and whites follow unequal college paths, report says"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223225704/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/minorities-and-whites-follow-unequal-college-paths-report-says/2013/07/31/61c18f08-f9f3-11e2-8752-b41d7ed1f685_story.html |date=December 23, 2015 }}, ''The Washington Post'', July 31, 2013.</ref> Black women are enrolled in college more than any other race and gender group, leading all with 9.7% enrolled according to the 2011 US census.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/black-women-become-most-educated-group-in-us-a7063361.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604003454/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/black-women-become-most-educated-group-in-us-a7063361.html |archive-date=June 4, 2016 |url-access=limited |url-status=live|title=Black women become most educated group in US|date=June 3, 2016|access-date=July 18, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/hhes/school/data/cps/2011/tables.html |title=CPS October 2011 – Detailed Tables |access-date=December 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118080151/http://www.census.gov/hhes/school/data/cps/2011/tables.html |archive-date=January 18, 2017 }}</ref> 
The average high school graduation rate of Blacks in the United States has steadily increased to 71% in 2013.<ref>Allie Bidwell, [https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2015/03/16/federal-data-show-racial-gap-in-high-school-graduation-rates-is-closing "Racial Gaps in High School Graduation Rates Are Closing"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706054212/https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2015/03/16/federal-data-show-racial-gap-in-high-school-graduation-rates-is-closing |date=July 6, 2017 }}, ''U.S. News'', March 16, 2015.</ref> Separating this statistic into component parts shows it varies greatly depending upon the state and the school district examined. 38% of Black males graduated in the state of New York but in Maine 97% graduated and exceeded the White male graduation rate by 11 percentage points.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Alonso|first1=Andres A.|title=Black Male Graduation Rates|url=https://blackboysreport.org/national-summary/black-male-graduation-rates|website=blackboysreport.org|publisher=The Schott Foundation for Public Education|access-date=September 24, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016154552/http://blackboysreport.org/national-summary/black-male-graduation-rates|archive-date=October 16, 2014}}</ref> In much of the southeastern United States and some parts of the southwestern United States the graduation rate of White males was in fact below 70% such as in Florida where 62% of White males graduated from high school. Examining specific school districts paints an even more complex picture. In the Detroit school district, the graduation rate of Black males was 20% but 7% for White males. In the New York City school district 28% of Black males graduate from high school compared to 57% of White males. In Newark County{{Where|date=September 2014}} 76% of Black males graduated compared to 67% for White males. Further academic improvement has occurred in 2015. Roughly 23% of all Blacks have bachelor's degrees. In 1988, 21% of Whites had obtained a bachelor's degree versus 11% of Blacks. In 2015, 23% of Blacks had obtained a bachelor's degree versus 36% of Whites.<ref name="Census Report">{{cite web|last1=Ryan|first1=Camille L.|title=Educational Attainment in the United States|url=https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2016/demo/p20-578.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2016/demo/p20-578.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|website=census.gov|publisher=The United States Bureau Of Statistics|access-date=July 22, 2017}}</ref> Foreign born Blacks, 9% of the Black population, made even greater strides. They exceed native born Blacks by 10 percentage points.<ref name="Census Report"/>

[[College Board]], which runs the official college-level [[Advanced Placement|advanced placement]] (AP) programs in American high schools, have has received criticism in recent years that its curricula have focused too much on [[Euro-centric]] history.<ref name="Columbia">{{cite web |title=African Diaspora Advanced Placement Course, Co-developed by Teachers College, Highlighted by Time |url=https://www.tc.columbia.edu/articles/2020/february/african-diaspora-advanced-placement-course-highlighted-by-time-magazine/ |website=columbia.edu |publisher=Columbia University |access-date=7 July 2022 |archive-date=July 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707024842/https://www.tc.columbia.edu/articles/2020/february/african-diaspora-advanced-placement-course-highlighted-by-time-magazine/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020, College Board reshaped some curricula among history-based courses to further reflect the [[African diaspora]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gleibermann |first1=Erik |title=New College Board curriculum puts the African diaspora in the spotlight |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/new-college-board-curriculum-puts-the-african-diaspora-in-the-spotlight/2020/09/07/579631c2-ee1b-11ea-b4bc-3a2098fc73d4_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=July 7, 2022 |archive-date=January 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128113036/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/new-college-board-curriculum-puts-the-african-diaspora-in-the-spotlight/2020/09/07/579631c2-ee1b-11ea-b4bc-3a2098fc73d4_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2021, College Board announced it would be piloting an [[AP African American Studies]] course between 2022 and 2024. The course officially launched in August 2024.<ref name="TIG">{{cite conference |title= Teacher Information Guide AP African American Studies Pilot|last= Waters |first= Brandi|date= February 2022 |publisher= College Board|location= Washington, DC|conference= |id=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Adopt AP African American Studies |url=https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-african-american-studies/adopt |website=[[Advanced Placement|AP Central]] |access-date=25 February 2025}}</ref>

In June 2023, the [[Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard|Supreme Court ended race-based affirmative action at American colleges and universities]].  This landmark Supreme Court decision is widely believed to contribute to a decline in African American enrollment at the nation's most selective and prominent colleges and universities, where African American applicants often have, on average, lower standardized test scores and GPAs compared to the overall applicant pool. In response, many of the nation's most popular historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have reported a significant surge in applications and enrollment.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/black-enrollment-drops-at-top-schools-as-affirmative-action-axed |title=Black Enrollment Drops at Top Schools as Affirmative Action Axed |work=Bloomberg Law |first1=Francesca |last1=Maglione |first2=Paulina |last2=Cachero |first3=Ann |last3=Choi |first4=Raeedah |last4=Wahid |date=September 27, 2024 |access-date=April 10, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/09/05/diverse-college-enrollment-down-post-affirmative-action-ruling/ |title=Black enrollment drops at UNC after ruling; other schools vary |newspaper=The Washington Post |last=Svluga |first=Susan |date=September 5, 2024 |access-date=April 10, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.highereddive.com/news/hbcus-enrollment-surge-why/710494/ |title=Some HBCUs are seeing enrollment surge. Here's why. |work=Higher Ed Drive |last=McLean |first=Danielle |date=March 19, 2024 |access-date=April 10, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.the74million.org/article/court-documents-racial-preferences-massively-boost-black-hispanic-applicants/ |title=Court Documents: Racial Preferences Massively Boost Black, Hispanic Applicants |work=The74 |last=Mahnken |first=Kevin |date=July 24, 2022 |access-date=April 10, 2025}}</ref>

According to a 2025 study, African Americans have the highest average [[Student loans in the United States|student debt]].  African Americans with [[bachelor's degrees]] owe an average of $52,726 in student loans. Nearly 70% of African Americans took out a loan to fund their undergraduate education.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-by-race |title=Student Loan Debt by Race |last=Hanson |first=Melanie |publisher=Education Data Initiative |date=February 18, 2025 |access-date=May 3, 2025}}</ref>

====Historically Black colleges and universities====
{{Main|Historically black colleges and universities|List of historically black colleges and universities}}
Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), which were founded when [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregated institutions]] of higher learning did not admit African Americans, continue to thrive and educate students of all races today. There are 101 HBCUs representing three percent of the nation's colleges and universities with the majority established in the [[southeastern United States|Southeast]].<ref>[https://www.tnj.com/lists-resources/hbcu "Lists of Historical Black Colleges and Universities"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702201350/http://www.tnj.com/lists-resources/hbcu |date=July 2, 2017 }}, ''The Network Journal''.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://hbcu-levers.blogspot.com/p/frequently-asked-questions-faqs-about.html#BestHBCU|title=TECH-Levers: FAQs About HBCUs|access-date=July 18, 2016|archive-date=August 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827030310/http://hbcu-levers.blogspot.com/p/frequently-asked-questions-faqs-about.html#BestHBCU|url-status=live}}</ref> HBCUs have been largely responsible for establishing and expanding the African American middle-class by providing more career opportunities for African Americans.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47234239 |title=The story of historically black colleges in the US  |work=BBC News |date=February 15, 2019 |access-date=January 10, 2022 |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102193058/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47234239 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/despite-obstacles-black-colleges-are-pipelines-to-the-middle-class-study-finds-heres-its-list-of-the-best/ |title=Despite Obstacles, Black Colleges Are Pipelines to the Middle Class, Study Finds. Here's Its List of the Best. |first=Marc |last=Parry |date=September 30, 2019 |newspaper=[[The Chronicle of Higher Education]] |access-date=January 2, 2022 |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102191119/https://www.chronicle.com/article/despite-obstacles-black-colleges-are-pipelines-to-the-middle-class-study-finds-heres-its-list-of-the-best/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Economic status===
{{Further|Black-owned business}}

The economic disparity between the races in the US has marginally improved since the end of slavery. In 1863, two years prior to emancipation, Black people owned 0.5 percent of the national wealth, while in 2019 it is just over 1.5 percent.<ref>{{cite news |title=Why the racial wealth gap persists, more than 150 years after emancipation |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/06/19/why-racial-wealth-gap-persists-more-than-years-after-emancipation/ |access-date=January 25, 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> [[Racial inequality in the United States|Racial disparity in poverty rates]] has narrowed since the civil rights era, with the [[African-American poverty|poverty rate among African Americans]] decreasing from 24.7% in 2004 to 18.8% in 2020, compared to 10.5% for all Americans.<ref name="DeNavas-Walt"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Creamer|first=John|date=September 15, 2020|title=Inequalities Persist Despite Decline in Poverty For All Major Race and Hispanic Origin Groups|url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2020/09/poverty-rates-for-blacks-and-hispanics-reached-historic-lows-in-2019.html|url-status=live|website=Census.gov|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917070757/https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2020/09/poverty-rates-for-blacks-and-hispanics-reached-historic-lows-in-2019.html|archive-date=September 17, 2020|access-date=July 13, 2021}}</ref> Poverty is associated with higher rates of marital stress and dissolution, [[physical disorder|physical]] and [[mental disorder|mental health]] problems, [[disability and poverty|disability]], [[cognitive deficit]]s, [[Achievement gap in the United States|low educational attainment]], and crime.<ref name="CharacOfFam">{{cite web|url=https://ssw.unc.edu/RTI/presentation/PDFs/aa_families.pdf|title=Characteristics of African American Families|first=Oscar|last=Barbarin|publisher=University of North Carolina|access-date=September 23, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060920225226/https://ssw.unc.edu/RTI/presentation/PDFs/aa_families.pdf|archive-date=September 20, 2006}}</ref>

African Americans have a long and diverse history of business ownership. Although the first African American business is unknown, slaves captured from West Africa are believed to have established commercial enterprises as peddlers and skilled craftspeople as far back as the 17th century. Around 1900, Booker T. Washington became the most famous proponent of African American businesses. His critic and rival W. E. B. DuBois also commended business as a vehicle for African American advancement.<ref>Juliet E.K. Walker, The History of Black Business in America: Capitalism, Race, Entrepreneurship (New York: Macmillan Library Reference, 1998)</ref>

[[File:US real median household income 1967 - 2011.PNG|thumb|This graph shows the real median [[Household income in the United States|US household income]] by race: 1967 to 2011, in 2011 dollars.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Carmen|last1=DeNavas-Walt|first2=Bernadette D.|last2=Proctor|first3=Jessica C.|last3=Smith|date=September 2012|chapter=Real Median Household Income by Race and Hispanic Origin: 1967 to 2010|page=8|title=Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011|chapter-url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p60-243.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p60-243.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>]]

African Americans had a combined buying power of over $1.6 trillion as of 2021, a 171% increase of their buying power in 2000 but lagging significantly in growth behind American [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Latinos]] and [[Asian Americans|Asians]] in the same timer period (with 288% and 383%, respectively; for reference, US growth overall was 144% in the same period); however, African American net worth had shrunk 14% in the previous year despite strong growth in property prices and the [[S&P 500]]. In 2002, African American-owned businesses accounted for 1.2 million of the US's 23 million businesses.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20051030110726/http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/business_ownership/005477.html Minority Groups Increasing Business Ownership at Higher Rate than National Average, Census Bureau Reports] U.S. Census Press Release</ref> {{as of|2011}}, African American-owned businesses account for approximately 2 million [[US businesses]].<ref name=Tozzi>{{cite web|last=Tozzi|first=John|url=https://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jul2010/sb20100715_469797.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100719013730/http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jul2010/sb20100715_469797.htm|archive-date=July 19, 2010|title=Minority Businesses Multiply But Still Lag Whites|work=Bloomberg BusinessWeek|date=July 16, 2010|access-date=April 20, 2012}}</ref> Black-owned businesses experienced the largest growth in number of businesses among minorities from 2002 to 2011.<ref name=Tozzi/>

Twenty-five percent of Blacks had [[White-collar worker|white-collar]] occupations (management, professional, and related fields) in 2000, compared with 33.6% of Americans overall.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-25.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-25.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Occupations: 2000|first1=Peter |last1=Fronczek |first2=Patricia |last2=Johnson |publisher=United States Census Bureau|date=August 2003|access-date=October 24, 2006}}</ref><ref name="Black Pop-March 2002">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p20-541.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p20-541.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=The Black Population in the United States: March 2002|first=Jesse|last=McKinnon|publisher=United States Census Bureau|date=April 2003|access-date=October 24, 2006}}</ref> In 2001, over half of African American households of married couples earned $50,000 or more.<ref name="Black Pop-March 2002"/> Although in the same year African Americans were over-represented among the nation's poor, this was directly related to the disproportionate percentage of African American families headed by single women; such families are collectively poorer, regardless of ethnicity.<ref name="Black Pop-March 2002"/>

In 2006, the median earnings of African American men was more than Black and non-Black American women overall, and in all educational levels.<ref name="census.gov-PINC03">{{cite web|url=https://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_131.htm|title=PINC-03-Part 131|publisher=Pubdb3.census.gov|date=August 29, 2006|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515100925/https://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_131.htm|archive-date=May 15, 2011}}</ref><ref name="census.gov-254">{{cite web|url=https://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_254.htm|title=PINC-03-Part 254|publisher=Pubdb3.census.gov|date=August 29, 2006|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509101748/https://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_254.htm|archive-date=May 9, 2011}}</ref><ref name="census.gov-259">{{cite web|url=https://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_259.htm|title=PINC-03-Part 259|publisher=Pubdb3.census.gov|date=August 29, 2006|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511022845/https://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_259.htm|archive-date=May 11, 2011}}</ref><ref name="census.gov-135">{{cite web|url=https://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_135.htm|title=PINC-03-Part 135|publisher=Pubdb3.census.gov|date=August 29, 2006|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509101502/https://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_135.htm|archive-date=May 9, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_253.htm|title=PINC-03-Part 253|publisher=Pubdb3.census.gov|date=August 29, 2006|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509101729/https://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_253.htm|archive-date=May 9, 2011}}</ref> At the same time, among American men, income disparities were significant; the median income of African American men was approximately 76 cents for every dollar of their European American counterparts, although the gap narrowed somewhat with a rise in educational level.<ref name="census.gov-PINC03"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_128.htm|title=PINC-03-Part 128|publisher=Pubdb3.census.gov|date=August 29, 2006|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509102045/https://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_128.htm|archive-date=May 9, 2011}}</ref>

Overall, the median earnings of African American men were 72 cents for every dollar earned of their Asian American counterparts, and $1.17 for every dollar earned by Hispanic men.<ref name="census.gov-PINC03"/><ref name="census.gov-135"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_133.htm|title=PINC-03-Part 133|publisher=Pubdb3.census.gov|date=August 29, 2006|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511022120/https://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_133.htm|archive-date=May 11, 2011}}</ref> On the other hand, by 2006, among American women with post-secondary education, African American women have made significant advances; the median income of African American women was more than those of their Asian-, European- and Hispanic American counterparts with at least some college education.<ref name="census.gov-254"/><ref name="census.gov-259"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_005.htm|title=PINC-03-Part 5|publisher=Pubdb3.census.gov|date=August 29, 2006|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509102039/https://pubdb3.census.gov/macro/032006/perinc/new03_005.htm|archive-date=May 9, 2011}}</ref>

The US [[public sector]] is the single most important source of employment for African Americans.<ref name="laborcenter.berkeley.edu">{{cite web|url=https://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/blackworkers/blacks_public_sector11.pdf|title="Black Workers and the Public Sector", Dr Steven Pitts, University of California, Berkeley, Center for Labor Research and Education, April 4, 2011|access-date=July 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713001456/http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/blackworkers/blacks_public_sector11.pdf|archive-date=July 13, 2014}}</ref> During 2008–2010, 21.2% of all Black workers were public employees, compared with 16.3% of non-Black workers.<ref name="laborcenter.berkeley.edu"/> Both before and after the onset of the [[Great Recession]], African Americans were 30% more likely than other workers to be employed in the public sector.<ref name="laborcenter.berkeley.edu"/> The public sector is also a critical source of decent-paying jobs for Black Americans. For both men and women, the median wage earned by Black employees is significantly higher in the public sector than in other industries.<ref name="laborcenter.berkeley.edu"/>

In 1999, the median income of African American families was $33,255 compared to $53,356 of European Americans. In times of economic hardship for the nation, African Americans suffer disproportionately from job loss and [[underemployment]], with the Black underclass being hardest hit. The phrase "last hired and first fired" is reflected in the [[Bureau of Labor Statistics]] unemployment figures. Nationwide, the October 2008 unemployment rate for African Americans was 11.1%,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t02.htm|title=BLS.gov|publisher=BLS.gov|date=January 7, 2011|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213004820/https://bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t02.htm|archive-date=December 13, 2010}}</ref> while the nationwide rate was 6.5%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?data_tool=latest_numbers&series_id=LNS14000000|title=BLS.gov|publisher=Data.bls.gov|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110120154929/https://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?data_tool=latest_numbers&series_id=LNS14000000|archive-date=January 20, 2011}}</ref> In 2007, the average income for African Americans was approximately $34,000, compared to $55,000 for Whites.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.omhrc.gov/templates/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlID=51|title=OMHRC.gov|publisher=OMHRC.gov|date=October 21, 2009|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813055043/https://omhrc.gov/templates/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlID=51|archive-date=August 13, 2009}}</ref> African Americans experience a higher rate of unemployment than the general population.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/12/black-white-unemployment-gap/421497/|title=Education Gaps Don't Fully Explain Why Black Unemployment Is So High|first=Gillian B.|last=White|date=December 21, 2015|website=[[The Atlantic]]|access-date=July 3, 2016|archive-date=May 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522182744/https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/12/black-white-unemployment-gap/421497/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The income gap between Black and White families is also significant. In 2005, employed Blacks earned 65% of the wages of Whites, down from 82% in 1975.<ref name="DeNavas-Walt">{{cite web|first1=Carmen |last1=DeNavas-Walt |first2=Bernadette D. |last2=Proctor |author3=Cheryl Hill Lee |url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p60-229.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p60-229.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004|date=August 2005|publisher=United States Census Bureau|pages=60–229}}</ref> ''The New York Times'' reported in 2006 that in [[Queens]], New York, the median income among African American families exceeded that of White families, which the newspaper attributed to the growth in the number of two-parent Black families. It noted that Queens was the only county with more than 65,000 residents where that was true.<ref name=Queens>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/01/nyregion/01census.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061025143541/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/01/nyregion/01census.html |archive-date=October 25, 2006 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Black Incomes Surpass Whites in Queens|date=October 1, 2006|website=The New York Times|access-date=July 18, 2016}}</ref> In 2011, it was reported that [[African-American family structure|72% of Black babies were born to unwed mothers]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Riley |first1=Jason. L. |title=For blacks, the Pyrrhic Victory of the Obama Era |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204712904578090483678801780 |access-date=December 14, 2022 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=November 4, 2012 |archive-date=December 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214123842/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204712904578090483678801780 |url-status=live }}</ref> The poverty rate among single-parent Black families was 39.5% in 2005, according to [[Walter E. Williams]], while it was 9.9% among married-couple Black families. Among White families, the respective rates were 26.4% and 6% in poverty.<ref>[https://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/williams102705.asp Ammunition for poverty pimps] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525114424/http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/williams102705.asp |date=May 25, 2017 }} Walter E. Williams, October 27, 2005.</ref>

