195-517: African Americans , also known as Black Americans , formerly also called Afro-Americans , are an American racial or ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa . African Americans constitute the second largest ethno-racial group in the US after White Americans . The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of Africans enslaved in
390-418: A " half-breed " and stigmatized by both communities. The 20th century one-drop rule made it relatively difficult for anyone of known black ancestry to be accepted as white. The child of a black sharecropper and a white person was considered black by the local communities, and would likely become a sharecropper as well, thus adding to the landholder or employer's labor force. Because the agricultural economy of
585-484: A " not Hispanic or Latino " and a " Hispanic or Latino " component, the latter consisting mostly of Spanish Americans , White Mexican Americans , and White Cuban Americans . As of 2022, White Americans are the majority in every census-defined region ( Northeast , Midwest , South , and West ) and 44 out of 50 states. White Americans of one race are not a majority in the states of Hawaii , California , Texas , New Mexico , Nevada , and Maryland , along with
780-592: A "Middle Eastern or North African (MENA)" category; and (3) collecting additional detail to enable data disaggregation. The question on Hispanic or Latino origin is separate from the question on race. Hispanic and Latino Americans have ethnic origins in a Spanish-speaking country or Brazil . Latin American countries are, like the United States, racially diverse. Consequently, no separate racial category exists for Hispanic and Latino Americans, as they do not constitute
975-460: A White American mother and a Kenyan father— defeated 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. He also received overwhelming support from young and educated Whites, a majority of Asians , and Hispanics , picking up a number of new states in the Democratic electoral column. Obama lost
1170-457: A black cast was King Vidor 's Hallelujah of 1929. African-American performers were featured in the musical Show Boat (which had a part written for Paul Robeson and a chorus of Jubilee Singers), and especially all-black operas such as Porgy and Bess and Virgil Thomson 's Four Saints in Three Acts of 1934. The first symphony by a black composer to be performed by a major orchestra
1365-460: A circular dance accompanied by chanting and handclapping. On occasion, the participants would enter into ecstatic trances. In the late 18th century folk spirituals originated among Southern slaves following their conversion to Christianity. Slaves reinterpreted the practice of Christianity in a way that had meaning to them as Africans in America. They often sang the spirituals in groups as they worked
1560-666: A classification of persons by race, with the categories of "White", "Black", " Mulatto ", and "Indian". The inclusion of mulatto was a rare explicit acknowledgement of mixed race people, but that status was usually simplified into one race or another in actual society. Before the Civil War, states such as Virginia had a legal definition of whiteness that classified people as white if they were no more than 1/8th black. For example, if not born into slavery, Thomas Jefferson 's children by his slave Sally Hemings would have been classified as legally white, as they were 7/8ths White by ancestry. Three of
1755-524: A close, other African Americans endeavored to concertize as classical musicians in an effort to transcend racial and nationalistic barriers in the post-war era. In 1968 Henry Lewis became the first African-American instrumentalist in a leading American symphony orchestra, an early "musical ambassador" in support of cultural diplomacy in Europe, and the first African-American conductor of a major American symphonic ensemble in 1968. The term "rock and roll" had
1950-541: A crucial role in producing the country's most valuable product and export: cotton . Enslaved people were instrumental in the construction of several prominent structures such as, the United States Capitol , the White House and other Washington, D.C.-based buildings.) Similar building projects existed in the slave states . By 1815, the domestic slave trade had become a significant and major economic activity in
2145-464: A culturally distinct but racially mixed population. However, throughout Hawaii, they are working to preserve and assert adaptation of Native Hawaiian customs and the Hawaiian language by establishing cultural schools solely for legally Native Hawaiian students and more. African-American music Religious music Ethnic music Charts Festivals Media Other African-American music
SECTION 10
#17328377959752340-498: A dance revolution, 1959 saw Hank Ballard releasing a song tailored for the new dance craze, "The Twist," which would become a sensation defining the early '60s. In 1959, Berry Gordy founded Motown Records , the first record label to primarily feature African-American artists, which aimed at achieving crossover success. The label developed an innovative, and commercially successful, style of soul music with distinctive pop elements. Its early roster included The Miracles , Martha and
2535-459: A distinctive type of music that played an important role in the era of enslavement. Slave songs, commonly known as work songs , were used to combat the hardships of the physical labor. Work songs were also used to communicate with other slaves without the slave owner hearing. The song " Wade in the Water " was sung by slaves to warn others trying to leave to use the water to obscure their trail. Following
2730-642: A federal crime to aid or assist those who had fled slavery or to interfere with their capture. 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 . Prior to
2925-534: A group formed to promote relations between the countries. 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
