Quote: "African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or Black Americans, are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from any of the black racial groups of Africa."
People of African ancestry living in the United States.
Precolonial African History: Understanding the history of Africa before European colonialism takes you through and deepens your understanding of the cultural heritage and practices of African Americans. It helps in tracing the roots and origins of African American culture and traditions.
Slavery: The African slave trade involved the forced transport of millions of Africans to the Americas, the Caribbean, and Brazil. This inhumane event contributed to the formation of African American culture and continued to influence black life and identity even after its official end.
Civil Rights Movement: A period from the mid-1950s to the late 1960s, during which African Americans fought for their constitutional and civil rights through various strategies, from boycotts to legislative changes.
Segregation: From the 1890s, white-run governments in the Southern United States enforced racial segregation under the "Jim Crow" system, institutionalizing prejudice and placing African Americans at a severe disadvantage.
Black Nationalism: A social and political philosophy that emphasizes the value and importance of African culture, identity, and unity as a means of achieving social and political power.
Hip-Hop and its origins: Sparked in African American and Latino communities in New York City during the 1970s, hip-hop is a music and dance genre encompassing rap, DJing, breakdancing, and graffiti art.
The Black Family: The unique structure and dynamics of African American families, including historically complex marital, parenting, and household relationships because of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and post-civil rights legislation.
Racism and Discrimination: The systemic oppression and prejudice experienced by African Americans in a range of institutions, from housing and education to policing and voting.
Contemporary African American Culture: Explore art, music, fashion, sports, and other forms of creative expression that signify the diversity and richness of African American culture.
Intersectionality: A theoretical framework that examines how overlapping identities, such as race, gender, sexuality, and socio-economic class, influence one another's experiences and opportunities, especially for African Americans who are often subject to multiple forms of discrimination.
Quote: "The term 'African American' generally denotes descendants of enslaved Africans who are from the United States."
Quote: "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."
Quote: "African Americans constitute the third largest racial ethnic group in the U.S. after White Americans and Hispanic and Latino Americans."
Quote: "On average, African Americans are of West and Central African, Western European, and Native American ancestry."
Quote: "African American history began in the 16th century, with Africans from West and Central Africa being sold to European slave traders and transported across the Atlantic to the Western Hemisphere."
Quote: "After arriving in the Americas, they were sold as slaves to European colonists and put to work on plantations, particularly in the southern colonies."
Quote: "A few were able to achieve freedom through manumission or escape and founded independent communities before and during the American Revolution."
Quote: "Four million enslaved [people] were only liberated during and at the end of the Civil War in 1865."
Quote: "During Reconstruction, they gained citizenship and the right to vote."
Quote: "Due to the widespread policy and ideology of White supremacy, they were largely treated as second-class citizens and found themselves soon disenfranchised in the South."
Quote: "These circumstances changed due to participation in the military conflicts of the United States, substantial migration out of the South, the elimination of legal racial segregation, and the civil rights movement which sought political and social freedom."
Quote: "In 2008, Barack Obama became the first African American to be elected president of the United States."
Quote: "In 2021, Juneteenth, a day which commemorates the end of slavery in the US, became a federal holiday."
Quote: "African American culture has had a significant influence on worldwide culture, making numerous contributions to visual arts, literature, the English language, philosophy, politics, cuisine, sports, and music."
Quote: "The African American contribution to popular music is so profound that virtually all American music, including jazz, gospel, blues, disco, hip hop, R&B, soul, rap, and rock has its origins either partially or entirely in the African American community."
Quote: "The African American contribution to popular music is so profound that virtually all American music, including jazz, gospel, blues, disco, hip hop, R&B, soul, rap, and rock has its origins either partially or entirely in the African American community."
Quote: "In 2008, Barack Obama became the first African American to be elected president of the United States."
Quote: "In 2021, Juneteenth, a day which commemorates the end of slavery in the US, became a federal holiday."
Quote: "However, racism against African Americans remains a problem into the 21st century."