Collectively, African Americans are more involved in the American political process than other minority groups in the United States, indicated by the highest level of voter registration and participation in elections among these groups in 2004.<ref name="vote-nov2007">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p20-556.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p20-556.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2007|date=March 2006|access-date=May 30, 2007}}</ref> African Americans also have the highest level of [[United States Congress|Congressional representation]] of any minority group in the US.<ref>{{cite web|first=Jonathan D.|last=Mott|url=https://www.thisnation.com/congress-facts.html|title=The United States Congress Quick Facts|publisher=ThisNation.com|date=February 4, 2010|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305031403/https://www.thisnation.com/congress-facts.html|archive-date=March 5, 2011}}</ref>

====African American homeownership====
[[File:US Homeownership by Race 2009.png|thumb|The [[Homeownership in the United States|US homeownership rate]] according to race<ref name="US Census Bureau, homeownership by race">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/hvs/annual09/ann09t22.xls|title=US Census Bureau, homeownership by race|access-date=October 6, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327060251/http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/hvs/annual09/ann09t22.xls|archive-date=March 27, 2010}}</ref>]]

[[Home-ownership in the United States|Homeownership in the US]] is the strongest indicator of financial stability and the primary asset most Americans use to generate wealth. African Americans continue to lag behind other racial groups in homeownership.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2022/10/13/black-families-fall-further-behind-on-homeownership#:~:text=In%202022%2C%2074.6%25%20of%20White,%2C%20a%2027%2Dpoint%20gap. | title=Black Families Fall Further Behind on Homeownership | date=October 13, 2022 | access-date=March 8, 2023 | archive-date=March 8, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308145123/https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2022/10/13/black-families-fall-further-behind-on-homeownership#:~:text=In%202022%2C%2074.6%25%20of%20White,%2C%20a%2027%2Dpoint%20gap. | url-status=live }}</ref> In the first quarter of 2021, 45.1% of African Americans owned their homes, compared to 65.3% of all Americans.<ref>{{cite web |title=Residential Vacancies and Homeownership |url=https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/files/currenthvspress.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/files/currenthvspress.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |website=Census.gov |access-date=July 13, 2021}}</ref> The African American homeownership rate has remained relatively flat since the 1970s despite an increase in [[Housing discrimination in the United States|anti-discrimination housing laws and protections]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnwake/2019/05/16/the-shocking-truth-about-the-u-s-black-homeownership-rate-50-years-after-the-1968-fair-housing-act/|title=The Shocking Truth 50 Years After The 1968 Fair Housing Act: The Black Homeownership Paradox|first=John|last=Wake|website=Forbes|access-date=March 8, 2023|archive-date=March 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308143207/https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnwake/2019/05/16/the-shocking-truth-about-the-u-s-black-homeownership-rate-50-years-after-the-1968-fair-housing-act/|url-status=live}}</ref> The African American homeownership rate peaked in 2004 at 49.7%.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://prosperitybenefitservices.com/black-homeownership-rate-rises-but-hasnt-returned-to-2004-level/#:~:text=Today%2C%20nearly%2046%25%20of%20Black,74%25%20rate%20for%20white%20households | title=Black homeownership rate rises, but hasn't returned to 2004 level | date=June 11, 2024 | access-date=June 17, 2024 | archive-date=June 17, 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240617011402/https://prosperitybenefitservices.com/black-homeownership-rate-rises-but-hasnt-returned-to-2004-level/#:~:text=Today%2C%20nearly%2046%25%20of%20Black,74%25%20rate%20for%20white%20households }}</ref>

The average White high school drop-out still has a slightly better chance of owning a home than the average African American college graduate usually due to unfavorable [[debt-to-income ratio]]s or [[Credit score in the United States|credit scores]] among most African American college graduates.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news/student-loan-debt-barrier-black-homeownership|title=Student Loan Debt A Barrier To Black Homeownership – NMP|date=November 15, 2022 |access-date=March 8, 2023|archive-date=March 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308143205/https://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news/student-loan-debt-barrier-black-homeownership|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/why-do-black-college-graduates-have-lower-homeownership-rate-white-people-who-dropped-out-high-school | title=Why do Black College Graduates Have a Lower Homeownership Rate Than White People Who Dropped Out of High School? | journal=Urban Institute | date=February 27, 2020 | access-date=May 28, 2023 | archive-date=May 28, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528124534/https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/why-do-black-college-graduates-have-lower-homeownership-rate-white-people-who-dropped-out-high-school | url-status=live | last1=Choi | first1=Jung Hyun | last2=Goodman | first2=Laurie }}</ref> Since 2000, fast-growing housing costs in most cities have made it even more difficult for the US African American homeownership rate to significantly grow and reach over 50% for the first time in history. From 2000 to 2022, the median home price in the US grew 160%, outpacing average annual household income growth in that same period, which only grew about 30%.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/realestate/black-homeowners-gentrification.html|title=What Gentrification Means for Black Homeowners|first=Jacquelynn|last=Kerubo|work=The New York Times|date=August 17, 2021|via=NY Times.com|access-date=March 8, 2023|archive-date=March 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308150657/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/17/realestate/black-homeowners-gentrification.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://thehill.com/business/3478213-rising-home-prices-a-timeline/|title=Rising home prices: a timeline|first=Monique|last=Beals|newspaper=The Hill |date=May 5, 2022|access-date=March 16, 2023|archive-date=March 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308171030/https://thehill.com/business/3478213-rising-home-prices-a-timeline/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/612519/average-annual-real-wages-united-states/|title=Average annual real wages U.S. 2021|website=Statista|access-date=March 8, 2023|archive-date=March 8, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308172443/https://www.statista.com/statistics/612519/average-annual-real-wages-united-states/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[South Carolina]] is the state with the most African American homeownership, with about 55% of African Americans owning their own homes.<ref>{{cite web |date=2023-02-22 |title=South Carolina leads the U.S. in Black homeownership, but there are still a few gaps to close |url=https://www.southcarolinapublicradio.org/sc-news/2023-02-22/south-carolina-leads-the-u-s-in-black-homeownership-but-there-are-still-a-few-gaps-to-close |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=South Carolina Public Radio |language=en |archive-date=October 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018185059/https://www.southcarolinapublicradio.org/sc-news/2023-02-22/south-carolina-leads-the-u-s-in-black-homeownership-but-there-are-still-a-few-gaps-to-close |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Bahney |first=Anna |date=2023-03-02 |title=The gulf between Black homeowners and White is actually getting bigger, not smaller {{!}} CNN Business |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/02/homes/race-and-home-buying-nar/index.html |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=October 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018185057/https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/02/homes/race-and-home-buying-nar/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Black people, who make up 12% of the total U.S. population, make up 32% of all people experiencing homelessness, according to the data.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Kanishka |title=US homelessness rose by record 18% in latest annual data |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-homelessness-rose-by-record-18-latest-annual-data-2024-12-27/ |work=Reuters |date=28 December 2024}}</ref>

===Politics===

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="float:right; font-size:90%; margin:0 0 1em 1em;"

|-
!Year
!Candidate of<br />the plurality
!Political <br /> party
!% of<br />Black<br />vote
!Result
|-
|1980 || [[Jimmy Carter]] || [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] ||83%
| {{no|Lost}}
|-
|1984 || [[Walter Mondale]] || Democratic || 91%
| {{no|Lost}}
|-
|1988 || [[Michael Dukakis]] || Democratic || 89%
| {{no|Lost}}
|-
|1992 || [[Bill Clinton]] || Democratic || 83%
| {{won}}
|-
|1996 || [[Bill Clinton]] || Democratic ||84%
| {{won}}
|-
|2000 || [[Al Gore]] || Democratic || 90%
|{{no|Lost}}
|-
|2004 || [[John Kerry]] || Democratic || 88%
|{{no|Lost}}
|-
|2008 || [[Barack Obama]] || Democratic || 95%
| {{won}}
|-
|2012 || [[Barack Obama]] || Democratic || 93%
| {{won}}
|-
|2016 || [[Hillary Clinton]] || Democratic || 88%
| {{no|Lost}}
|-
|2020 || [[Joe Biden]] || Democratic || 87%
| {{won}}
|-
|2024 || [[Kamala Harris]] || Democratic || 85%
| {{no|Lost}}
|}
Since the mid 20th century, a large majority of African Americans support the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]. In the [[2020 United States presidential election|2024 Presidential election]], 86% of African American voters supported Democrat [[Kamala Harris]], while 13% supported Republican [[Donald Trump]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Election 2024: Exit polls |url=https://www.cnn.com/election/2024/exit-polls/national-results/general/president/0 |website=[[CNN]] |access-date=27 February 2025}}</ref> Although there is an African American lobby in foreign policy, it has not had the impact that African American organizations have had in domestic policy.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=American Society and the African American Foreign Policy Lobby: Constraints and Opportunities|first=David A.|last=Dickson|journal=Journal of Black Studies|year=1996|pages=139–151|volume=27|doi=10.1177/002193479602700201|issue=2|s2cid=143314945}}</ref>

Many African Americans were excluded from electoral politics in the decades following the end of Reconstruction. For those that could participate, until the [[New Deal]], African Americans were supporters of the Republican Party because it was Republican President Abraham Lincoln who helped in granting freedom to American slaves; at the time, the Republicans and Democrats represented the [[Sectionalism|sectional]] interests of the [[Northern United States|North]] and [[Southern United States|South]], respectively, rather than any specific ideology, and both [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] and [[Modern liberalism in the United States|liberal]] were represented equally in both parties.

The African American trend of voting for Democrats can be traced back to the 1930s during the [[Great Depression]], when [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s [[New Deal]] program provided economic relief to African Americans. Roosevelt's [[New Deal coalition]] turned the Democratic Party into an organization of the working class and their liberal allies, regardless of region. The African American vote became even more solidly Democratic when Democratic presidents [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] pushed for civil rights legislation during the 1960s. In 1960, nearly a third of African Americans voted for Republican [[Richard Nixon]].<ref>{{cite book|first1=John Clifford|last1=Green|first2=Daniel J.|last2=Coffey|title=The State of the Parties: The Changing Role of Contemporary American Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nIPRBXgzSYEC&pg=PA29|year=2007|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-0-7425-5322-4|page=29|access-date=June 16, 2015|archive-date=January 7, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107112637/https://books.google.com/books?id=nIPRBXgzSYEC&pg=PA29#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Conservatism]] has been growing among African Americans, particularly since the 2020 Presidential election. In the 2024 election, Trump secured a slightly larger share of the African American vote compared to his 2020 performance. <ref>{{cite web |last1=Suggs |first1=Bria |title=Young Black voters are becoming more conservative than their parents. Here's why |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/08/14/g-s1-16261/young-black-voters-generation-democrats-conservative-trump-harris-gen-z-millennials |website=[[NPR]] |access-date=27 February 2025 |date=14 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/trump-support-white-black-voters-immigration-2020299|title=Donald Trump's approval rating higher with Black people than white people|date=January 24, 2025|website=Newsweek|access-date=March 3, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/10/10/nx-s1-5133172/polls-suggest-republicans-are-making-gains-among-black-voters-especially-black-men |title=Polls suggest Republicans are making gains among Black voters — especially Black men |work=NPR |last1=Martin |first1=Michel |last2=Fadel |first2=Leila |date=October 10, 2024 |access-date=March 20, 2025}}</ref>

====Black national anthem====

[[File:The Obamas sing with Smokey Robinson, Joan Baez and others, 2014.jpg|thumb|right| "[[Lift Every Voice and Sing]]" being sung by the [[family of Barack Obama]], [[Smokey Robinson]] and others in the [[White House]] in 2014]]
"[[Lift Every Voice and Sing]]" is often referred to as the Black national anthem in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jackson|first1=Jabar|last2=Martin|first2=Jill|date=July 3, 2020|title=NFL plans to play Black national anthem before Week 1 games|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/02/sport/nfl-black-national-anthem-week-1-spt-intl/index.html|access-date=July 4, 2020|website=CNN|archive-date=May 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527135554/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/02/sport/nfl-black-national-anthem-week-1-spt-intl/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1919, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) had dubbed it the "Negro national anthem" for its power in voicing a cry for liberation and affirmation for African-American people.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Till Victory Is Won: The Staying Power Of 'Lift Every Voice And Sing'|language=en|work=NPR.org|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/08/16/638324920/american-anthem-lift-every-voice-and-sing-black-national-anthem|access-date=February 22, 2022|archive-date=May 31, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531060339/https://www.npr.org/2018/08/16/638324920/american-anthem-lift-every-voice-and-sing-black-national-anthem|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Religion===
{{Pie chart
| thumb = right
| caption = Religious affiliation of African Americans in 2007<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2009/01/30/a-religious-portrait-of-african-americans/|title=A Religious Portrait of African-Americans|date=January 30, 2009|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|access-date=November 2, 2019|archive-date=July 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721132557/https://www.pewforum.org/2009/01/30/a-religious-portrait-of-african-americans/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| label1 = [[Black Protestant]]
| value1 = 59
| color1 = DodgerBlue
| label2 = [[Evangelical Protestant]]
| value2 = 15
| color2 = Blue
| label3 = [[Mainline Protestant]]
| value3 = 4
| color3 = DeepSkyBlue
| label4 = [[Roman Catholic]]
| value4 = 5
| color4 = Indigo
| label5 = [[Jehovah's Witness]]
| value5 = 1
| color5 = DarkBlue
| label6 = Other Christian
| value6 = 1
| color6 = LightBlue
| label7 = Muslim
| value7 = 1
| color7 = Green
| label8 = Other religion
| value8 = 1
| color8 = Black
| label9 = Unaffiliated
| value9 = 11
| color9 = Honeydew
| label10 = Atheist or agnostic
| value10 = 2
| color10 = gray
}}
{{Main|Religion of Black Americans}}
{{Further|Black church|Hoodoo (folk magic)|Louisiana Voodoo}}
[[File:Mount Zion United Methodist Church - facade.JPG|thumb|[[Mount Zion United Methodist Church (Washington, D.C.)|Mount Zion United Methodist Church]] is the oldest African American congregation in Washington, D.C.]]
[[File:Malcolm Shabazz Mosque.jpg|thumb|[[Masjid Malcolm Shabazz]] in Harlem, New York City]]

The majority of African Americans are [[Protestant]], many of whom follow the historically Black churches.<ref name="PewForum">[https://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf US Religious Landscape Survey] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423044142/http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report-religious-landscape-study-full.pdf|archive-date=2022-10-09|url-status=live|date=April 23, 2015}} The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life (February 2008). Retrieved July 20, 2009.</ref> The term [[Black church]] refers to churches which minister to predominantly African American congregations. Black congregations were first established by freed slaves at the end of the 17th century, and later when slavery was abolished more African Americans were allowed to create a unique form of Christianity that was culturally influenced by African spiritual traditions.<ref>Charyn D. Sutton, [https://www.energizeinc.com/art/apas.html "The Black Church"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010002126/http://www.energizeinc.com/art/apas.html|date=October 10, 2014}}. Energize Inc. Retrieved November 18, 2009.</ref> One of these early African American Christian cultural traditions in the Black Church is the [[Watchnight service]], also called Freedom's Eve, where African American congregations all over the nation come together on New Year's Eve through New Years morning in remembrance of the eve and New Year of their emancipation, sharing testimonies, being baptized and partaking in praise and worship.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Historical Legacy of Watch Night |url=https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/historical-legacy-watch-night |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209203550/https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/historical-legacy-watch-night |archive-date=December 9, 2023 |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=National Museum of African American History and Culture |language=en}}</ref>

According to a 2007 survey, more than half of the African American population are part of the historically Black churches.<ref name="religions">{{cite web |date=January 30, 2009 |title=A Religious Portrait of African-Americans |url=https://pewforum.org/A-Religious-Portrait-of-African-Americans.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425171741/http://www.pewforum.org/A-Religious-Portrait-of-African-Americans.aspx |archive-date=April 25, 2012 |access-date=April 20, 2012 |publisher=Pewforum.org}}</ref> The largest Protestant denomination among African Americans are the [[Baptists]],<ref>[[Bill J. Leonard]] (2007), ''[[iarchive:baptistsinameric0000leon/page/34/mode/2up|Baptists in America]]'', Columbia University Press, p. 34. {{ISBN|0-231-12703-0}}.</ref> distributed mainly in four denominations, the largest being the [[National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.|National Baptist Convention, USA]] and the [[National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.|National Baptist Convention of America]].<ref name="church">[https://www.ncccusa.org/news/080215yearbook1.html The NCC's 2008 Yearbook of Churches reports a wide range of health care ministries] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190519163031/http://www.ncccusa.org/news/080215yearbook1.html|date=May 19, 2019}} National Council of Churches USA. February 14, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2009.</ref> The second largest are the [[Methodist]]s,<ref name="doindrugs">William Henry James, Stephen Lloyd Johnson (1997). ''Doin' drugs: patterns of African American addiction''. University of Texas Press. p. 135. {{ISBN|0-292-74041-7}}.</ref> the largest denominations are the [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]] and the [[African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church]].<ref name="church" /><ref>Roger Finke, Rodney Stark (2005). ''The Churching of America, 1776–2005: Winners and Losers in our Religious Economy''. Rutgers University Press, p. 235.</ref>

[[Pentecostalism|Pentecostals]] are distributed among several different religious bodies, with the [[Church of God in Christ]] as the largest among them by far.<ref name="church" /> About 16% of African American Christians are members of White Protestant communions,<ref name="doindrugs" /> these denominations (which include the [[United Church of Christ]]) mostly have a 2 to 3% African American membership.<ref>Alfred Abioseh Jarrett (2000). ''The Impact of Macro Social Systems on Ethnic Minorities in the United States'', Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 235. {{ISBN|0-275-93880-8}}.</ref> There are also large numbers of [[Catholic Church|Catholics]], constituting 5% of the African American population.<ref name="religions" /> Of the total number of [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], 22% are Black.<ref name="PewForum" />