3120-593: A high concentration of Middle Eastern Americans. The US Census Bureau is still finalizing the ethnic classification of MENA populations. Middle Eastern Americans are currently counted as racially White on the census, although many do not identify as such. In 2012, prompted in part by post-9/11 discrimination, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee petitioned the Department of Commerce's Minority Business Development Agency to designate
3315-454: A high proportion of the population is known to have multiple ancestries, in the 2000 US census, the first with the option to choose more than one, most people still identified with one racial category. In the 2000 census, self-identified German Americans made up 17% of the US population, followed by Irish Americans at 12%, as reported in the 2000 census. This makes German and Irish the largest and second-largest self-reported ancestry groups in
3510-629: A minority in the West, where they make up 47.1% of the population. In the South, non-Hispanic whites make up 54% of the population. Currently, 55% of the African American population lives in the South. A plurality or majority of the other official groups reside in the West. The latter region is home to 42% of Hispanic and Latino Americans, 46% of Asian Americans, 48% of American Indians and Alaska Natives, 68% of Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, 37% of
3705-525: A new style of unaccompanied four-part, close-harmony singing. Later, white minstrel singers stole the style, and in the early days of the recording industry their performances were recorded and sold. By the end of the 19th century, African-American music was an integral part of mainstream American culture. In a groundbreaking moment in 1898, Broadway witnessed the debut of the first musical created by African Americans, courtesy of Bob Cole and Billy Johnson. The musical landscape saw another milestone in 1890 with
3900-603: A number of locations in the United States. 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. Advancing Union troops enforced the proclamation, with Texas being the last state to be emancipated, in 1865. Slavery in a few border states continued until the ratification of
4095-452: A practice called pattin Juba . The Juba dance was originally brought by Kongo slaves to Charleston, South Carolina , and became an African-American plantation dance performed by slaves during gatherings when rhythm instruments were prohibited. Folk spirituals, unlike much white gospel, were often spirited. Slaves added dancing (later known as " the shout ") and other body movements to
SECTION 20
#17328377959754290-619: A process known as White flight . 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
4485-440: A proliferation of historical categories (such as "mulatto" and " octaroon " among persons with partial African descent) and "blood quantum" distinctions, which became increasingly detached from self-reported ancestry. By the standards used in early censuses, many mixed-race children born in the US were classified as of a different race than one of their biological parents, and even when these standards were no longer commonly accepted,
4680-401: A prominent role in the musical arrangement. Simultaneously, a secularized version of American gospel music , known as soul ,emerged in the mid-1950s, led by trailblazers like Ray Charles , Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke . This soulful wave had a profound impact, influencing not only surf music but also paving the way for chart-topping girl groups like The Angels and The Shangri-Las . In
4875-490: A race or culture, Native Americans of numerous tribes have achieved revival of aspects of their cultures, and have fought to retain sovereignty and control of their own affairs for centuries. In recent years, many have started language programs to revive use of traditional languages, established tribally controlled colleges and other schools on their reservations, and developed gaming casinos on their sovereign land to raise revenues for economic development, as well as to promote
5070-578: A race, nor a national group. When responding to the race question on the census form, each person is asked to choose from among the same racial categories as all Americans, and are included in the numbers reported for those races. Each racial category may contain Hispanic or Latino and Non-Hispanic or Latino Americans. For example: the White or European American race category contains Non-Hispanic Whites and Hispanic Whites (see White Hispanic and Latino Americans );
5265-744: A repetitive, improvised style. The most common song structures are the call-and-response ("Blow, Gabriel") and repetitive choruses ("He Rose from the Dead"). The call-and-response is an alternating exchange between the soloist and the other singers. The soloist usually improvises a line to which the other singers respond, repeating the same phrase. Song interpretation incorporates the interjections of moans, cries, hollers, and changing vocal timbres, and can be accompanied by hand clapping and foot-stomping. The Smithsonian Institution Folkways Recordings have samples of African American slave shout songs. The influence of African Americans on mainstream American music began in
5460-758: A reservation, documented lineal descent from recognized records, such as the Dawes Rolls , and other criteria. Some tribes have adopted the use of blood quantum, requiring members to have a certain percentage. The federal government requires individuals to certify documented blood quantum of ancestry for certain federal programs, such as education benefits, available to members of recognized tribes. Census takers accept any respondent's identification. Genetic scientists estimated that more than fifteen million other Americans, including African and Hispanic Americans (specifically those of Mexican heritage), may have up to one quarter of Native ancestry. Once thought to face extinction as
5655-437: A secular home in the blues, jazz, and even later popular styles like hip hop". Scholar LeRhonda S. Manigault-Bryant explained Gullah spirituals are sacred music that connects Black Americans to ancestral spirits. She said: "I am suggesting that low country sacred music simultaneously takes on a cyclical and linear quality, which is best exemplified in the use of the low country clap, and the repetition of verses that literally push
