History
Colonial era
The vast majority of those who were enslaved and transported in theFrom the American Revolution to the Civil War
Reconstruction era and Jim Crow
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 enforceGreat migration and civil rights movement
Post–civil rights era
Demographics
U.S. cities
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, 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 Atlanta, Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte, Houston, Dallas, Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, Tampa, San Antonio, Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Nashville, Jacksonville, and so forth.Greg Toppo and Paul OverbergEducation
Economic status
Politics
Since the mid 20th century, a large majority of African Americans support the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. In the 2004 United States presidential election, 2004 Presidential Election, Democrat John Kerry received 88% of the African-American vote compared to 11% forSexuality
According to a Gallup survey, 4.6% of black or African-Americans self-identified as LGBT rights in the United States, LGBT in 2016, while the total portion of American adults in all ethnic groups identifying as LGBT was 4.1% in 2016.Health
General
The life expectancy for black men in 2008 was 70.8 years. Life expectancy for black women was 77.5 years in 2008. 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. In 1900, white men lived an average of 46.3 years and white women lived an average of 48.3 years. African-American life expectancy at birth is persistently five to seven years lower than European Americans. Black men have shorter lifespans than any other group in the US besides Native American men. Black people have higher rates of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension than the U.S. average. For adult black men, the rate of obesity was 31.6% in 2010. For adult black women, the rate of obesity was 41.2% in 2010. African Americans have higher rates of mortality than any other racial or ethnic group for 8 of the top 10 causes of death. 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. Violence has an impact upon African-American life expectancy. A report from the U.S. Department of Justice states "In 2005, homicide victimization rates for blacks were 6 times higher than the rates for whites".Homicide trends in the U.S.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. 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 and lack of access to proper healthcare. 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. Washington, D.C. has the nation's highest rate of HIV/AIDS infection, at 3%. This rate is comparable to what is seen in West Africa, and is considered a severe epidemic.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. Historically, many African American communities did not seek counseling because religion was a part of the family values. 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. 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. Most counseling approaches are Westernization, westernized 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. 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. More African Americans seek assistance when it is called counseling and not psychotherapy because it is more welcoming within the cultural and community. 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. Although suicide is a top-10 cause of death for men overall in the US, it is not a top-10 cause of death for black men.Genetics
Genome-wide studies
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. Haplogroup E-M2, E-M2 (E1b1a1) likely originated in West Africa or Central Africa. 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 migrations. 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.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.Social status
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." African Americans have improved their social and economic standing significantly since the civil rights movement and recent decades have witnessed the expansion of a robust, African-American middle class across the United States. Unprecedented access to higher education and employment in addition to representation in the highest levels of American government has been gained by African Americans in the post–civil rights era. Nonetheless, widespread racism against African Americans remain an issue that undermines the development of their social status in the United States.Economic issues
One of the most serious and long-standing issues within African-American communities is poverty. 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 deficits, Achievement gap in the United States, low educational attainment, and crime. In 2004, almost 25% of African-American families lived below the poverty level. In 2007, the average income for African Americans was approximately $34,000, compared to $55,000 for whites. African Americans experience a higher rate of unemployment than the general population. African Americans have a long and diverse history of African-American Businesses, business ownership. Although the first African-American Businesses, 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.Policing and criminal justice
Social issues
After over 50 years, marriage rates for all Americans began to decline while divorce rates and out-of-wedlock births have climbed. These changes have been greatest among African Americans. After more than 70 years of racial parity black marriage rates began to fall behind whites. Single-parent households have become common, and according to U.S. census figures released in January 2010, only 38 percent of black children live with both their parents.Political legacy
Media and coverage
Culture
Language
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. African-American English evolved during the antebellum period through interaction between speakers of 16th- and 17th-century English of Great Britain and Ireland and various West African languages. As a result, the variety shares parts of its grammar and phonology with the Southern American English dialect. Where African-American English differs from Standard American English (SAE) is in certain pronunciation characteristics, tense usage and grammatical structures that were derived from West African languages, particularly those belonging to the Niger-Congo languages, Niger-Congo family. 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. Additionally, there are many literary uses of this variety of English, particularly in African-American literature.Traditional names
African-American names are part of the cultural traditions of African Americans. Prior to the 1950s, and 1960s, most African-American names closely resembled those used within European American culture. 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. 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 inReligion
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.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.Literature and academics
Many African-American authors have written stories, poems, and essays influenced by their experiences as African Americans. 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 inventors 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. 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. 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, and Elijah McCoy, who invented automatic lubrication devices for steam engines. Granville Woods had 35 patents to improve electric railway systems, including the first system to allow moving trains to communicate. Garrett A. Morgan developed the first automatic traffic signal and gas mask. Lewis Howard Latimer invented an improvement for the incandescent light bulb. More recent inventors include Frederick McKinley Jones, who invented the movable refrigeration unit for food transport in trucks and trains. Lloyd Quarterman worked with six other black scientists on the creation of the atomic bomb (code named the Manhattan Project.) Quarterman also helped develop the first nuclear reactor, which was used in the atomically powered submarine called the Nautilus. A few other notable examples include the first successful Cardiac surgery, open heart surgery, performed by Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, and the air conditioner, patented by Frederick McKinley Jones. Dr. Mark Dean (computer scientist), Mark Dean holds three of the original nine patents on the computer on which all PCs are based. More current contributors include Otis Boykin, whose inventions included several novel methods for manufacturing electrical components that found use in applications such as guided missile systems and computers, and Colonel Frederick D. Gregory, Frederick Gregory, who was not only the first black astronaut pilot but the person who redesigned the cockpits for the last three space shuttles. Gregory was also on the team that pioneered the microwave instrumentation landing system.Terminology
General
Official identity
Admixture
Historically, "Miscegenation, race mixing" between Black (people), black and White American, 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, 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 andTerminology dispute
In her book ''The End of Blackness'', as well as in an essay on the liberal website ''Salon.com, Salon'', author Debra Dickerson has argued that the term ''Terms no longer in common use
Before the independence of theSee also
* African-American art * African-American middle class * African-American neighborhood * African-American upper class * Afrophobia * Black Belt in the American South * Civil rights movement (1865–1896) * Civil rights movement (1896–1954) * North Africans in the United States * National Museum of African American History and Culture * Criollo people#Spanish colonial caste system, Society and black people in the Spanish Colonial Americas * South African Americans * Timeline of the civil rights movementDiaspora
* African Americans in France * African Americans in GhanaLists
* Index of articles related to African Americans * List of African-American neighborhoods * List of African-American newspapers and media outlets * List of historically black colleges and universities * 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 * Lists of African AmericansNotes
References
Further reading
* * 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, USA, 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, Rosalyn Terborg-Penn, Elsa Barkley Brown (eds), ''Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia'', Paperback Edition, Indiana University Press 2005. * 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 USA, 1996. * *External links
* Richard Thompson For