Some African Americans follow [[Islam]]. Historically, between 15 and 30% of enslaved Africans brought to the Americas were [[Muslim]]s, but most of these Africans were converted to Christianity during the era of American slavery.<ref>Samuel S. Hill, Charles H. Lippy, Charles Reagan Wilson. ''Encyclopedia of religion in the South''. Mercer University Press (2005), p. 394. {{ISBN|978-0-86554-758-2}}.</ref> During the twentieth century, some African Americans converted to Islam, mainly through the influence of [[Black nationalism|Black nationalist]] groups that preached with distinctive Islamic practices; including the [[Moorish Science Temple of America]], and the largest organization, the [[Nation of Islam]], founded in the 1930s, which attracted at least 20,000 people by 1963.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lomax |title=When the Word Is Given |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-313-21002-0 |pages=15–16 |quote=Estimates of Black Muslim membership vary from a quarter of a million down to fifty thousand. Available evidence indicates that about one hundred thousand Negroes have joined the movement at one time or another, but few objective observers believe that the Black Muslims can muster more than twenty or twenty-five thousand active temple people.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Clegg |first=Claude Andrew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nva1ULVYh3QC |title=An Original Man: The Life and Times of Elijah Muhammad |publisher=Macmillan |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-312-18153-6 |page=115 |quote=The common response of Malcolm X to questions about numbers—'Those who know aren't saying, and those who say don't know'—was typical of the attitude of the leadership. |access-date=June 16, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107113203/https://books.google.com/books?id=nva1ULVYh3QC |archive-date=January 7, 2024 |url-status=live |author-link=Claude Clegg}}</ref> Prominent members included activist [[Malcolm X]] and boxer [[Muhammad Ali]].<ref>Jacob Neusner, ''World Religions in America: An Introduction'', Westminster John Knox Press (2003), pp. 180–181. {{ISBN|978-0-664-22475-2}}.</ref>

[[File:Muhammad Ali NYWTS.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Muhammad Ali]] converted to Islam in 1964.]]
Malcolm&nbsp;X is considered the first person to start the movement among African Americans towards mainstream Islam, after he left the Nation and made the [[Hajj|pilgrimage to Mecca]].<ref>William W. Sales (1994). ''From Civil Rights to Black Liberation: Malcolm X and the Organization of Afro-American Unity''. South End Press, p. 37. {{ISBN|978-0-89608-480-3}}.</ref> In 1975, [[Warith Deen Mohammed]], the son of [[Elijah Muhammad]] took control of the Nation after his father's death and guided the majority of its members to [[Sunni Islam|orthodox Islam]].<ref>Uzra Zeya (1990–01) [https://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0190/9001042.htm Islam in America: The Growing Presence of American Converts to Islam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724183609/http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0190/9001042.htm|date=July 24, 2008}} Washington Report on Middle East Reports. Retrieved November 16, 2009.</ref>

[[African-American Muslims|African American Muslims]] constitute 20% of the total [[Islam in the United States|US Muslim population]],<ref name="PewMuslim">{{cite tech report |url=https://pewresearch.org/pubs/483/muslim-americans |title=Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream |date=May 22, 2007 |access-date=November 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121125081805/http://pewresearch.org/pubs/483/muslim-americans |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 25, 2012 |publisher=[[Pew Research Center]]}}</ref> the majority are [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] or orthodox Muslims, some of these identify under the community of [[W. Deen Mohammed]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Sacirbey |first=Omar |date=September 11, 2001 |title=When Unity is Long Overdue |url=https://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Islam/2006/05/When-Unity-Is-Long-Overdue.aspx |access-date=April 20, 2012 |publisher=Beliefnet.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Terry |first=Don |date=May 3, 1993 |title=Black Muslims Enter Islamic Mainstream |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/03/us/black-muslims-enter-islamic-mainstream.html |access-date=April 20, 2012 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> The Nation of Islam led by [[Louis Farrakhan]] has a membership ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 members.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 6, 2011 |title=Farrakhan Set to Give Final Address at Nation of Islam's Birthplace |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/farrakhan-set-to-give-final-address-at-nation-of-islams-birthplace |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411224021/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,254507,00.html |archive-date=April 11, 2012 |access-date=April 20, 2012 |publisher=Fox News Channel}}</ref>

There is also a small but growing group of [[African-American Jews|African American Jews]], making up less than 0.5% of African Americans or about 2% of the [[American Jews|Jewish population in the United States]]. The majority of African-American Jews are [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi]], while smaller numbers identify as [[Sephardic Jews|Sephardi]], [[Mizrahi Jews|Mizrahi]], or other.<ref name=":0a">{{cite web |date=May 11, 2021 |title=JEWISH AMERICANS IN 2020: 9. Race, ethnicity, heritage and immigration among U.S. Jews |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/05/11/race-ethnicity-heritage-and-immigration-among-u-s-jews/ |website=Pew Research Center}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Racial and ethnic composition among Jews |url=https://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/religious-tradition/jewish/ |access-date=August 22, 2021 |publisher=[[Pew Research Center|The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Gelbwasser |first=Michael |date=April 10, 1998 |title=Organization for black Jews claims 200,000 in U.S |url=https://www.jweekly.com/article/full/8029/organization-for-black-jews-claims-200-000-in-u-s/ |access-date=August 2, 2010 |website=[[J. The Jewish News of Northern California]]}}</ref> Many African-American Jews are affiliated with denominations such as the [[Reform Judaism|Reform]], [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]], [[Reconstructionist Judaism|Reconstructionist]], or [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] branches of Judaism, but the majority identify as "Jews of no religion", commonly known as secular Jews. A significant number of people who identify themselves as "Black Jews" are affiliated with [[religious syncretism|syncretic]] religious groups, largely the [[Black Hebrew Israelites]], whose beliefs include the claim that African Americans are descended from the Biblical [[Israelites]].<ref name="northstar">{{cite journal |last=Angell |first=Stephen W. |date=May 2001 |title=Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism |url=https://northstar.vassar.edu/volume4/chireau_deutsch.html |journal=The North Star |volume=4 |issue=2 |issn=1094-902X |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020040655/https://northstar.vassar.edu/volume4/chireau_deutsch.html |archive-date=October 20, 2007 |access-date=October 19, 2007}}</ref> Jews of all races typically do not accept Black Hebrew Israelites as Jews, in part because they are usually not Jewish [[who is a Jew|according to Jewish law]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Washington |first1=Robin |date=December 18, 2019 |title=Who Black Hebrew Israelites Are—And Who They Are Not |url=https://www.myjewishlearning.com/2019/12/18/who-black-hebrew-israelites-are-and-who-they-are-not/ |access-date=16 August 2022 |website=My Jewish Learning |publisher=70 Faces media}}</ref> and in part because these groups are sometimes associated with antisemitism.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hwang |first1=Janice |date=December 12, 2019 |title=Explainer: Who Are The Black Hebrew Israelites? |url=https://www.jta.org/2019/12/12/ny/explainer-who-are-the-black-hebrew-israelites |access-date=16 August 2022 |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |agency=New York Jewish Week}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Musodza |first1=Masimba |date=September 21, 2019 |title=The Hebrew Israelites Are A Real Threat |url=https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-hebrew-israelites-are-a-real-threat/ |access-date=16 August 2022 |work=The Times of Israel}}</ref> African-American Jews have criticized the Black Hebrew Israelites, regarding the movement as primarily composed of Black non-Jews who have appropriated Black-Jewish identity.<ref>{{cite web |date=August 16, 2020 |title=A Case of Mistaken Identity: Black Jews & Hebrew Israelites |url=https://tribeherald.com/a-case-of-mistaken-identity-black-jews-hebrew-israelites/ |access-date=2023-05-13 |newspaper=Tribe Herald}}</ref>

Confirmed [[Atheism|atheists]] are less than one half of one percent, similar to numbers for [[Hispanic]]s.<ref>[https://www.pewforum.org/2009/01/30/a-religious-portrait-of-african-americans/ ''A Religious Portrait of African Americans''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721132557/https://www.pewforum.org/2009/01/30/a-religious-portrait-of-african-americans/|date=July 21, 2018}} Pew Research 2009</ref><ref>Sikivu Hutchinson, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/06/16/blacks-are-even-discriminated-against-by-atheists/ "Atheism has a race problem"], ''The Washington Post'', June 16, 2014.</ref><ref>Emily Brennan, [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/fashion/african-american-atheists.html "The Unbelievers"], ''The New York Times'', November 27, 2011.</ref>

===Sexuality===
{{See also|African-American LGBT community}}
According to a [[Gallup survey]], 4.6% of Black or African Americans self-identified as [[LGBT rights in the United States|LGBT]] in 2016,<ref name="More Adults" /> while the total portion of American adults in all ethnic groups identifying as LGBT was 4.1% in 2016.<ref name="More Adults">{{cite news|url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/201731/lgbt-identification-rises.aspx|title=In US, More Adults Identifying as LGBT|publisher=[[Gallup (company)|Gallup]]|date=January 11, 2017|access-date=July 21, 2018|archive-date=May 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501142714/https://news.gallup.com/poll/201731/lgbt-identification-rises.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> African Americans are more likely to identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtoninformer.com/blacks-are-more-likely-to-identify-as-gay-than-any-other-group/|title=Blacks Are More Likely to Identify as Gay Than Any Other Group|website=The Washington Informer|date=October 23, 2012 }}</ref>

===Health===
{{Further|Race and health in the United States#African Americans}}
{{See also|Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on black people#United States}}

====General health====
{{See also|Alzheimer's disease in African Americans}}

The life expectancy for Black men in 2008 was 70.8 years.<ref name="Los Angeles Times">{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/science/la-sci-life-expectancy-gap-20120606-story.html |title="Life expectancy gap narrows between blacks, whites", Rosie Mestel, ''The Los Angeles Times'', June 5, 2012. |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=July 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826131902/http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/05/science/la-sci-life-expectancy-gap-20120606 |archive-date=August 26, 2017 |url-status=live  |date=June 5, 2012 }}</ref> Life expectancy for Black women was 77.5 years in 2008.<ref name="Los Angeles Times"/> In 1900, when information on Black life expectancy started being collated, a Black man could expect to live to 32.5 years and a Black woman 33.5 years.<ref name="Los Angeles Times"/> In 1900, White men lived an average of 46.3 years and White women lived an average of 48.3 years.<ref name="Los Angeles Times"/> African American life expectancy at birth is persistently five to seven years lower than [[European Americans]].<ref name="lavest">{{Cite journal|author=LaVeist TA|title=Racial segregation and longevity among African Americans: an individual-level analysis|journal=Health Services Research|volume=38|issue=6 Pt 2|pages=1719–33|date=December 2003|pmid=14727794|pmc=1360970|doi=10.1111/j.1475-6773.2003.00199.x}}</ref> Black men have shorter lifespans than any other group in the US besides Native American men.<ref name="Gilbert">{{cite journal|doi=10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032315-021556|doi-access=free|title=Visible and Invisible Trends in Black Men's Health: Pitfalls and Promises for Addressing Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Inequities in Health|year=2016|last1=Gilbert|first1=Keon L.|last2=Ray|first2=Rashawn|last3=Siddiqi|first3=Arjumand|last4=Shetty|first4=Shivan|last5=Baker|first5=Elizabeth A.|last6=Elder|first6=Keith|last7=Griffith|first7=Derek M.|journal=Annual Review of Public Health|volume=37|pages=295–311|pmid=26989830|pmc=6531286}}</ref>

Black people have higher rates of [[obesity]], [[diabetes]], and [[hypertension]] than the US average.<ref name="Los Angeles Times"/> For adult Black men, the rate of obesity was 31.6% in 2010.<ref name="cdc.gov">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_252.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_252.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=CDC 2012. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: 2010, p. 107}}</ref> For adult Black women, the rate of obesity was 41.2% in 2010.<ref name="cdc.gov"/> African Americans have higher rates of mortality than any other racial or ethnic group for 8 of the top 10 causes of death.<ref name=hummer2004>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Hummer RA, Ellison CG, Rogers RG, Moulton BE, Romero RR |s2cid=6053725|title=Religious involvement and adult mortality in the United States: review and perspective|journal=Southern Medical Journal|volume=97|issue=12|pages=1223–30|date=December 2004|pmid=15646761|doi=10.1097/01.SMJ.0000146547.03382.94}}</ref> In 2013, among men, Black men had the highest rate of getting cancer, followed by White, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander (A/PI), and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) men. Among women, White women had the highest rate of getting cancer, followed by Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/data/race.htm|title=Cancer Rates by Race/Ethnicity and Sex|website=Cancer Prevention and Control|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|date=June 21, 2016|access-date=February 24, 2017|archive-date=February 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225051734/https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/data/race.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> African Americans also have higher prevalence and incidence of Alzheimer's disease compared to the overall average.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2020-03-10 |title=2020 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures |journal=Alzheimer's & Dementia |language=en |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=391–460 |doi=10.1002/alz.12068 |pmid=32157811 |s2cid=212666886 |issn=1552-5260|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mayeda |first1=Elizabeth Rose |last2=Glymour |first2=M Maria |last3=Quesenberry |first3=Charles P |last4=Whitmer |first4=Rachel A |date=2016-02-11 |title=Inequalities in dementia incidence between six racial and ethnic groups over 14 years |journal=Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=216–224 |doi=10.1016/j.jalz.2015.12.007 |issn=1552-5260 |pmc=4969071 |pmid=26874595}}</ref>

Black women lead the nation in [[abortions]].  According to a 2022 report, Black women made up 40% of abortions despite making up 13% of the U.S. woman population.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lenzen |first1=Cecilia |title=Facing higher teen pregnancy and maternal mortality rates, Black women will largely bear the brunt of abortion limits |url=https://www.texastribune.org/2022/06/30/texas-abortion-black-women/ |website=texastribune.org |date=June 30, 2022 |publisher=The Texas Tribune |access-date=13 September 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Cineas |first1=Fabiola |title=Black women will suffer the most without Roe |url=https://www.vox.com/2022/6/29/23187002/black-women-abortion-access-roe |website=vox.com |date=June 29, 2022 |publisher=Vox |access-date=13 September 2025}}</ref>
African-Americans are more likely than White Americans to die due to health-related problems developed by [[alcoholism]]. Alcohol abuse is the main contributor to the top 3 causes of death among African Americans.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/resources/african-americans-alcohol/ | title=African-Americans and Alcohol | access-date=November 23, 2023 | archive-date=November 23, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231123144917/https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/resources/african-americans-alcohol/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 2020, African Americans were less likely to be [[COVID-19 vaccine|vaccinated]] against [[COVID-19]] due to mistrust in the US medical system. From 2021 to 2022, there was an increase in African Americans who became vaccinated.<ref>{{cite web |last=Johnson |first=Steven |date=January 24, 2022 |title=Study: Black Americans Beat Back Vaccine Hesitancy Faster Than Whites |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-01-24/black-americans-beat-vaccine-hesitancy-faster-than-whites |access-date=March 2, 2022 |website=U.S. News & World Report |archive-date=March 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302090102/https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-01-24/black-americans-beat-vaccine-hesitancy-faster-than-whites |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/04/black-americans-face-higher-covid-19-risks-are-more-hesitant-to-trust-medical-scientists-get-vaccinated/|title=Black Americans face higher COVID-19 risks, are more hesitant to trust medical scientists, get vaccinated|first1=John|last1=Gramlich|first2=Cary|last2=Funk|date=June 4, 2020 |access-date=January 28, 2022|archive-date=January 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128122957/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/04/black-americans-face-higher-covid-19-risks-are-more-hesitant-to-trust-medical-scientists-get-vaccinated/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Sweta |last=Haldar |date=February 2, 2022 |title=Latest Data on COVID-19 Vaccinations by Race/Ethnicity |url=https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/latest-data-on-covid-19-vaccinations-by-race-ethnicity/ |access-date=March 2, 2022 |website=KFF |language=en-US |archive-date=March 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220302054432/https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/latest-data-on-covid-19-vaccinations-by-race-ethnicity/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Still, in 2022, COVID-19 complications became the third leading cause of death for African Americans.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nul.org/news/new-report-states-covid-19-third-leading-cause-death-black-americans |title=New Report States COVID-19 Is Third-Leading Cause of Death for Black Americans |access-date=January 28, 2022 |archive-date=January 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128122738/https://nul.org/news/new-report-states-covid-19-third-leading-cause-death-black-americans |url-status=live }}</ref>

Violence is a major problem within the African American community.<ref name="lacasa.org">{{cite web | url=https://www.lacasa.org/blog/2023/2/22/black-history-month-shining-a-light-on-domestic-violence-in-the-african-american-community | title=Shining a Light on Domestic Violence in the African American Community | date=February 22, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Disproportionate Impact of Gun Violence on Black Americans |url=https://www.bradyunited.org/resources/research/disproportionate-impact-gun-violence-black-americans#:~:text=Despite%20accounting%20for%20only%2014,the%20disparities%20are%20even%20higher |website=www.bradyunited.org}}</ref> A report from the [[US Department of Justice]] states "In 2005, homicide victimization rates for Blacks were 6 times higher than the rates for Whites".<ref name="Homicide trends in the US">[https://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/race.htm Homicide trends in the US] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061212100248/https://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/race.htm|date=December 12, 2006}}, US Department of Justice</ref> The report also found that "94% of Black victims were killed by Blacks."<ref name="Homicide trends in the US"/> Of the nearly 20,000 recorded US homicides in 2022, African Americans made up the majority of offenders and victims despite making up less than 15% of the population.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/251877/murder-victims-in-the-us-by-race-ethnicity-and-gender/|title=Number of murder victims in the United States in 2022, by race|date=February 13, 2024|work=Statista}}</ref> In 2024, all of the top 5 most dangerous US cities have a significant Black population and highly concerning Black-on-Black violent crime rate.<ref>{{cite web |title=Most Dangerous Places in the U.S. in 2024-2025 |url=https://realestate.usnews.com/places/rankings/most-dangerous-places |website=realestate.usnews.com}}</ref> Black males age 15–44 are the only race/sex category for which homicide is a top 5 cause of death.<ref name="Gilbert"/> Black women are 3 times more likely to be killed by an intimate partner than White women.<ref name="lacasa.org"/> Black children are 3 times more likely to die due to parental abuse and neglect than White children.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/255032/number-of-child-fatalities-due-to-abuse-or-maltreatment-in-the-us-by-race-ethnicity/#:~:text=In%202021%2C%20around%20457%20African,1%2C000%20children%20for%20white%20children | title=Number of fatalities from child abuse by race U.S. 2022 }}</ref>

====Sexual health====
According to the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]], African Americans have higher rates of [[sexually transmitted infections]] (STIs) compared to Whites, with 5 times the rates of [[syphilis]] and [[Chlamydia infection|chlamydia]], and 7.5 times the rate of [[gonorrhea]].<ref>{{cite web |title=STDs in Racial and Ethnic Minorities |url=https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats17/minorities.htm |website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2017 |publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |access-date=June 22, 2019 |date=June 17, 2019 |archive-date=June 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616010330/https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats17/minorities.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The disproportionately high incidence of [[HIV/AIDS in the United States|HIV/AIDS among African Americans]] has been attributed to [[Homophobia in the African American community|homophobic]] influences, lack of [[condom]] usage, and lack of proper healthcare.<ref>{{cite news|title=Homophobia in Black Communities Means More Young Men Get AIDS|work=[[The Atlantic]]|date=November 22, 2013|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/events/archive/2013/11/homophobia-in-black-communities-means-more-young-men-get-aids/281741/|access-date=January 21, 2014|archive-date=January 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140127194146/http://www.theatlantic.com/events/archive/2013/11/homophobia-in-black-communities-means-more-young-men-get-aids/281741/|url-status=live}}</ref> The prevalence of [[HIV/AIDS]] among Black men is seven times higher than the prevalence for White men, and Black men are more than nine times as likely to die from HIV/AIDS-related illness than White men.<ref name="Gilbert"/>  The prevalence of HIV/AIDS among Black women is 20 times higher than White women, and Black women are more than 15 times as likely to die from HIV/AIDS-related illness than White women.<ref>{{cite journal | pmc=2684462 | date=2008 | last1=Tillerson | first1=K. | title=Explaining racial disparities in HIV/AIDS incidence among women in the U.S.: A systematic review | journal=Statistics in Medicine | volume=27 | issue=20 | pages=4132–4143 | doi=10.1002/sim.3224 | pmid=18551508 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/hivaids-and-blackafrican-americans | title=HIV/AIDS and African Americans }}</ref>

==== Mental health ====
African Americans have several [[Obstacles to receiving mental health services among African American youth|barriers for accessing mental health]] services. [[Mental health counselor|Counseling]] has been frowned upon and distant in utility and proximity to many people in the African American community. In 2004, a qualitative research study explored the disconnect with African Americans and mental health. The study was conducted as a semi-structured discussion which allowed the focus group to express their opinions and life experiences. The results revealed a couple key variables that create barriers for many African American communities to seek mental health services such as the stigma, lack of four important necessities; trust, affordability, cultural understanding and impersonal services.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Thompson|first1=Vetta L. Sanders|last2=Bazile|first2=Anita|last3=Akbar|first3=Maysa|year=2004|title=African Americans' Perceptions of Psychotherapy and Psychotherapists.|journal=Professional Psychology: Research and Practice|volume=35|issue=1|pages=19–26|doi=10.1037/0735-7028.35.1.19|issn=1939-1323|citeseerx=10.1.1.515.2135}}</ref>

Historically, many African American communities did not seek counseling because religion was a part of the family values.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Turner|first=Natalie|title=Mental Health Care Treatment Seeking Among African Americans and Caribbean Blacks: What is The Role of Religiosity/Spirituality?|journal=Aging and Mental Health|volume=23|issue=7|pages=905–911|doi=10.1080/13607863.2018.1453484|pmid=29608328|year=2018|pmc=6168439|url=https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=honorscollege_sw|access-date=July 12, 2019|archive-date=April 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429074817/https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=honorscollege_sw|url-status=live}}</ref> African American who have a faith background are more likely to seek prayer as a coping mechanism for mental issues rather than seeking professional mental health services.<ref name=":0" /> In 2015 a study concluded, African Americans with high value in religion are less likely to utilize mental health services compared to those who have low value in religion.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lukachko|first1=Alicia|last2=Myer|first2=Ilan|last3=Hankerson|first3=Sidney|date=August 1, 2015|title=Religiosity and Mental Health Service Use Among African-americans|journal=The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease|volume=203|issue=8|pages=578–582|doi=10.1097/NMD.0000000000000334|issn=0022-3018|pmc=4535188|pmid=26172387}}</ref>

In the United States, counseling approaches are based on the experience of [[White Americans]] and do not fit within the African American culture. African American families tend to resolve concerns within the family, and it is viewed by the family as a strength. On the other hand, when African Americans seek counseling, they face a social backlash and are criticized. They may be labeled "crazy", viewed as weak, and their pride is diminished.<ref name=":0" /> Because of this, many African Americans instead seek mentorship within communities they trust.

Terminology is another barrier in relation to African Americans and mental health. There is more stigma on the term ''[[psychotherapy]]'' versus counseling. In one study, psychotherapy is associated with mental illness whereas counseling approaches problem-solving, guidance and help.<ref name=":0" /> More African Americans seek assistance when it is called counseling and not psychotherapy because it is more welcoming within the cultural and community.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A19573641/AONE|title='Don't Show Weakness:' Black Americans Still Shy Away from Psychotherapy|last=Leland|first=John|date=December 8, 2018|magazine=Newsweek|access-date=September 11, 2020|archive-date=January 7, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107112648/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&id=GALE%7CA19573641&v=2.1&it=r&userGroupName=anon%7E4c6b23c&aty=open-web-entry|url-status=live}}</ref> Counselors are encouraged to be aware of such barriers for the well-being of African American clients. Without [[Cultural competence in healthcare|cultural competency]] training in health care, many African Americans go unheard and misunderstood.<ref name=":0" />

In 2021, African Americans had the third highest [[suicide]] rate trailing American Indians/Alaska Natives and White Americans. However, African Americans had the second highest increase of its suicide rate from 2011 to 2021, growing 58%.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://andscape.com/features/suicide-rates-among-black-americans-are-increasing-by-double-digits/ | title=Suicide rates among Black Americans are increasing by double digits | date=September 11, 2023 | access-date=November 24, 2023 | archive-date=November 24, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124205820/https://andscape.com/features/suicide-rates-among-black-americans-are-increasing-by-double-digits/ | url-status=live }}</ref> As of 2024, suicide is the second leading cause of death among African-Americans between the ages of 15 and 24, with Black men being four times more likely to kill themselves than Black women.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hataway |first1=Leigh |title=Young Black men are dying by suicide at alarming rates |url=https://news.uga.edu/young-black-men-dying-by-suicide-at-alarming-rates/ |work=UGA Today |date=26 March 2024}}</ref>

==Genetics==
{{see also|Genetic history of the African diaspora}}

=== Genome-wide studies ===
[[File:PCA and individual ancestry estimates for African Americans.png|thumb|upright=1.6|Genetic clustering of 128 African Americans, by Zakharia et al. (2009). Each vertical bar represents an individual. The color scheme of the bar plot matches that in the PCA plot.<ref name="Zakharia2009" />]]

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.<ref name="Bryc2009" /><ref name="Bryc 2015">{{cite journal |first1 = Katarzyna |last1 = Bryc |first2 = Eric Y. |last2 = Durand |first3 = J. Michael |last3=Macpherson |first4 = David |last4 = Reich |first5 = Joanna L. |last5 = Mountain |title = The Genetic Ancestry of African Americans, Latinos, and European Americans across the United States |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics|date=January 8, 2015|volume=96|issue=1|pages=37–53|doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.11.010|pmc=4289685 |pmid=25529636}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first1=Soheil |last1=Baharian |first2=Maxime |last2=Barakatt |first3=Christopher R. |last3=Gignoux |first4=Suyash |last4=Shringarpure |first5=Jacob |last5=Errington |first6=William J. |last6=Blot |first7=Carlos D. |last7=Bustamante |first8=Eimear E. |last8=Kenny |first9=Scott M. |last9=Williams |first10=Melinda C. |last10=Aldrich |first11=Simon |last11=Gravel |title = The Great Migration and African-American Genomic Diversity |journal = PLOS Genetics |date = May 27, 2015 |doi = 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006059 |volume=12 |issue=5 |article-number=e1006059 |pmid=27232753 |pmc=4883799 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Commercial testing services have reported similar variation, with ranges from 0.6 to 2 percent Native American, 19 to 29 percent European, and 65 to 80 percent Sub-Saharan African ancestry.<ref>[[Henry Louis Gates Jr.]], "[https://www.theroot.com/exactly-how-black-is-black-america-1790895185 Exactly How 'Black' Is Black America?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814202953/https://www.theroot.com/exactly-how-black-is-black-america-1790895185 |date=August 14, 2021 }}", ''The Root'', February 11, 2013.</ref>

According to a genome-wide study by Bryc et al. (2009), the mixed ancestry of African Americans in varying ratios came about as the result of sexual contact between West/Central Africans (more frequently females) and Europeans (more frequently males). This can be understood as being the result of enslaved African American females being [[History of sexual slavery in the United States#Under chattel slavery|raped]] by White males.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Micheletti |first1=Steven J. |display-authors=etal |title=Genetic Consequences of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the Americas |journal=American Journal of Human Genetics |date=August 6, 2020 |volume=107 |issue=2 |pages=265–277 |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2020.06.012 |pmid=32707084 |pmc=7413858 |s2cid=222230119 }}</ref> Consequently, the 365 African Americans in their sample have a genome-wide average of 78.1% West African ancestry and 18.5% European ancestry, with large variation among individuals (ranging from 99% to 1% West African ancestry). The West African ancestral component in African Americans is most similar to that in present-day speakers from the non-[[Bantu languages|Bantu]] branches of the [[Niger-Congo languages|Niger-Congo]] family.<ref name="Bryc2009">{{cite journal |first1=Katarzyna |last1=Bryc |first2=Adam |last2=Auton |first3=Matthew R. |last3=Nelson |first4=Jorge R. |last4=Oksenberg |first5=Stephen L. |last5=Hauser |first6=Scott |last6=Williams |first7=Alain |last7=Froment |first8=Jean-Marie |last8=Bodo |first9=Charles |last9=Wambebe |first10=Sarah A. |last10=Tishkoff |first11=Carlos D. |last11=Bustamante |title=Genome-wide patterns of population structure and admixture in West Africans and African-Americans |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |date=January 12, 2010|volume=107|issue=2|pages=786–791|doi=10.1073/pnas.0909559107|pmid=20080753|pmc=2818934|bibcode=2010PNAS..107..786B |doi-access=free }}</ref>{{NoteTag|DNA studies of African-Americans have determined that they primarily descend from various [[Niger-Congo languages|Niger-Congo]]-speaking West/Central African ethnic groups: [[Akan people|Akan]] (including the [[Ashanti people|Ashanti]] and [[Fante people|Fante]] subgroups), [[Balanta people|Balanta]], [[Bamileke]], [[Bamum people|Bamun]], [[Bariba people|Bariba]], [[Biafada people|Biafara]], [[Abron tribe|Bran]], [[Chokwe people|Chokwe]], [[Dagomba people|Dagomba]], [[Edo people|Edo]], [[Ewe people|Ewe]], [[Fon people|Fon]], [[Fula people|Fula]], [[Ga people|Ga]], [[Gurma]], [[Hausa people|Hausa]], [[Ibibio people|Ibibio]] (including the [[Efik people|Efik]] subgroup), [[Igbo people|Igbo]], [[Igala people|Igala]], [[Ijaw people|Ijaw]] (including the [[Kalabari tribe|Kalabari]] subgroup), [[Itsekiri]], [[Jola people|Jola]], [[Luchazes|Luchaze]], [[Lunda people|Lunda]], [[Kpelle people|Kpele]], [[Kru people|Kru]], [[Mahi people|Mahi]], [[Mandinka people|Mandinka]] (including the [[Mende people|Mende]] subgroup), [[Nalu people|Naulu]], [[Serer people|Serer]], [[Susu people|Susu]], [[Temne people|Temne]], [[Tikar]], [[Wolof people|Wolof]], [[Yaka people|Yaka]], [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]], and [[Bantu peoples]]; specifically the [[Duala people|Duala]], [[Kongo people|Kongo]], [[Luba people|Luba]], [[Ambundu|Mbundu]] (including the [[Ovimbundu]] subgroup) and [[Teke people|Teke]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2011/10/african_ethnicities_and_their_origins/ |title = African Ethnicities and Their Origins |first1 = John |last1 = Thornton |author1-link = John Thornton (historian) |first2 = Linda |last2 = Heywood |date = October 1, 2011 |website = [[The Root (magazine)|The Root]] |access-date = January 2, 2017 |archive-date = January 3, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170103004156/http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2011/10/african_ethnicities_and_their_origins/ |url-status = live }}</ref>}}

Correspondingly, Montinaro et al. (2014) observed that around 50% of the overall ancestry of African Americans traces comes from a population similar to the Niger-Congo-speaking [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] of southern [[Nigeria]] and southern [[Benin]], reflecting the centrality of this West African region in the Atlantic slave trade. The next most frequent ancestral component found among African Americans was derived from Great Britain, in keeping with historical records. It constitutes a little over 10% of their overall ancestry and is most similar to the Northwest European ancestral component also carried by [[Barbadians]].<ref name="Montinaro2014">{{cite journal|first1=Francesco |last1=Montinaro |first2=George B.J. |last2=Busby |first3=Vincenzo L. |last3=Pascali |first4=Simon |last4=Myers |first5=Garrett |last5=Hellenthal |first6=Cristian |last6=Capelli |title = Unravelling the hidden ancestry of American admixed populations |journal = Nature Communications |date=March 24, 2015 |doi=10.1038/ncomms7596 |volume=6 |article-number=6596 |pmid=25803618 |pmc=4374169 |bibcode=2015NatCo...6.6596M }}</ref> Zakharia et al. (2009) found a similar proportion of Yoruba-like ancestry in their African American samples, with a minority also drawn from [[Mandinka people|Mandenka]] and [[Bantu peoples|Bantu]] populations. Additionally, the researchers observed an average European ancestry of 21.9%, again with significant variation between individuals.<ref name="Zakharia2009">{{cite journal |first1=Fouad |last1=Zakharia |first2=Analabha |last2=Basu |first3=Devin |last3=Absher |first4=Themistocles L. |last4=Assimes |first5=Alan S. |last5=Go |first6=Mark A. |last6=Hlatky |first7=Carlos |last7=Iribarren |first8=Joshua W. |last8=Knowles |first9=Jun |last9=Li |first10=Balasubramanian |last10=Narasimhan |first11=Steven |last11=Sidney |first12=Audrey |last12=Southwick |first13=Richard M. |last13=Myers |first14=Thomas |last14=Quertermous |first15=Neil |last15=Risch |first16=Hua |last16=Tang |title=Characterizing the admixed African ancestry of African Americans |journal=Genome Biology |year=2009 |volume=10 |issue=R141 |pages=R141 |doi=10.1186/gb-2009-10-12-r141 |pmid=20025784 |pmc=2812948 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Bryc et al. (2009) note that populations from other parts of the continent may also constitute adequate proxies for the ancestors of some African American individuals; namely, ancestral populations from [[Guinea Bissau]], [[Senegal]] and [[Sierra Leone]] in West Africa and [[Angola]] in Southern Africa.<ref name="Bryc2009" /> An individual African American person can have over fifteen African ethnic groups in their genetic makeup alone due to the slave trade covering such vast areas.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 8, 2023 |title=African American Ethnic Heritage |url=https://blackdemographics.com/african-american-ethnic-heritage/amp/ |access-date=November 8, 2023 |website=Black Demographics |archive-date=November 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231109193521/https://blackdemographics.com/african-american-ethnic-heritage/amp/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Altogether, genetic studies suggest that African Americans are a genetically diverse people. According to DNA analysis led in 2006 by [[Pennsylvania State University|Penn State]] geneticist [[Mark D. Shriver]], around 58 percent of African Americans have at least 12.5% European ancestry (equivalent to one European great-grandparent and their forebears), 19.6 percent of African Americans have at least 25% European ancestry (equivalent to one European grandparent and their forebears), and 1 percent of African Americans have at least 50% European ancestry (equivalent to one European parent and their forebears).<ref name="auto">{{cite book|author=Gates, Henry Louis Jr|title=In Search of Our Roots: How 19 Extraordinary African Americans Reclaimed Their Past|date=2009|publisher=New York: Crown Publishing|pages=20–21|author-link=Henry Louis Gates Jr.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = Henry Louis Gates Jr.: Michelle's Great-Great-Great-Granddaddy—and Yours |url = https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/118292 |author = Henry Louis Gates Jr. |date = November 8, 2009 |access-date = April 11, 2015 |archive-date = April 11, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150411083013/http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/118292 |url-status = live }}</ref> According to Shriver, around 5 percent of African Americans also have at least 12.5% Native American ancestry (equivalent to one Native American great-grandparent and their forebears).<ref>{{cite book |title=The Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Reader|author=Henry Louis Gates Jr. |publisher=Basci Civitas Books }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = 5 Things to Know About Blacks and Native Americans |url = https://www.ebony.com/life/5-things-to-know-about-blacks-and-native-americans-119 |date = November 20, 2012 |access-date = April 11, 2015 |archive-date = April 19, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150419023648/http://www.ebony.com/life/5-things-to-know-about-blacks-and-native-americans-119 |url-status = live }}</ref> Research suggests that Native American ancestry among people who identify as African American is a result of relationships that occurred soon after slave ships arrived in the American colonies, and European ancestry is of more recent origin, often from the decades before the Civil War.<ref name="dnana1">{{cite news |last = Zimmer |first = Carl |title = Tales of African-American History Found in DNA |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/28/science/african-american-dna.html |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/28/science/african-american-dna.html |archive-date = January 1, 2022 |url-access=limited |newspaper = The New York Times |access-date=May 10, 2019 |date = May 27, 2016 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Y-DNA===
Africans bearing the [[Haplogroup E-V38|E-V38]] (E1b1a) likely traversed across the [[Sahara]], from [[East Africa|east]] to [[West Africa|west]], approximately 19,000 years ago.<ref name="Shrine">{{cite journal |last1=Shrine |first1=Daniel |last2=Rotimi |first2=Charles |title=Whole-Genome-Sequence-Based Haplotypes Reveal Single Origin of the Sickle Allele during the Holocene Wet Phase |journal=American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=102 |issue=4 |pages=547–556 |publisher=Am J Hum Genet|pmc=5985360 |year=2018 |pmid=29526279 |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2018.02.003 }}</ref> [[Haplogroup E-M2|E-M2]] (E1b1a1) likely originated in West Africa or Central Africa.<ref name="Trombetta">{{cite journal |last1=Trombetta |first1=Beniamino |title=Phylogeographic Refinement and Large Scale Genotyping of Human Y Chromosome Haplogroup E Provide New Insights into the Dispersal of Early Pastoralists in the African Continent |journal=Genome Biology and Evolution |volume=7 |issue=7 |pages=1940–1950 |publisher=Genome Biol Evol|pmc=4524485 |year=2015 |pmid=26108492 |doi=10.1093/gbe/evv118 }}</ref> According to a [[Y chromosome|Y-DNA]] study by Sims et al. (2007), the majority (≈60%) of African Americans belong to various subclades of the [[Haplogroup E-M2|E-M2]] (E1b1a1, formerly E3a) paternal haplogroup. This is the most common genetic paternal lineage found today among West/Central African males and is also a signature of the historical [[Bantu migration]]s. The next most frequent Y-DNA haplogroup observed among African Americans is the [[Haplogroup R1b (Y-DNA)|R1b]] clade, which around 15% of African Americans carry. This lineage is most common today among Northwestern European males. The remaining African Americans mainly belong to the paternal [[Haplogroup I-M170|haplogroup I]] (≈7%), which is also frequent in Northwestern Europe.<ref name="Sims2007">{{cite journal|first1=Lynn M. |last1=Sims |first2=Dennis |last2=Garvey |first3=Jack |last3=Ballantyne |title=Sub-populations within the major European and African derived haplogroups R1b3 and E3a are differentiated by previously phylogenetically undefined Y-SNPs|journal=Human Mutation|date=January 2007|volume=28|issue=1|page=97|doi=10.1002/humu.9469|pmid=17154278|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===mtDNA===
According to an [[Mitochondrial DNA|mtDNA]] study by Salas et al. (2005), the maternal lineages of African Americans are most similar to haplogroups that are today especially common in West Africa (>55%), followed closely by West-Central Africa and Southwestern Africa (<41%). The characteristic West African haplogroups [[Haplogroup L1 (mtDNA)|L1b]], [[Haplogroup L2 (mtDNA)|L2b,c,d]], and [[Haplogroup L3 (mtDNA)|L3b,d]] and West-Central African haplogroups [[Haplogroup L1 (mtDNA)|L1c]] and [[Haplogroup L3 (mtDNA)|L3e]] in particular occur at high frequencies among African Americans. As with the paternal DNA of African Americans, contributions from other parts of the continent to their maternal gene pool are insignificant.<ref name="Salas2005">{{cite journal|first1=Antonio |last1=Salas |first2=Ángel |last2=Carracedo |first3=Martin |last3=Richards |first4=Vincent |last4=Macaulay |title=Charting the Ancestry of African Americans|journal=American Journal of Human Genetics|date=October 2005|volume=77|issue=4|pages=676–680|doi=10.1086/491675|pmc=1275617|pmid=16175514}}</ref>

==Racism and social status==
{{See also|Income inequality in the United States}}
Formal political, economic and social discrimination against minorities has been present throughout American history. Leland T. Saito, Associate Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the [[University of Southern California]], writes, "Political rights have been circumscribed by race, class and gender since the founding of the United States, when the right to vote was restricted to White men of property. Throughout the history of the United States, race has been used by Whites for legitimizing and creating difference and social, economic and political exclusion."<ref name="Sato"/>

Those who economically gained the most from slavery were the [[planter class]], owners of large-scale plantations where large numbers of enslaved Africans were held captive and forced to produce crops to create wealth for a White elite.<ref name="plantation">{{cite book |last=Guelzo|first=Allen C.|author-link=Allen C. Guelzo|title=Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-19-984328-2|pages=33–36}}</ref> Having a prominent role in politics with eight presidents owning slaves while in office, upon the end of the Civil War the planter class kept control of their land and remained politically influential, with the [[London School of Economics]] stating, "this persistence in "de facto power" in turn allowed them to block economic reforms, disenfranchise Black voters, and restrict the mobility of workers."<ref>{{cite news |title=Enslavers dominated Southern politics long after the Civil War ended |url=https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2020/10/23/enslavers-dominated-southern-politics-long-after-the-civil-war-ended/ |access-date=May 26, 2025 |publisher=London School of Economics}}</ref>

Although they have gained a greater degree of social equality since the civil rights movement, African Americans have remained stagnant economically, which has hindered their ability to break into the middle class and beyond. As of 2020, the [[Racial inequality in the United States|racial wealth gap]] between Whites and Blacks remains as large as it was in 1968, with the typical net worth of a White household equivalent to that of 11.5 Black households.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/06/04/economic-divide-black-households/| title = The black-white economic gap remains as wide as in 1968 – The Washington Post| newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]| access-date = December 18, 2021| archive-date = December 5, 2021| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211205101109/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/06/04/economic-divide-black-households/| url-status = live}}</ref> Despite this, African Americans have increased employment rates and gained representation in the highest levels of American government in the post–civil rights era.<ref name="Brookings">{{cite news|last1=Thernstrom|first1=Abigail|author1-link=Abigail Thernstrom|last2=Thernstrom|first2=Stephan|author2-link=Stephan Thernstrom|title=Black Progress: How far we've come, and how far we have to go|url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/black-progress-how-far-weve-come-and-how-far-we-have-to-go/|access-date=March 17, 2018|date=March 1, 1998|publisher=Brookings Institution|archive-date=April 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409032025/https://www.brookings.edu/articles/black-progress-how-far-weve-come-and-how-far-we-have-to-go/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, widespread [[racism against African Americans|racism]] remains an issue that continues to undermine the development of social status.<ref name="Brookings"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2016/06/27/3-discrimination-and-racial-inequality/ |work=On Views of Race and Inequality, Blacks and Whites Are Worlds Apart |date=June 27, 2016 |title=3. Discrimination and racial inequality |access-date=November 4, 2020 |agency=Pew Research Center |archive-date=November 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101151213/https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2016/06/27/3-discrimination-and-racial-inequality/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Economically, of all the racially Black ethnic groups on the globe, African Americans are the wealthiest and most successful, with one in every fifty African American families being millionaires.<ref>{{cite web |title=America's Black Upper Class |date=2022 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/americas-black-upper-class-rich-successful-empowered/a-60787979 |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=DW |language=en |archive-date=October 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018185101/https://www.dw.com/en/americas-black-upper-class-rich-successful-empowered/a-60787979 |url-status=live }}</ref> This equates in 2023 to approximately 1.79 million African American millionaires in the United States,<ref>{{cite web |title=New poll finds economic optimism among Black Americans |url=https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2023/09/08/poll-finds-economic-optimism-among-adult-black-americans- |first1= Noorulain |last1=Khawaja |date=Sep 8, 2023 |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=Spectrum News |language=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018185102/https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2023/09/08/poll-finds-economic-optimism-among-adult-black-americans- |archive-date= Oct 18, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Hale |first=Kori |title=Millionaire Status Is On The Rise With 5.2 Million People Joining The Club |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/korihale/2022/10/25/millionaire-status-is-on-the-rise-with-52-million-people-joining-the-club/ |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=Forbes |language=en |date=Oct 25, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231018185058/https://www.forbes.com/sites/korihale/2022/10/25/millionaire-status-is-on-the-rise-with-52-million-people-joining-the-club/ |archive-date= Oct 18, 2023 }}</ref> which is more than the total amount of millionaires in any racially Black country, and many other countries, around the world.

===Policing and criminal justice===
{{See also|Race and crime in the United States|Racial profiling in the United States}}

In the US, which has the largest per-capita prison population in the world, African Americans are overrepresented as the second largest population of prison inmates (38%) in 2023, coming second to Whites who made up 57% of the prison population.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BOP Statistics: Inmate Race |url=https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_race.jsp |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=Bureau of Prisons |archive-date=July 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706084618/https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_race.jsp |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the [[National Registry of Exonerations]], Blacks are roughly 7.5 times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder in the US than Whites.<ref>{{cite news |title=Glynn Simmons: Freedom 'exhilarating' for man exonerated after 48 years |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67878504 |access-date=January 6, 2024 |publisher=BBC |archive-date=January 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106025054/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67878504 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2012, the New York City Police Department detained people more than 500,000 times under the city's [[stop-and-frisk]] law. Of the total detained, 55% were African-Americans, while Black people made up 20% of the city's population.<ref name="Stanford">{{cite web|url=https://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/august/prison-black-laws-080614.html|title=Stanford research suggests support for incarceration mirrors whites' perception of Black prison population|first=Shara|last=Tonn|date=August 6, 2014|website=Stanford Report|publisher=Stanford University|access-date=July 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713173404/https://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/august/prison-black-laws-080614.html |archive-date= Jul 13, 2016 }}</ref>

[[File:DSC 0008 (50283939071).jpg|thumb|left|[[Al Sharpton]] led the [[Commitment March: Get Your Knee Off Our Necks]] protest on August 28, 2020.]]
African American males are more likely to be [[police use of deadly force in the United States|killed by police]] when compared to other races.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/31/the-counted-police-killings-2015-young-black-men|title=Young black men killed by US police at highest rate in year of 1,134 deaths|first1=Jon|last1=Swaine|first2=Oliver|last2=Laughland|first3=Jamiles|last3=Lartey|first4=Ciara|last4=McCarthy|date=December 31, 2015|access-date=July 18, 2016|newspaper=The Guardian|archive-date=May 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522183822/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/31/the-counted-police-killings-2015-young-black-men|url-status=live}}</ref> This is one of the factors that led to the creation of the [[Black Lives Matter]] movement in 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2015/12/28/us/black-lives-matter-evolution/index.html|title=The rise of Black Lives Matter|first1=Sara|last1=Sidner|first2=Mallory|last2=Simon|access-date=July 18, 2016|archive-date=July 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723004528/http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/28/us/black-lives-matter-evolution/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> A historical issue in the US where women have weaponized their White privilege in the country by reporting on Black people, often instigating racial violence,<ref>{{cite news |last=M. Blow|first=Charlea|date=May 27, 2020 |title=How White Women Use Themselves as Instruments of Terror |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/opinion/racism-white-women.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528023029/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/opinion/racism-white-women.html |archive-date=May 28, 2020 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=November 8, 2020 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Lang|first=Cady|date=July 6, 2020|title=How the Karen Meme Confronts History of White Womanhood|url=https://time.com/5857023/karen-meme-history-meaning/|access-date=February 1, 2021|magazine=Time|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111213845/https://time.com/5857023/karen-meme-history-meaning/|url-status=live}}</ref> difficult White women—who have been given a [[Karen (slang)#Origin|different name over the centuries]] by African Americans—calling the police on Black people became widely publicized in 2020.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hutchinson|title=From 'BBQ Becky' to 'Golfcart Gail,' list of unnecessary 911 calls made on blacks continues to grow|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/bbq-becky-golfcart-gail-list-unnecessary-911-calls/story?id=58584961|access-date=November 8, 2020|agency=ABC|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109042738/https://abcnews.go.com/US/bbq-becky-golfcart-gail-list-unnecessary-911-calls/story?id=58584961|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=California woman threatens to call police on eight-year-old black girl for selling water |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/25/permit-patty-eight-year-old-selling-water-san-francisco-video |access-date=November 8, 2020 |work=The Guardian |archive-date=November 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101022100/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/25/permit-patty-eight-year-old-selling-water-san-francisco-video |url-status=live }}</ref> According to ''The Guardian'', "The specter of [[Karen (slang)|Karen]] persisted as Black Lives Matter protests and civil unrest spread around the country following [[Murder of George Floyd|Floyd's murder]] and reckonings with racism began to roil institutions, toppling careers as well as statues".<ref>{{cite news|last=Wong|first=Julia Carrie|author-link=Julia Carrie Wong|date=December 27, 2020|title=The year of Karen: how a meme changed the way Americans talked about racism|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/27/karen-race-white-women-black-americans-racism|access-date=December 21, 2021|archive-date=October 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003051502/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/27/karen-race-white-women-black-americans-racism|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the aftermath of the peak Black Lives Matter protests and widespread police reform efforts, crime rates surged across the nation. Many cities experienced near-record or record levels of violence and other criminal activity. As a result, numerous municipalities scaled back police reform initiatives and increased funding for law enforcement.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2023-05-09 |title=Crime Trends in 2021–22: What We Know So Far {{!}} Brennan Center for Justice |url=https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/crime-trends-2021-22-what-we-know-so-far |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=www.brennancenter.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Krishnakumar |first=Peter Nickeas,Julia Jones,Josh Campbell,Priya |date=2021-05-25 |title=Defund the police encounters resistance as violent crime spikes |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/25/us/defund-police-crime-spike/index.html |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Despite 'defunding' claims, police funding has increased in many US cities |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/defunding-claims-police-funding-increased-us-cities/story?id=91511971 |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref>

===Social issues===
After over 50 years, marriage rates for all Americans began to decline while divorce rates and out-of-wedlock births have climbed.<ref name="media.hoover.org">{{cite web|url=https://media.hoover.org/documents/0817998721_95.pdf|first1=Douglas J.|last1=Besharov|first2=Andrew|last2=West|title=African American Marriage Patterns|publisher=Hoover Press<!--psi:output_files:HPTHER$$$6.PS-->|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516005550/http://media.hoover.org/documents/0817998721_95.pdf|archive-date=May 16, 2008}}</ref> These changes have been greatest among African Americans. After more than 70 years of racial parity Black marriage rates began to fall behind Whites.<ref name="media.hoover.org"/> [[Single parents in the United States|Single-parent]] households have become common, and according to US census figures released in January 2010, only 38 percent of Black children live with both their parents.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/families_households/cb10-08.html|title=Census Bureau Reports Families With Children Increasingly Face Unemployment, US Census Bureau, January 15, 2010|publisher=Census.gov|date=n.d.|access-date=April 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515005733/http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/families_households/cb10-08.html|archive-date=May 15, 2012}}</ref> In 2021, statistics show that over 80 percent marriages in the African American ethnic group marry within their ethnic group.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BLACK MARRIAGE |url=https://blackdemographics.com/households/marriage-in-black-america/ |access-date=2023-10-16 |website=BlackDemographics.com |language=en-US |archive-date=October 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004155357/https://blackdemographics.com/households/marriage-in-black-america/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Sammy Davis Jr. 1972.jpg|thumb|upright|Although the [[Anti-miscegenation laws|ban on interracial marriage]] ended in California in 1948, entertainer [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] faced a backlash for his involvement with a White woman in 1957. ]]

The first ever [[anti-miscegenation law]] was passed by the [[Maryland General Assembly]] in 1691, criminalizing [[interracial marriage]].<ref name="Anti-miscegenation"/> In a speech in [[Charleston, Illinois]] in 1858, [[Abraham Lincoln]] stated, "I am not, nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people".<ref>{{cite book |first=Stephen A. |last=Douglas|title=The Complete Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858 |date=1991 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |page=235}}</ref> By the late 1800s, 38 US states had anti-miscegenation statutes.<ref name="Anti-miscegenation"/> By 1924, the ban on interracial marriage was still in force in 29 states.<ref name="Anti-miscegenation"/> While interracial marriage had been legal in California since 1948, in 1957 actor [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] faced a backlash for his involvement with White actress [[Kim Novak]].<ref name="Smithsonian" /> [[Harry Cohn]], the president of Columbia Pictures, with whom Novak was under contract, gave in to his concerns that a racist backlash against the relationship could hurt the studio.<ref name="Smithsonian" /> Davis briefly married Black dancer Loray White in 1958 to protect himself from mob violence.<ref name="Smithsonian" /> Inebriated at the wedding ceremony, Davis despairingly said to his best friend, Arthur Silber Jr., "Why won't they let me live my life?" The couple never lived together, and commenced divorce proceedings in September 1958.<ref name="Smithsonian">Lanzendorfer, Joy (August 9, 2017) [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/hollywood-loved-sammy-davis-jr-until-he-dated-white-movie-star-180964395/ "Hollywood Loved Sammy Davis Jr. Until He Dated a White Movie Star"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126093738/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/hollywood-loved-sammy-davis-jr-until-he-dated-white-movie-star-180964395/ |date=January 26, 2021 }}, ''[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]'' Retrieved February 23, 2021.</ref> In 1958, officers in [[Virginia]] entered the home of [[Loving v. Virginia#Plaintiffs|Mildred and Richard Loving]] and dragged them out of bed for living together as an interracial couple, on the basis that "any white person intermarry with a colored person"—or vice versa—each party "shall be guilty of a felony" and face prison terms of five years.<ref name="Anti-miscegenation">{{cite news |title=Eugenics, Race, and Marriage |url=https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/eugenics-race-and-marriage |access-date=February 23, 2021 |website=Facing History.org |archive-date=January 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119214057/https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/eugenics-race-and-marriage |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1967 the law was ruled unconstitutional (via the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|14th Amendment]] adopted in 1868) by the US Supreme Court in ''[[Loving v. Virginia]]''.<ref name="Anti-miscegenation"/>

In 2008, Democrats overwhelmingly voted 70% against [[California Proposition 8]], African Americans voted 58% in favor of it while 42% voted against Proposition 8.<ref>Patrick J. Egan, Kenneth Sherrill. [https://www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/issues/egan_sherrill_prop8_1_6_09.pdf "California's Proposition 8: What Happened, and What Does the Future Hold?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611085654/http://www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/issues/egan_sherrill_prop8_1_6_09.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/issues/egan_sherrill_prop8_1_6_09.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |date=June 11, 2014 }}. Taskforce.org. Retrieved October 8, 2015</ref> On May 9, 2012, Barack Obama, the first Black president, became the first US president to support same-sex marriage. Since Obama's endorsement there has been a rapid growth in support for same-sex marriage among African Americans. As of 2012, 59% of African Americans support same-sex marriage, which is higher than support among the national average (53%) and White Americans (50%).<ref>{{cite news|first1=Scott|last1=Clement|first2=Sandhya|last2=Somashekhar|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/after-president-obamas-announcement-opposition-to-gay-marriage-hits-record-low/2012/05/22/gIQAlAYRjU_story.html|title=After President Obama's announcement, opposition to gay marriage hits record low|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 23, 2012|access-date=September 15, 2012|archive-date=September 22, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120922012256/http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/after-president-obamas-announcement-opposition-to-gay-marriage-hits-record-low/2012/05/22/gIQAlAYRjU_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Polls in [[North Carolina]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2012/05/movement-among-black-north-carolinians-on-gay-marriage.html|title=Movement among black North Carolinians on gay marriage|publisher=Public Policy Polling|date=May 17, 2012|access-date=September 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908153828/http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2012/05/movement-among-black-north-carolinians-on-gay-marriage.html|archive-date=September 8, 2012}}</ref> [[Pennsylvania]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2012/05/pa-blacks-shift-quickly-in-favor-of-gay-marriage.html|title=PA blacks shift quickly in favor of gay marriage|publisher=Public Policy Polling|date=May 23, 2012|access-date=September 15, 2012|archive-date=October 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012033801/http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2012/05/pa-blacks-shift-quickly-in-favor-of-gay-marriage.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Missouri]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Missouri will be a swing state this year, voters say|url=https://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_MO_060112.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_MO_060112.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|publisher=Public Policy Polling|access-date=January 3, 2015}}</ref> [[Maryland]],<ref>[https://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/MarylandPollingMemo.pdf Public Policy Polling] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525120133/http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/MarylandPollingMemo.pdf |date=May 25, 2017 }} Memo.</ref> [[Ohio]],<ref>{{cite news|first=Sabrina|last=Siddiqui|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/03/ohio-black-voters-same-sex-marriage-obama_n_1646189.html|title=Ohio's Black Voters Support Same-Sex Marriage After Obama's Endorsement, Poll Finds|work=HuffPost|date=July 3, 2012|access-date=October 9, 2012|archive-date=July 12, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712130638/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/03/ohio-black-voters-same-sex-marriage-obama_n_1646189.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Florida,<ref>{{cite web|title=LeBron more popular than Gov. Scott in Florida|url=https://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_MiscellaneousFL_060812.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_MiscellaneousFL_060812.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|publisher=Public Policy Polling|access-date=January 3, 2015}}</ref> and [[Nevada]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=12824&MediaType=1&Category=26|title=Black Nevadans Support For Gay Marriage Surges After Obama Nod|publisher=Ontopmag.com|date=August 29, 2012|access-date=September 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030070051/http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=12824&MediaType=1&Category=26|archive-date=October 30, 2012}}</ref> have also shown an increase in support for same sex marriage among African Americans. On November 6, 2012, [[Maryland Question 6|Maryland]], [[Maine Question 1, 2012|Maine]], and [[Washington Referendum 74|Washington]] all voted for approve of same-sex marriage, along with Minnesota rejecting a [[Minnesota Amendment 1|constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage]]. Exit polls in Maryland show about 50% of African Americans voted for same-sex marriage, showing a vast evolution among African Americans on the issue and was crucial in helping pass same-sex marriage in Maryland.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204755404578102953841743658|title=Gay Marriage Gets First Ballot Wins|publisher=Ontopmag.com|date=November 7, 2012|access-date=November 11, 2012|first=Geoffrey A.|last=Fowler|archive-date=January 3, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103210323/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204755404578102953841743658|url-status=live}}</ref>

Black Americans hold far more conservative opinions on abortion, [[Affair|extramarital sex]], and raising children out of wedlock than Democrats as a whole.<ref name=social>{{cite web|url=https://www.gallup.com/poll/112807/Blacks-Conservative-Republicans-Some-Moral-Issues.aspx|title=Blacks as Conservative as Republicans on Some Moral Issues|date=December 3, 2008 |publisher=Gallup.com|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110121132114/https://www.gallup.com/poll/112807/Blacks-Conservative-Republicans-Some-Moral-Issues.aspx|archive-date=January 21, 2011}}</ref> On financial issues, however, African Americans are in line with Democrats, generally supporting a more [[progressive tax]] structure to provide more government spending on social services.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://people-press.org/commentary/?analysisid=121|title=PeoplePress.org|publisher=People-Press.org|date=October 31, 2005|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110201635/https://people-press.org/commentary/?analysisid=121|archive-date=January 10, 2011}}</ref>

===Political legacy===
[[File:Martin-Luther-King-1964-leaning-on-a-lectern.jpg|upright|thumb|Dr. [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] remains the most prominent political leader in the American civil rights movement and perhaps the most influential African American political figure in general.]]
[[Military history of African Americans|African Americans have fought in every war]] in the [[Military history of the United States|history of the United States]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48936|title=Defenselink.mil|publisher=Defenselink.mil|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130124013/http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48936|archive-date=November 30, 2009}}</ref>

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 far-reaching and fundamentally important ways. Prior to the 1950s, Black Americans in the South were subject to de jure discrimination, or [[Jim Crow laws]]. They were often the victims of extreme cruelty and violence, sometimes resulting in deaths: by the post World War II era, African Americans became increasingly discontented with their long-standing inequality. In the words of [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], African Americans and their supporters challenged the nation to "rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed that all men are created equal{{nbsp}}..."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/38.htm|title=Martin Luther King, Jr|access-date=May 30, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613010952/https://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/38.htm|archive-date=June 13, 2007}}</ref>

The civil rights movement marked an enormous change in American social, political, economic and civic life. It brought with it [[boycott]]s, [[sit-in]]s, [[nonviolent]] demonstrations and marches, court battles, bombings and other violence; prompted worldwide media coverage and intense public debate; forged enduring civic, economic and religious alliances; and disrupted and realigned the nation's two major political parties.

Over time, it has changed in fundamental ways the manner in which Blacks and Whites interact with and relate to one another. The movement resulted in the removal of codified, ''de jure'' racial segregation and discrimination from American life and law, and heavily influenced other groups and movements in struggles for civil rights and social equality within American society, including the [[Free Speech Movement]], the [[Disability|disabled]], the [[Feminist movement|women's movement]], and [[migrant workers]]. It also inspired the [[Native American rights movement]], and in King's 1964 book ''[[Why We Can't Wait]]'' he wrote the US "was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bender |first1=Albert |title=Dr. King spoke out against the genocide of Native Americans |url=http://www.peoplesworld.org/article/dr-king-spoke-out-against-the-genocide-of-native-americans/ |work=People's World |access-date=March 5, 2021 |date=February 13, 2014 |archive-date=June 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625114956/https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/dr-king-spoke-out-against-the-genocide-of-native-americans/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Rickert |first1=Levi |title=Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: Our Nation was Born in Genocide |url=https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-nation-born-genocide/ |website=Native News Online |access-date=March 5, 2021 |date=January 16, 2017 |archive-date=November 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126092832/https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-nation-born-genocide/ }}</ref>

==Media and coverage==
{{See also|Representation of African Americans in media|African-American newspapers}}
[[File:President George W. Bush is welcomed by Bob Johnson, founder and chairman of the RLJ Companies.jpg|thumb|upright|BET founder [[Robert L. Johnson]] with former US President [[George W. Bush]]]]

Some activists and academics contend that American news media coverage of African American news, concerns, or dilemmas is inadequate,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blackandbrownnews.com/|title=BBN|publisher=blackandbrownnews.com|access-date=October 7, 2010|archive-date=November 22, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122124035/http://blackandbrownnews.com/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4608039|title=Examining the Future of Black News Media|date=April 20, 2005|publisher=NPR|access-date=April 4, 2018|archive-date=April 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180403234608/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4608039|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4608042|title=How Will African Americans Get the News?|date=April 20, 2005|publisher=NPR|access-date=April 4, 2018|archive-date=July 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721103026/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4608042|url-status=live}}</ref> or that the news media present distorted images of African Americans.<ref>{{cite web|first=Mikal|last=Muharrar|title=Media Blackface|publisher=FAIR|date=September–October 1998|url=https://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1431|access-date=July 21, 2018|archive-date=September 8, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908145032/http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1431|url-status=live}}</ref>

To combat this, [[Robert L. Johnson]] founded Black Entertainment Television ([[BET]]), a network that targets young African Americans and urban audiences in the United States. Over the years, the network has aired such programming as [[Hip hop music|rap]] and [[Contemporary R&B|R&B]] music videos, urban-oriented movies and television series, and some public affairs programs. On Sunday mornings, BET would broadcast Christian programming; the network would also broadcast non-affiliated Christian programs during the early morning hours daily. According to [[Viacom (2005–2019)|Viacom]], BET is now a global network that reaches households in the United States, Caribbean, Canada, and the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|title=BET Networks|url=https://www.viacom.com/ourbrands/medianetworks/betnetworks/pages/default.aspx|access-date=September 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120828171159/https://www.viacom.com/ourbrands/medianetworks/betnetworks/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date=August 28, 2012}}</ref> The network has gone on to spawn several spin-off channels, including [[BET Her]] (originally launched as ''BET on Jazz'').<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bet.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070829101056/https://bet.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=18|archive-date=August 29, 2007 |title=BET J}}</ref>

Another network targeting African Americans is [[TV One (Radio One)|TV One]]. TV One is owned by [[Urban One]], founded and controlled by [[Cathy Hughes|Catherine Hughes]]. Urban One is one of the nation's largest radio broadcasting companies and the largest African American-owned radio broadcasting company in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blackamericastudy.com/|title=BlackAmericaStudy.com|publisher=BlackAmericaStudy.com|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207200823/https://blackamericastudy.com/|archive-date=February 7, 2011}}</ref>

In June 2009, [[NBC News]] launched a new website named [[TheGrio]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thegrio.com/|title=TheGrio.com|date=January 16, 2011|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110120223126/https://www.thegrio.com/|archive-date=January 20, 2011}}</ref> It is the first African American video [[news site]] that focuses on underrepresented stories in existing national news.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thegrio.com/about/|title=NBC News & TheGrio|date=June 2, 2009|publisher=Thegrio.com|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-date=January 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107105701/http://www.thegrio.com/about/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Black-owned and oriented media outlets===
* [[The Africa Channel]] – Dedicated to programming about African culture.
* [[Aspire (TV network)|aspireTV]] – a digital cable and satellite channel owned by businessman and former basketball player [[Magic Johnson]].
* ATTV – an independent public affairs and educational channel.
* [[BET Media Group]] – The most prominent multimedia outlet targeting Afro-Americans.
** [[BET]]
** [[BET Her]]
** [[VH1]] – Originally a [[MTV]] spin-off focused on light genres of music, the network's programming became slanted towards African American culture during the 2010s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Why VH1 Gets to Be Black Without the Burden|url=https://www.theroot.com/why-vh1-gets-to-be-black-without-the-burden-1790877558|work=[[The Root (magazine)|The Root]]|date=October 29, 2014|access-date=August 26, 2019|archive-date=August 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815195120/https://www.theroot.com/why-vh1-gets-to-be-black-without-the-burden-1790877558|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Bounce TV]] – a digital multicast network owned by the [[E. W. Scripps Company]].
* [[Fox Soul]] – a digital television and streaming network primarily airing original talk shows and syndicated programming
* [[Oprah Winfrey Network]] – a cable and satellite network founded by [[Oprah Winfrey]] and jointly owned by [[Warner Bros. Discovery]] and [[Harpo Studios]]. While not exclusively targeting African Americans, much of its original programming is geared towards a similar demographic.
* [[Revolt (TV network)|Revolt]] – a music channel and media company founded by [[Sean Combs|Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs]].
* [[Soul of the South Network]] – a regional broadcast network.
* [[TheGrio]] – a digital multicast network focused on news and opinion-based programming.
* [[TV One (U.S. TV network)|TV One]] – a general entertainment network targeting adults.
** [[TV One (American TV channel)#Cleo TV|Cleo TV]] – a sister network targeting [[millennial]] and [[Generation X]] women
* [[We TV]] – Owned by [[AMC Networks]], became slanted towards Black women during the 2010s

==Culture==
{{Further|African-American culture}}
{{See also|African-American art}}
[[File:Soul Food at Powell's Place.jpg|thumb|A traditional [[soul food]] dinner consisting of [[fried chicken]] with [[macaroni and cheese]], [[collard greens]], breaded [[fried okra]], and [[cornbread]]]]

From their earliest presence in North America, African Americans have significantly contributed literature, art, agricultural skills, cuisine, clothing styles, music, language, and social and technological innovation to American culture. The cultivation and use of many agricultural products in the United States, such as [[Sweet potato|yams]], peanuts, rice, [[okra]], [[sorghum]], [[grits]], [[watermelon]], [[indigo dye]]s, and cotton, can be traced to West African and African American influences. Notable examples include [[George Washington Carver]], who created nearly 500 products from peanuts, sweet potatoes, and pecans.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/black.shtml|title=African-American Inventors|access-date=May 30, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613230925/https://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/black.shtml|archive-date=June 13, 2007}}</ref> [[Soul food]] is a variety of cuisine popular among African Americans. It is closely related to the [[cuisine of the Southern United States]]. The descriptive terminology may have originated in the mid-1960s, when ''[[wikt:soul|soul]]'' was a common definer used to describe African American culture (for example, [[soul music]]). African Americans were the first peoples in the United States to make fried chicken, along with [[Scottish people|Scottish]] immigrants to the South. Although the Scottish had been frying chicken before they emigrated, they lacked the spices and flavor that African Americans had used when preparing the meal. The Scottish American settlers therefore adopted the African American method of seasoning chicken.<ref>{{cite book|title=Advances in Deep Fat Frying of Foods|first1=Servet Gulum |last1=Sumnu |first2=Serpil |last2=Sahin |pages=1–2}}</ref> However, fried chicken was generally a rare meal in the African American community and was usually reserved for special events or celebrations.<ref>{{cite book|title=World of a Slave: Encyclopedia of the Material Life of Slaves in the United States|first1=Martha B. |last1=Katz-Hyman |first2=Kym S. |last2=Rice |page=110}}</ref>

===Language===
{{Main|African-American English}}
{{See also|Black American Sign Language|Gullah language|Afro-Seminole Creole|Louisiana Creole}}
[[African-American English]] is a [[Variety (linguistics)|variety]] ([[dialect]], [[ethnolect]], and [[sociolect]]) of [[American English]], commonly spoken by urban [[working class|working-class]] and largely [[wikt:bidialectal|bi-dialectal]] [[middle class|middle-class]] African Americans.<ref>{{cite book|last=Edwards|first=Walter|chapter=African American Vernacular English: phonology|editor-last=Kortmann|editor-first=Bernd|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|year=2004|volume=2|page=383|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dptsvykgk3IC|title=A Handbook of Varieties of English: CD-ROM|isbn=978-3-11-017532-5|access-date=June 16, 2015|archive-date=January 7, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107112638/https://books.google.com/books?id=Dptsvykgk3IC|url-status=live}}</ref> It shares parts of its [[grammar]] and [[phonology]] with the [[Southern American English]] dialect. African American English differs from Standard American English (SAE) in certain pronunciation characteristics, tense usage, and grammatical structures, which were derived from West African languages (particularly those belonging to the [[Niger–Congo languages|Niger–Congo]] family).<ref name="Aave">{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Cross-Cultural School Psychology|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-0-387-71798-2|page=405|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PaO3jsaGkeYC|access-date=October 21, 2014|date=February 18, 2010|archive-date=May 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525120210/https://books.google.com/books?id=PaO3jsaGkeYC|url-status=live}}</ref>

Virtually all habitual speakers of African American English can understand and communicate in Standard American English. As with all linguistic forms, AAVE's usage is influenced by various factors, including geographical, educational and socioeconomic background, as well as formality of setting.<ref name="Aave"/> Additionally, there are many literary uses of this variety of English, particularly in [[African-American literature|African American literature]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Green|first1=Lisa J.|title=African American English: a linguistic introduction|date=2002|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-89138-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780521891387/page/164 164]–199|edition=1. publ., 4. print.|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780521891387|url-access=registration}}</ref>

Other languages are spoken by specific sub-communities.  The [[Gullah language]] is an English-based [[Creole language|creole]] language spoken mostly in the coastal regions of [[South Carolina]] and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] by the [[Gullah]];<ref name="cross">{{cite book |last1=Cross |first1=Wilbur |title=Gullah culture in America |publisher=Praeger |location=Westport, CT}}</ref> an off-shoot of this is [[Afro-Seminole Creole]] spoken by [[Black Seminoles]] mostly now in [[Mexico]] and [[Brackettville, Texas]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Afro-Seminole Creole |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/18/language/afs/ |website=Ethnologue: Languages of the World |publisher=SIL International |access-date=17 November 2024}}</ref>  [[Louisiana Creole]] is a [[French-based creole languages|French-based creole]] and spoken mostly in [[Louisiana]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Louisiana Creole |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/lou/ |website=Ethnologue: Languages of the World |publisher=SIL International |access-date=17 November 2024}}</ref>

====Traditional names====
{{Main|African-American names}}
[[African-American names]] are part of the cultural traditions of African Americans, most of these cultural names having no connection to Africa but strictly an African American cultural practice that developed in the United States during enslavement.<ref name="Logan">{{Cite web |last=Logan |first=Trevon |date=2020-01-23 |title=A brief history of black names, from Perlie to Latasha |url=http://theconversation.com/a-brief-history-of-black-names-from-perlie-to-latasha-130102 |access-date=2023-10-21 |website=The Conversation |language=en |archive-date=January 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107113148/http://theconversation.com/a-brief-history-of-black-names-from-perlie-to-latasha-130102 |url-status=live }}</ref> This new evidence became apparent by census records which show African Americans and White Americans, though they spoke the same language, chose to use different names even during times of enslavement, which is where and when the development of African American cultural names began.<ref name="Logan"/>

Prior to this newer information, it was only thought that before the 1950s, and 1960s, most African-American names closely resembled those used within European-American culture.<ref name="Norman">{{cite book|last1=Norman|first1=Teresa|title=The African-American Baby Name Book|date=1998|publisher=Berkley Books|isbn=978-0-425-15939-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XPkLGtzsKv0C|access-date=May 1, 2016|archive-date=March 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331121650/https://books.google.com/books?id=XPkLGtzsKv0C|url-status=live}}</ref> Babies of that era were generally given a few common names, with children using nicknames to distinguish the various people with the same name. With the rise of 1960s civil rights movement, there was a dramatic increase in names of various origins.<ref name="Moskowitz">{{cite news|last=Moskowitz|first=Clara|author-link=Clara Moskowitz|title=Baby Names Reveal More About Parents Than Ever Before|url=https://www.livescience.com/9027-baby-names-reveal-parents.html|newspaper=Live Science|date=November 30, 2010|access-date=July 21, 2018|archive-date=July 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721103020/https://www.livescience.com/9027-baby-names-reveal-parents.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

By the 1970s, and 1980s, it had become common among African Americans to invent new names for themselves, although many of these invented names took elements from popular existing names. Prefixes such as La/Le, Da/De, Ra/Re and Ja/Je, and suffixes like -ique/iqua, -isha and -aun/-awn are common, as are inventive spellings for common names. The book ''Baby Names Now: From Classic to Cool—The Very Last Word on First Names'' places the origins of "La" names in African-American culture in [[New Orleans]].<ref name="Rosenkrantz">{{cite book|last=Rosenkrantz|first=Linda|title=Baby Names Now: From Classic to Cool—The Very Last Word on First Names|date=August 16, 2001|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|isbn=978-0-312-26757-5|url=https://archive.org/details/babynamesnow00rose|author2=Satran, Paula Redmond}}</ref>

Even with the rise of inventive names, it is still common for African Americans to use biblical, historical, or traditional European names. Daniel, Christopher, Michael, David, James, Joseph, and Matthew were thus among the most frequent names for African-American boys in 2013.<ref name="Norman"/><ref>{{cite web|last=Lack|first=Evonne|title=Popular African American Names|url=https://www.babycenter.com/0_popular-african-american-names_10329236.bc|website=babycenter.com|access-date=February 12, 2014|archive-date=February 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222002808/http://www.babycenter.com/0_popular-african-american-names_10329236.bc|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref name="Conley">{{cite journal|last=Conley|first=Dalton|title=Raising E and Yo...|journal=Psychology Today|date=March 10, 2010|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201003/raising-e-and-yo|access-date=July 21, 2018|archive-date=January 7, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107113146/https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/articles/201003/raising-e-and-yo|url-status=live}}</ref>

The name LaKeisha is typically considered American in origin but has elements that were drawn from both French and West/Central African roots. Names such as LaTanisha, JaMarcus, DeAndre, and Shaniqua were created in the same way. Punctuation marks are seen more often within African American names than other American names, such as the names Mo'nique and D'Andre.<ref name="Norman"/>

===Music===
{{multiple image
|total_width=350
|width1=780|height1=529|image1=Jazzing orchestra 1921.png|caption1=The King & Carter [[Jazz]]ing Orchestra photographed in Houston, Texas, January 1921
|width2=542|height2=600|image2=Chuck-berry-2007-07-18.jpg|thumb|left|upright|caption2=[[Chuck Berry]] is considered a pioneer of [[rock and roll]].
}}
[[African-American music|African American music]] is one of the most pervasive African American cultural influences in the United States today and is among the most dominant in mainstream popular music. [[Hip hop music|Hip hop]], [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]], [[funk]], [[rock and roll]], [[soul music|soul]], [[blues]], and other contemporary American musical forms originated in Black communities and evolved from other Black forms of music, including [[blues]], [[doo-wop]], [[Barbershop music|barbershop]], [[ragtime]], [[Bluegrass music|bluegrass]], [[jazz]], and [[gospel music]].

African American-derived musical forms have also influenced and been incorporated into virtually every other [[popular music]] genre in the world, including [[Country music|country]] and [[techno]]. African American genres are the most important ethnic vernacular tradition in America, as they have developed independent of African traditions from which they arise more so than any other immigrant groups, including Europeans; make up the broadest and longest lasting range of styles in America; and have, historically, been more influential, interculturally, geographically, and economically, than other American vernacular traditions.<ref name="stewart">{{cite book|last=Stewart|first=Earl L.|year=1998|title=African American Music: An Introduction|isbn=978-0-02-860294-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780028602943/page/3 3]|publisher=Schirmer Books|location=New York|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780028602943/page/3}}</ref>

===Dance===
African Americans have also had an important role in American dance. [[Bill T. Jones]], a prominent modern choreographer and dancer, has included historical African American themes in his work, particularly in the piece "Last Supper at Uncle Tom's Cabin/The Promised Land". Likewise, [[Alvin Ailey]]'s artistic work, including his "Revelations" based on his experience growing up as an African American in the South during the 1930s, has had a significant influence on modern dance. Another form of dance, [[Stepping (African-American)|stepping]], is an African American tradition whose performance and competition has been formalized through the traditionally Black fraternities and sororities at universities.<ref name="Anderson">{{Cite news|last=Harris|first=Samantha|title=Stepping into controversy: Some fraternity members fear film 'Stomp the Yard' portrays them as glamorized dance group, trivializes traditions|newspaper=[[The Anderson Independent-Mail]]|location=Anderson, South Carolina|date=January 25, 2007|url=https://www.independentmail.com/news/2007/jan/25/stepping-controversy-some-fraternity-members-fear-/|access-date=January 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629142134/http://www.independentmail.com/news/2007/jan/25/stepping-controversy-some-fraternity-members-fear-/|archive-date=June 29, 2011}}</ref>

=== Sports ===
{{Excerpt|African Americans in sports|paragraphs=1-2|templates=0|references=0}}

===Literature and academics===
[[File:Toni Morrison (The Bluest Eye author portrait).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Toni Morrison]], recipient of the Nobel Prize for literature]]
Many African American authors have written stories, poems, and essays influenced by their experiences as African Americans. [[African-American literature|African American literature]] is a major genre in American literature. Famous examples include [[Langston Hughes]], [[James Baldwin (writer)|James Baldwin]], [[Richard Wright (author)|Richard Wright]], [[Zora Neale Hurston]], [[Ralph Ellison]], Nobel Prize winner [[Toni Morrison]], and [[Maya Angelou]].

[[African-American inventor|African American inventor]]s have created many widely used devices in the world and have contributed to international [[innovation]]. [[Norbert Rillieux]] created the technique for converting sugar cane juice into white sugar crystals. Moreover, Rillieux left [[Louisiana]] in 1854 and went to France, where he spent ten years working with the Champollions deciphering [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|Egyptian hieroglyphics]] from the [[Rosetta Stone]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.inventions.org/culture/african/rillieux.html|title=Norbert Rillieux|publisher=Inventors Assistance League|access-date=January 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204165759/https://inventions.org/culture/african/rillieux.html|archive-date=December 4, 2010}}</ref> Most slave inventors were nameless, such as the slave owned by the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] President [[Jefferson Davis]] who designed the ship propeller used by the Confederate navy.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sluby|first=Patricia Carter|title=The Inventive Spirit of African Americans: Patented Ingenuity|year=2004|publisher=Praeger|location=Westport, Conn.|isbn=978-0-275-96674-4|pages=30–33|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wz-DTSXeLRYC&pg=PA30}}</ref>

By 1913, over 1,000 inventions were patented by Black Americans. Among the most notable inventors were [[Jan Matzeliger]], who developed the first machine to mass-produce shoes,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/matzeliger.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030302053043/http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/matzeliger.html|archive-date=March 2, 2003|title=Jan Matzeliger|date=August 2002|publisher=[[Lemelson-MIT Program]]|access-date=January 29, 2011}}</ref> and [[Elijah McCoy]], who invented automatic lubrication devices for steam engines.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/mccoy.html|title=Elijah McCoy (1844–1929)|date=May 1996|publisher=[[Lemelson-MIT Program]]|access-date=January 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227194310/https://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/mccoy.html|archive-date=December 27, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Granville Woods]] had 35 patents to improve electric railway systems, including the first system to allow moving trains to communicate.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/woods.html|title=Granville T. Woods|date=August 1996|publisher=[[Lemelson-MIT Program]]|access-date=January 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227190714/https://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/woods.html|archive-date=December 27, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Garrett A. Morgan]] developed the first automatic traffic signal and gas mask.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/morgan.html|title=Garrett A. Morgan (1877–1963)|date=February 1997|publisher=[[Lemelson-MIT Program]]|access-date=January 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227190804/https://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/morgan.html|archive-date=December 27, 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Lewis Howard Latimer]] invented an improvement for the incandescent light bulb.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.todaysengineer.org/2004/Feb/history.asp|title=African American Heritage in Engineering|first=Michael N.|last=Geselowitz|date=February 2004|publisher=todaysengineer.org|access-date=October 7, 2010|archive-date=July 16, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716023608/http://www.todaysengineer.org/2004/Feb/history.asp}}</ref> More recent inventors include [[Frederick McKinley Jones]], who invented the movable refrigeration unit for food transport in trucks and trains.<ref name=FMJones>{{cite web|url=https://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/jones.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030217213948/http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/jones.html|archive-date=February 17, 2003|title=Frederick M. Jones (1893–1961)|publisher=[[Lemelson-MIT Program]]|access-date=January 29, 2011}}</ref> [[Lloyd Quarterman]] worked with six other Black scientists on the creation of the atomic bomb (code named the [[Manhattan Project]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.csupomona.edu/~nova/scientists/articles/quart.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060924200300/https://www.csupomona.edu/~nova/scientists/articles/quart.html|archive-date=September 24, 2006|title=Lloyd Albert Quarterman|last=McConnell|first=Wendy|publisher=Project Nova, [[California State Polytechnic University, Pomona]]|access-date=January 29, 2011}}</ref> and helped develop the first nuclear reactor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blackhistorypages.net/pages/lquarterman.php|title=Dr. Lloyd Quarterman|publisher=Black History Pages|access-date=January 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723025705/http://blackhistorypages.net/pages/lquarterman.php|archive-date=July 23, 2011}}</ref>

As part of the preservation of their culture, African Americans have continuously launched their own publications and publishing houses, such as [[Robert Sengstacke Abbott]], founder of the Chicago Defender newspaper, and [[Carter G. Woodson]], the founder of [[Black History Month]] who spent over thirty years documenting and publishing African American history in journals and books. The [[Johnson Publishing Company]], founded by [[John H. Johnson]] in 1942, is a National Historic Landmark.<ref>{{Cite web |last=History |first=Black Entrepreneur |date=2020-11-23 |title=John Warren Moutoussamy – One of Chicago's Finest High Rising Architects |url=https://blackentrepreneurhistory.com/black-history/john-warren-moutoussamy-one-of-chicagos-finest-high-rising-architects |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=Black Entrepreneur History |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Terminology==
===General===
[[File:"Afro-Americans" float in Golden Potlatch parade, Seattle, July 1911 (MOHAI 5590).jpg|thumb|left|This parade float displayed the word "Afro-Americans" in 1911.]]
The term ''African American'' was popularized by [[Jesse Jackson]] in the 1980s,<ref name="wilkersonnyt">{{Cite news|last1=Wilkerson|first1=Isabel|date=January 31, 1989|title='African-American' Favored By Many of America's Blacks|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/31/us/african-american-favored-by-many-of-america-s-blacks.html|access-date=December 28, 2020|issn=0362-4331|quote=A movement led by the Rev. Jesse Jackson to call blacks African-Americans has met with both rousing approval and deep-seated skepticism in a debate that is coming to symbolize the role and history of blacks in this country. ... The question of a name has caused pain and controversy since the first Africans were captured and shipped to the Americas in the 17th century. The slaves called themselves Africans at first, but slave masters gave them English names and called them Negroes, the Portuguese word for black, historians say. That term was resented by some blacks who said it was degrading when whites mispronounced it, accidentally or intentionally.}}</ref> although there are recorded uses from the 18th and 19th centuries,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schuessler |first=Jennifer |date=2015-04-20 |title=Use of 'African-American' Dates to Nation's Early Days |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/21/arts/use-of-african-american-dates-to-nations-early-days.html |access-date=2024-02-12 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> for example, in post-emancipation holidays and conferences.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Times-Picayune 29 Nov 1885, page Page 3 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-picayune-african-american-day/65889728/ |access-date=2024-02-12  |website=Newspapers.com |date=1885 |page=3 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Evening Herald 09 May 1884, page 1 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-herald-african-american-conferen/171531828/ |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=Newspapers.com |date=1884 |page=1 |language=en}}</ref> Earlier terms also used to describe Americans of African ancestry referred more to skin color than to ancestry. Other terms (such as ''[[colored]]'', ''[[person of color]]'', or ''[[negro]]'') were included in the wording of various laws and legal decisions which some thought were being used as tools of [[White supremacy]] and [[oppression]].<ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/outofmouthsofsla00john|url-access=registration|title=Out of the Mouths of Slaves: African American Language and Educational Malpractice|author=Baugh, John|page=[https://archive.org/details/outofmouthsofsla00john/page/86 86]|publisher=[[University of Texas Press]]|isbn=978-0-292-70873-0|year=1999}}</ref>

[[File:Michelle Obama official portrait crop.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Michelle Obama]] was the [[First Lady of the United States]]; she and her husband, President Barack Obama, are the first African Americans to hold these positions.]]

A 16-page pamphlet entitled "A Sermon on the Capture of Lord Cornwallis" is notable for the attribution of its authorship to "An ''African American''". Published in 1782, the book's use of this phrase predates any other yet identified by more than 50 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.harvard.edu/houghton/2015/04/23/exploring-the-origins-of-african-american/|title=Exploring the origins of 'African American' Houghton Library Blog|website=blogs.harvard.edu|access-date=May 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507153324/https://blogs.harvard.edu/houghton/2015/04/23/exploring-the-origins-of-african-american/|archive-date=May 7, 2018}}</ref>

In the 1980s, the term ''African American'' was advanced to give descendants of [[Slavery in the United States|American slaves]], and other American Blacks who lived through the slavery era, a [[Cultural heritage|heritage]] and a cultural base.<ref name="books.google.com"/> The term was popularized in Black communities around the country via [[word of mouth]] and ultimately received mainstream use after [[Jesse Jackson]]'s use in 1988. Subsequently, major media outlets adopted it.<ref name="books.google.com"/>

Surveys in the 1990s and the first decade of the 21st century showed that the majority of Black Americans had no preference for ''African American'' versus ''Black American'',<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gallup.com/poll/28816/black-african-american.aspx|title=Black or African American?|first=Frank|last=Newport|publisher=Gallup|date=September 28, 2007|access-date=September 26, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906124630/https://www.gallup.com/poll/28816/Black-African-American.aspx|archive-date=September 6, 2010}}</ref> although they had a slight preference for the latter in personal settings and the former in more formal settings.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Pepper|last2=Kemp|first2=Herb|title=What's Black About? Insights to Increase Your Share of a Changing African-American Market|page=8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1OzZr_U2x_wC&pg=PA8|publisher=Paramount Market Publishing, Inc|year=2006|isbn=978-0-9725290-9-9|oclc=61694280}}</ref> By 2021, according to polling from [[Gallup, Inc.|Gallup]], 58% of Black Americans expressed no preference for what their group should be called, with 17% each preferring ''Black'' and ''African-American''. Among those with no preference, Gallup found a slight majority favored ''Black'' "if [they] had to choose."<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCarthy |first=Justin and Whitney Dupree |date=2021-08-04 |title=No Preferred Racial Term Among Most Black, Hispanic Adults |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/353000/no-preferred-racial-term-among-black-hispanic-adults.aspx |access-date=2024-03-31 |website=Gallup.com |language=en}}</ref>

In 2020, the [[Associated Press]] updated its [[AP Stylebook]] to direct its writers to capitalize the first letter of ''Black'' when it is used "in a racial, ethnic or cultural sense, conveying an essential and shared sense of history, identity and community among people who identify as Black, including those in the African diaspora and within Africa."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-20 |title=Explaining AP style on Black and white |url=https://apnews.com/article/archive-race-and-ethnicity-9105661462 |access-date=2024-03-31 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' and other outlets made similar changes at the same time.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Coleman |first=Nancy |date=2020-07-05 |title=Why We're Capitalizing Black |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/05/insider/capitalized-black.html |access-date=2024-03-31 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

In 2023, the government released a new more detailed breakdown due to the rise in racially Black immigration into the US, listing African American as a compound termed ethnicity, distinguished from other racially Black ethnicities such as Nigerian, Jamaican etc.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Improvements to the 2020 Census Race and Hispanic Origin Question Designs, Data Processing, and Coding Procedures |url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2021/08/improvements-to-2020-census-race-hispanic-origin-question-designs.html |access-date=2023-09-30 |website=Census.gov}}</ref>

The term ''African American'' embraces [[pan-Africanism]] as earlier enunciated by prominent African thinkers such as [[Marcus Garvey]], [[W. E. B. Du Bois]], and [[George Padmore]]. The term ''Afro-[[Usonia]]n'', and variations of such, are more rarely used.<ref>Brennan, Timothy. 2008. ''Secular Devotion: Afro-Latin Music and Imperial Jazz'', p. 249.</ref><ref>[https://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2010/12/what_call_americans "Yankees, gringos and USAnians"], ''[[The Economist]]'', December 9, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2014.</ref>

===Official identity===
[[File:US Census Bureau keypunch operators, Negro section.jpg|thumb|[[Racially segregated]] Negro section of keypunch operators at the [[US Census Bureau]]]]
Since 1977, in an attempt to keep up with changing social opinion, the [[Federal government of the United States|United States government]] has officially classified Black people (revised to ''Black'' or ''African American'' in 1997) as "having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa."<ref name="censusblack">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-5.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-5.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|first=Jesse|last=McKinnon|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=October 22, 2007|title=The Black Population: 2000 United States Census Bureau}}</ref> Other federal offices, such as the US Census Bureau, adhere to the [[Office of Management and Budget]] standards on race in their data collection and tabulation efforts.<ref name="OMB">{{cite web|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/1997standards.html |title=Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity |year=1997 |publisher=Office of Management and Budget |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090315191301/https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/1997standards.html |archive-date=March 15, 2009 }}</ref> In preparation for the [[2010 United States census|2010 US census]], a marketing and outreach plan called ''2010 Census Integrated Communications Campaign Plan'' (ICC) recognized and defined African Americans as Black people born in the United States. From the ICC perspective, African Americans are one of three groups of Black people in the United States.<ref name="US2010ICCBlkAud">{{cite web|title=2010 Census Integrated Communications Campaign Plan|url=https://www.census.gov/2010census/partners/pdf/2010_ICC_Plan_Final_Edited.pdf|website=2010 Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|page=225|date=August 2008|access-date=September 6, 2012|quote=The Black audience includes all individuals of Black African descent. There are three major groups that represent the Black Audience in the United States. These groups are African Americans (Blacks born in the United States), Black Africans (Black Immigrants from Africa) and Afro-Caribbeans, which includes Haitians.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310013605/http://www.census.gov/2010census/partners/pdf/2010_ICC_Plan_Final_Edited.pdf|archive-date=March 10, 2013}}</ref>

The ICC plan was to reach the three groups by acknowledging that each group has its own sense of community that is based on geography and ethnicity.<ref name="US2010ICCBstRch">{{cite web|title=2010 Census Integrated Communications Campaign Plan|url=https://www.census.gov/2010census/partners/pdf/2010_ICC_Plan_Final_Edited.pdf|website=2010 Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|page=230|date=August 2008|access-date=September 6, 2012|quote=Community, both geographic and ethnic, creates a sense of belonging and pride that is unique to the Black audience (African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, and Black Africans).|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310013605/http://www.census.gov/2010census/partners/pdf/2010_ICC_Plan_Final_Edited.pdf|archive-date=March 10, 2013}}</ref> The best way to market the census process toward any of the three groups is to reach them through their own unique communication channels and not treat the entire Black population of the US as though they are all African Americans with a single ethnic and geographical background. The [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] of the [[United States Department of Justice|US Department of Justice]] categorizes Black or African American people as "[a] person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa" through racial categories used in the UCR Program adopted from the Statistical Policy Handbook (1978) and published by the Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards, [[United States Department of Commerce|US Department of Commerce]], derived from the 1977 [[Office of Management and Budget]] classification.<ref name="FBIpop">{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/additional-ucr-publications/ucr_handbook.pdf/view|title=Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook|publisher=Federal Bureau of Investigation|page=97|year=2004|format=PDF|access-date=July 28, 2016|archive-date=July 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707134708/https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/additional-ucr-publications/ucr_handbook.pdf/view}}</ref>

===Admixture===
{{See also||Interracial marriage in the United States|Miscegenation#United States|Multiracial American|One-drop rule|hypodescent}}
Historically, "[[Miscegenation|race mixing]]" between Black and White people was [[taboo]] in the United States. So-called [[anti-miscegenation laws]], barring Blacks and Whites from [[Interracial marriage in the United States|marrying]] or having sex, were established in [[colonial America]] as early as 1691,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.backintyme.com/essay050101.htm|title=The Invention of the Color Line: 1691—Essays on the Color Line and the One-Drop Rule |author=Frank W Sweet |publisher=Backentyme Essays|date=January 1, 2005|access-date=January 4, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070409160923/https://backintyme.com/essay050101.htm|archive-date=April 9, 2007}}</ref> and endured in many [[Southern United States|Southern states]] until the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] ruled them unconstitutional in ''[[Loving v. Virginia]]'' (1967). The taboo among American Whites surrounding White-Black relations is a historical consequence of the oppression and [[racial segregation]] of African Americans.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Yancey|first=George|date=March 22, 2007|title=Experiencing Racism: Differences in the Experiences of Whites Married to Blacks and Non-Black Racial Minorities|journal=Journal of Comparative Family Studies|volume=38|issue=2|pages=197–213|doi=10.3138/jcfs.38.2.197}}</ref> Historian [[David Brion Davis]] notes the racial mixing that occurred during slavery was frequently attributed by the [[Plantations in the American South|planter class]] to the "lower-class white males" but Davis concludes that "there is abundant evidence that many slaveowners, sons of slaveowners, and overseers took Black mistresses or in effect raped the wives and daughters of slave families."<ref>[[David Brion Davis|Davis, David Brion]]. ''[[Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World]].''(2006) {{ISBN|978-0-19-514073-6}} p. 201</ref> A famous example was [[Thomas Jefferson]]'s mistress, [[Sally Hemings]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Memoirs of Madison Hemings|publisher=PBS Frontline|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/cron/1873march.html}}</ref> Although publicly opposed to race mixing, Jefferson, in his ''[[Notes on the State of Virginia]]'' published in 1785, wrote: "The improvement of the Blacks in body and mind, in the first instance of their mixture with the whites, has been observed by every one, and proves that their inferiority is not the effect merely of their condition of life".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Higginbotham |first1=A. Leon |title=In the Matter of Color: Race and the American Legal Process. The Colonial Period |publisher=Oxford University Press US |date=1980 |page=10}}</ref>

[[Harvard University]] historian [[Henry Louis Gates Jr.]] wrote in 2009 that "African Americans...are a racially mixed or [[mulatto]] people—deeply and overwhelmingly so". After the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], [[Chinese Americans|Chinese American]] men married African American women in high proportions to their total marriage numbers due to few Chinese American women being in the United States.<ref name="The United States">{{cite web|url=https://www.colorq.org/MeltingPot/article.aspx?d=America&x=ChineseBlacks|title=The United States|website=Chinese blacks in the Americas|publisher=Color Q World|access-date=March 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615185501/http://www.colorq.org/MeltingPot/article.aspx?d=America&x=ChineseBlacks|archive-date=June 15, 2018}}</ref> African slaves and their descendants have also had a history of cultural exchange and [[Miscegenation|intermarriage]] with Native Americans,<ref name="gen2">{{cite web|url=https://www.african-nativeAmerican.com/1IntroPage.htm|title=Researching Black Native American Genealogy of the Five Civilized Tribes|first=Angela Y.|last=Walton-Raji|access-date=March 20, 2018|year=2008|publisher=Oklahoma's Black Native Americans}}</ref> although they did not necessarily retain social, cultural or linguistic ties to Native peoples.<ref name="sad">{{cite book|author=G. Reginald Daniel|title=More Than Black?: Multiracial|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9tP7_3j3WrkC&pg=PA129YEAR|publisher=Temple University Press|isbn=978-1-4399-0483-1|date=June 25, 2010}}</ref> There are also increasing intermarriages and offspring between non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics of any race, especially between [[Puerto Ricans]] and African Americans.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|title=Census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 9, 2012}}</ref>

Racially mixed marriages have become increasingly accepted in the United States since the civil rights movement.<ref name="Swanbrow">{{cite news|url=https://www.ns.umich.edu/new/releases/3396-intimate-relationships-between-races-more-common-than-thought|title=Intimate Relationships Between Races More Common Than Thought|last=Swanbrow|first=Diane|date=March 23, 2000|publisher=University of Michigan|access-date=March 20, 2018}}</ref> Approval in national opinion polls has risen from 36% in 1978, to 48% in 1991, 65% in 2002, 77% in 2007.<ref>[[Paul Krugman|Krugman, Paul]], ''[[The Conscience of a Liberal]]'', W. W. Norton & Company, 2007, p. 210.</ref> A Gallup poll conducted in 2013 found that 84% of Whites and 96% of Blacks approved of interracial marriage, and 87% overall.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gallup.com/poll/163697/approve-marriage-blacks-whites.aspx|title=In U.S., 87% Approve of Black-White Marriage, vs. 4% in 1958|author=Newport, Frank|publisher=Gallup|date=July 25, 2013|access-date=December 21, 2015}}</ref> Black men are more than twice as likely to [[Interracial marriage in the United States|date and marry interracially than Black women]].<ref>{{cite journal | pmc=4850739 | date=2015 | last1=Raley | first1=R. K. | last2=Sweeney | first2=M. M. | last3=Wondra | first3=D. | title=The Growing Racial and Ethnic Divide in U.S. Marriage Patterns | journal=The Future of Children | volume=25 | issue=2 | pages=89–109 | doi=10.1353/foc.2015.0014 | pmid=27134512 }}</ref>

At the end of World War II, some African American military men stationed in [[Japan]] and [[Germany]] impregnated local non-Black women, resulting in the birth of thousands of mixed-race children. Many of these families later immigrated to the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dornsifelive.usc.edu/events/site/192/579045/|title=Rising Sun, "Rising Soul": Mixed Race Japanese of African Descent > Event Details > USC Center for Japanese Religions and Culture|website=dornsifelive.usc.edu|access-date=January 1, 2020|archive-date=January 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101093208/http://dornsifelive.usc.edu/events/site/192/579045/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/stories-54737460 |title=Growing up as a black child in post-war Germany |publisher=British Broadcasting Company |website=BBC |date=30 October 2020 |access-date=7 February 2025}}</ref>

===<span id="The">Terminology dispute</span>===
Author [[Debra Dickerson]] has argued that the term ''[[Black people|Black]]'' should refer strictly to the descendants of Africans who were brought to America as slaves, and not to the sons and daughters of Black immigrants who lack that ancestry. Thus, under her definition, President Barack Obama, who is the son of a Kenyan, is not Black.<ref name="colorblind-salon"/><ref name="colbertnation.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.cc.com/video/12d71h/the-colbert-report-debra-dickerson|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813102913/https://www.cc.com/video/12d71h/the-colbert-report-debra-dickerson|archive-date=August 13, 2021|title=The Colbert Report – Debra Dickerson|date=February 8, 2007|publisher=Comedy Central|access-date=December 6, 2021}}</ref> She makes the argument that grouping all people of African descent together regardless of their unique ancestral circumstances would inevitably deny the lingering effects of slavery within the American community of slave descendants, in addition to denying Black immigrants recognition of their own unique ancestral backgrounds. "Lumping us all together", Dickerson wrote, "erases the significance of slavery and continuing racism while giving the appearance of progress."<ref name="colorblind-salon">{{cite web|url=https://www.salon.com/news/opinion/feature/2007/01/22/obama/|title=Colorblind&nbsp;– Barack Obama would be the great black hope in the next presidential race&nbsp;– if he were actually black|work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]|first=Debra J.|last=Dickerson|date=January 22, 2007|access-date=October 7, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924194645/https://www.salon.com/news/opinion/feature/2007/01/22/obama/|archive-date=September 24, 2010}}</ref> Similar comments have been made concerning Kamala Harris, the daughter of a Caribbean immigrant, who was elected vice president in 2020.<ref name="Libactivists" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

Similar viewpoints to Dickerson's have been expressed by author [[Stanley Crouch]] in a ''[[New York Daily News]]'' piece, [[Charles Steele Jr.]] of the [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/sclc-head-michelle-obama-treated-more-roughly-than-her-husband-because-of-her-slave-heritage/XG74EGDUSZG23LDBKZOBX7WRI4/|title=SCLC head: Michelle Obama treated more roughly than her husband, because of her slave heritage|work=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]|date=June 21, 2008|access-date=June 4, 2021}}</ref> and African American columnist [[David Ehrenstein]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', who accused White liberals of flocking to Blacks who were ''[[Magic Negro]]s'', a term that refers to a Black person with no past who simply appears to assist the mainstream White (as cultural protagonists/drivers) agenda.<ref name="Obama the 'Magic Negro'">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ehrenstein19mar19,0,5335087.story?coll=la-opinion-center |work=Los Angeles Times|title=Obama the 'Magic Negro'|date=March 19, 2007|first=David|last=Ehrenstein}}</ref> Ehrenstein went on to say "He's there to assuage white 'guilt' they feel over the role of slavery and racial segregation in American history."<ref name="Obama the 'Magic Negro'"/>

The [[American Descendants of Slavery]] (ADOS) movement coalesces around this view, arguing that Black descendants of American slavery deserve a separate ethnic category that distinguishes them from other Black groups in the United States.<ref name="NY Times overview">{{cite news|last=Stockman|first=Farah|date=November 8, 2019|title='We're Self-Interested': The Growing Identity Debate in Black America|page=A1|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/08/us/slavery-black-immigrants-ados.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/08/us/slavery-black-immigrants-ados.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |url-access=limited|author-link=Farah Stockman}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Their terminology has gained popularity in some circles, but others have criticized the movement for a perceived bias against (especially poor and Black) immigrants, and for its often inflammatory rhetoric.<ref name="Libactivists">{{cite news|last1=Scherer|first1=Michael|last2=Wang|first2=Amy|date=July 8, 2019|title=A few liberal activists challenged Kamala Harris's black authenticity. The president's son amplified their message.|language=en|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/a-few-liberal-activists-challenged-kamala-harriss-black-authenticity-the-presidents-son-amplified-their-message/2019/07/07/f46c4b8a-9ccd-11e9-85d6-5211733f92c7_story.html|access-date=March 13, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Chávez|first=Aída|date=February 13, 2019|title=Black Critics of Kamala Harris and Cory Booker Push Back Against Claims That They're Russian "Bots"|url=https://theintercept.com/2019/02/13/ados-kamala-harris-cory-booker-russian-bots/|access-date=December 1, 2021|website=The Intercept|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|title=Controversial group ADOS divides black Americans in fight for economic equality|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/controversial-group-ados-divides-black-americans-fight-economic/story?id=66832680|url-status=live|access-date=December 1, 2021|website=ABC News|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200119104455/https://abcnews.go.com/US/controversial-group-ados-divides-black-americans-fight-economic/story?id=66832680|archive-date=January 19, 2020}}</ref> Politicians such as Obama and Harris have received especially pointed criticism from the movement, as neither are ADOS and have spoken out at times against policies specific to them.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|last=Hampton|first=Rachelle|date=July 9, 2019|title=A Movement or A Troll?: Why Claims That Kamala Harris Is "Not an American Black" Are Suddenly Everywhere|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/07/kamala-harris-not-black-ados-reparations-movement.html|access-date=December 1, 2021|website=Slate Magazine|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite web|last=Russ|first=Valerie|title=It's not whether Kamala Harris is 'black enough,' critics say, but whether her policies will support native black Americans|url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/kamala-harris-ados-african-americans-black-immigrants-president-20190211.html|access-date=December 1, 2021|website=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=February 11, 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

Many [[Pan-Africanism|Pan-African]] movements and organizations that are ideologically [[Black nationalism|Black nationalist]], [[Anti-imperialism|anti-imperialist]], [[Anti-Zionism|anti-Zionist]], and [[Scientific socialism|Scientific socialist]] like The [[All-African People's Revolutionary Party|All-African People's Revolutionary Party (A-APRP)]], have argued that [[African diaspora|African]] (relating to the diaspora) or [[Republic of New Afrika|New Afrikan]] should be used instead of African American.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 18, 2016 |title=The Resurgence of New Afrikan Identity |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-resurgence-of-new-afr_b_9448640 |access-date=March 2, 2022 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref> Most notably, [[Malcolm X]] and [[Stokely Carmichael|Kwame Ture]] expressed similar views that African Americans are Africans who "happen to be in America", and should not claim or identify as being American if they are fighting for Black (New Afrikan) liberation. Historically, this is due to the enslavement of Africans during the [[Atlantic slave trade|transatlantic slave trade]], ongoing anti-Black violence, and structural racism in countries like the United States.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Witt |first=Karen de |date=April 14, 1996 |title=Conversations/Kwame Ture;Formerly Stokely Carmichael And Still Ready for the Revolution |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/14/weekinreview/conversations-kwame-ture-formerly-stokely-carmichael-still-ready-for-revolution.html |access-date=March 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Malcolm X – Ballot or the Bullet (Washington Heights, NY, March 29, 1964) |url=https://genius.com/Malcolm-x-ballot-or-the-bullet-washington-heights-ny-march-29-1964-annotated |access-date=March 2, 2022 |website=Genius}}</ref>

===Terms no longer in common use===
Before the independence of the [[Thirteen Colonies]] until the abolition of slavery in 1865, an African American slave was commonly known as a ''[[negro]]''. ''[[Free negro]]'' was the legal status in the territory of an African American person who was not enslaved.<ref>{{cite book|last=Frazier|first=Edward Franklin|title=The Free Negro Family|year=1968|page=1}}</ref> In response to the project of the [[American Colonization Society]] to transport free Blacks to the future Liberia, a project most Blacks strongly rejected, the Blacks at the time said they were no more African than White Americans were European, and referred to themselves with what they considered a more acceptable term, "[[colored]] Americans". The term was used until the second quarter of the 20th century, when it was considered outmoded and generally gave way again to the exclusive use of ''negro''. By the 1940s, the term was commonly capitalized (''Negro''); but by the mid-1960s, it was considered disparaging. By the end of the 20th century, ''negro'' had come to be considered inappropriate and was rarely used and perceived as a [[pejorative]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Tottie|first=Gunnel|title=An Introduction to American English|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WWDUtK-f1tQC&pg=PA200|year=2002|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0-631-19792-8|page=200}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Anderson|first1=Talmadge|first2=James|last2=Stewart|title=Introduction to African American Studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=49tXR1Ok6poC&pg=PA3|year=2007|publisher=Black Classics Press|location=Baltimore|isbn=978-1-58073-039-6|page=3}}</ref> The term is rarely used by younger Black people, but remained in use by many older African Americans who had grown up with the term, particularly in the Southern US.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/03/they-put-negro-on-there/38094/|title=They Put 'Negro' on There?|first=Chris|last=Good|date=March 26, 2010|website=[[The Atlantic]]|access-date=October 7, 2010}}</ref> The term remains in use in some contexts, such as the [[United Negro College Fund]], an American philanthropic organization.

There are many other deliberately insulting terms, many of which were in common use (e.g., ''[[nigger]]''), but had become unacceptable in normal discourse before the end of the 20th century. One exception is the use, among the Black community, of the slur ''nigger'' rendered as ''[[nigga]]'', representing the pronunciation of the word in [[African-American English|African American English]]. This usage has been popularized by American [[rap]] and [[Hip hop music|hip-hop]] [[Music of the United States|music cultures]] and is used as part of an [[In-group and out-group|in-group]] [[lexicon]] and speech. It is not necessarily [[Pejorative|derogatory]] and, when used among Black people, the word is often used to mean "[[wikt:homie|homie]]" or "friend".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rahman|first=Jacquelyn|date=June 2012|title=The N Word: Its History and Use in the African American Community|journal=Journal of English Linguistics|volume=40|issue=2|pages=137–171|doi=10.1177/0075424211414807|s2cid=144164210|issn=0075-4242}}</ref> Acceptance of intra-group usage of the word ''nigga'' is still debated, although it has established a foothold among younger generations. The [[NAACP]] denounces the use of both ''nigga'' and ''nigger''.<ref name="BaltSun">{{Cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2007-07-10-0707100124-story.html|title=NAACP aims to bury the 'N-word'|last=Brewington|first=Kelly|date=July 10, 2007|work=The Baltimore Sun|access-date=June 15, 2019|archive-date=October 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024221608/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2007-07-10-0707100124-story.html}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|United States}}
{{Div col|colwidth=23em}}
* [[African-American art]]
* [[African American cinema]]
* [[African-American middle class]]
* [[African-American neighborhood]]
* African-American politics:
:*[[African-American leftism]]
:*[[African-American socialism]]
:* [[Black anarchism]]
:*[[Black conservatism in the United States]]
:* [[Black liberalism]]
:* [[Black populism]]
:*[[Black women in American politics]]
* [[African-American upper class]]
* [[African diaspora in the Americas]]
* [[Afrophobia]]
* [[AP African American Studies]]
* [[Black Belt in the American South]]
* [[Black Hispanic and Latino Americans]]
* [[Black mecca]]
* [[Black Ozarkers]]
* [[Black Southerners]]
*[[Brown Babies]]
* [[Civil rights movement (1865–1896)]]
* [[Civil rights movement (1896–1954)]]
* [[Juneteenth]]
* [[National Museum of African American History and Culture]]
* [[North Africans in the United States]]
* [[Criollo people#Spanish colonial caste system|Society and Black people in the Spanish Colonial Americas]]
* [[South African Americans]]
* [[Stereotypes of African Americans]]
* [[Timeline of the civil rights movement]]
* [[African immigration to the United States]]
* [[West Indian Americans]]
* [[African American–Jewish relations]]
* [[African American–Korean American relations]]
{{Div col end}}

===Diaspora===
{{Div col}}
* [[African Americans in Africa]]
** [[African Americans in Ghana]]
** [[Americo-Liberian people]]
** [[Sierra Leone Creole people]]
** [[Nigerian Americans]]
** [[Ethiopian Americans]] 
* [[Afro-Caribbean people]]
** [[Bahamian Americans]]
** [[Barbadian Americans]]
** [[Grenadian Americans]]
** [[Haitian Americans]] 
** [[Jamaican Americans]] 
** [[Trinidadian and Tobagonian Americans]] 
* [[African Americans in Canada]]
* [[African Americans in France]]
* [[African Americans in Israel]]
* [[Black Nova Scotians]]
* [[Samaná Americans]]
* [[Haitian emigration]]
* [[Merikins]]
{{Div col end}}

===Lists===
{{Div col}}
* [[Index of articles related to African Americans]]
* [[List of African-American neighborhoods]]
* [[List of majority-Black counties in the United States]]
* [[List of African-American newspapers and media outlets]]
* [[List of historically black colleges and universities]]
* [[List of African-American astronauts]]
* [[List of African-American inventors and scientists]]
* [[List of African-American LGBT people]]
* [[List of African American poets]]
* [[List of African-American visual artists]]
* [[List of monuments to African Americans]]
* [[List of populated places in the United States with African-American plurality populations]]
* [[List of topics related to the African diaspora]]
* [[List of African-American holidays]]
* [[Lists of African Americans]]

{{Div col end}}

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book|last=Altman|first=Susan|title=The Encyclopedia of African-American Heritage|isbn=978-0-8160-4125-1|year=2000|publisher=Facts on File }}
* Finkelman, Paul, ed. ''Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619–1895: From the Colonial Period to the Age of Frederick Douglass'' (3 vol Oxford University Press, 2006).
** Finkelman, Paul, ed. ''Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present: From the Age of Segregation to the Twenty-first Century'' (5 vol. Oxford University Press, US, 2009).
* [[John Hope Franklin]], Alfred Moss, ''From Slavery to Freedom. A History of African Americans'', McGraw-Hill Education 2001, standard work, first edition in 1947.
* Gates, Henry L. and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham (eds), ''African American Lives'', Oxford University Press, 2004 – more than 600 biographies.
* [[Darlene Clark Hine|Hine, Darlene Clark]], [[Rosalyn Terborg-Penn]], Elsa Barkley Brown (eds), ''Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia'', (Indiana University Press 2005).
* {{cite book |title=An African American and Latinx History of the United States |year=2018 |author=Ortiz, Paul |publisher=Beacon Press |isbn=978-0-8070-0593-4}}
* Horton, James Oliver, and Lois E. Horton. ''Hard Road to Freedom: The Story of African America, African Roots Through the Civil War. Vol. 1'' (Rutgers University Press, 2002); ''Hard Road to Freedom: The Story of African America: Volume 2: From the Civil War to the Millennium'' (2002). [https://archive.org/details/hardroadtofreedo0000hort online]
* Kranz, Rachel. ''African-American Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs'' (Infobase Publishing, 2004).
* Salzman, Jack, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Afro-American culture and history'', New York City: Macmillan Library Reference US, 1996.
* {{cite book|last=Stewart|first=Earl L.|year=1998|title=African American Music: An Introduction|publisher=Schirmer Books |isbn=978-0-02-860294-3|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780028602943}}
* {{Cite book|title=The Music of Black Americans: A History|author-link=Eileen Southern|first=Eileen|last=Southern|publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company]]|edition=3rd|year=1997|isbn=978-0-393-97141-5}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|d=Q49085|wikt=African American|c=Category:African Americans|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|s=no|species=no}}
* Richard Thompson Ford [https://www.slate.com/id/2106753/ Name Games], ''Slate'', September 16, 2004. Article discussing the problems of defining ''African American''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071015191820/http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa004&articleID=000C97BA-94E0-146C-944583414B7FFE9F ''Scientific American'' Magazine (June 2006) Trace Elements] Reconnecting African Americans to an ancestral past
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110815220254/http://go.footnote.com/blackhistory/ Black History related original documents and photos]
* Frank Newport, [https://www.gallup.com/poll/28816/black-african-american.aspx "Black or African American?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100906124630/https://www.gallup.com/poll/28816/Black-African-American.aspx |date=September 6, 2010 }}, Gallup, September 28, 2007
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110901161306/http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/45800,news-comment,news-politics,in-pictures-the-long-journey-of-black-americans "The Long Journey of Black Americans"]&nbsp;– slideshow by ''[[The First Post]]''

{{African American topics|state=collapsed}}
{{African diaspora}}
{{Demographics of the United States}}
{{Gullah topics|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:African-American society| ]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in the United States]]
[[Category:History of civil rights in the United States]]
[[Category:African-American culture| ]]
[[Category:Ethnonyms of African Americans]]