5850-479: A secular setting was successful, and he arranged gospel caravans that traveled around the country playing venues that rhythm and blues singers had popularized. Meanwhile, jazz performers began to move away from swing towards music with more intricate arrangements, more improvisation, and technically challenging forms. This culminated in bebop , the modal jazz of Miles Davis , and the free jazz of Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane . African-American musicians in
6045-511: A significant influence on worldwide culture, making numerous contributions to visual arts , literature , the English language, philosophy , politics, cuisine , sports , and music . The African-American contribution to popular music is so profound that most American music , including jazz , gospel , blues , rock and roll , funk , disco , house , techno , hip hop , R&B , trap , and soul , has its origins either partially or entirely in
African Americans - Misplaced Pages Continue
6240-422: A small cash payment called "freedom dues". Africans could legally raise crops and cattle to purchase their freedom. They raised families, married other Africans and sometimes intermarried with Native Americans or European settlers . By the 1640s and 1650s, several African families owned farms around Jamestown , and some became wealthy by colonial standards and purchased indentured servants of their own. In 1640,
6435-429: A song forward to invoke The Spirit. The rhythmic practices and theological motifs of this music suspend and push time by connecting with past traditions, while denoting a spiritual bond that is simultaneously ancestral, communal, and divine". Slaves also used drums to communicate messages of escape. In West Africa, drums are used for communication, celebration, and spiritual ceremonies. West African people enslaved in
6630-442: A strong sexual connotation in jump blues and R&B, but when DJ Alan Freed referred to rock and roll on mainstream radio in the mid 50s, "the sexual component had been dialed down enough that it simply became an acceptable term for dancing". R&B was a strong influence on rock and roll, according to many sources, including a 1985 Wall Street Journal article titled, "Rock! It's Still Rhythm and Blues". The author states that
6825-524: A study using data from 23andMe customers, genomes of self-reported African Americans averaged to 0.8% Native American ancestry, those of European Americans averaged to 0.18%, and those of Latinos averaged to 18.0%. The legal and official designation of who is Native American has aroused controversy by demographers, tribal nations, and government officials for many decades. Federally recognized tribes and state recognized tribes set their own membership requirements; tribal enrollment may require residency on
7020-534: A substantial number of White Americans who are of Eastern and Southern European descent, such as Russian , Polish , Italian , and Greek Americans . Eastern Europeans immigrated to the United States more recently than Western Europeans. Arabs , Turks , Iranians , Israelis , Armenians , and other West Asians are reported as White in the United States census, as a result of a federal court case from 1909, even though most do not identify as White. There are an estimated 3.5 million Middle Eastern Americans according to
7215-407: A total of 829,949 people of full or part Native Hawaiian ancestry. This group constitutes the smallest minority in the United States. More than half identify as "full-blooded", but historically most Native Hawaiians on the island chain of Hawaii are believed to have some Asian and European ancestry. Some demographers believe that by 2025, the last full-blooded Native Hawaiian will die off, leaving
7410-403: A unique and vibrant chapter to the history of African American contributions to the musical realm. The early part of the 20th century saw a rise in popularity of blues and jazz . African-American music at this time was classed as "race music". Ralph Peer , musical director at Okeh Records , put records made by "foreign" groups under that label. At the time "race" was a term commonly used by
7605-422: 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. Politically and economically, African Americans have made substantial strides during
7800-630: Is a broad term covering a diverse range of musical genres largely developed by African Americans and their culture . Its origins are in musical forms that developed as a result of the enslavement of African Americans prior to the American Civil War . It has been said that "every genre that is born from America has black roots." White slave owners subjugated their slaves physically, mentally, and spiritually through brutal and demeaning acts. White Americans considered African Americans separate and unequal for centuries, going to extraordinary lengths to keep them oppressed. African-American slaves created
7995-724: Is now the continental United States. The first recorded Africans in English America (including most of the future United States) were "20 and odd negroes" who arrived in Jamestown , Virginia via Cape Comfort in August 1619 as indentured servants . As many Virginian settlers began to die from harsh conditions, more and more Africans were brought to work as laborers. 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
African Americans - Misplaced Pages Continue
8190-613: Is the Midwest, at 74.6% per the American Community Survey (ACS), followed by the Northeast, at 64%. Non-Hispanic whites make up 73% of the Midwest's population, the highest proportion of any region, and they make up 62% of the population in the Northeast. At the same time, the regions with the smallest share of White Americans are the West, where they comprise 51.9%, and the South, where they comprise 57.7%. Non-Hispanic whites are
8385-694: The American Revolution . After the United States was founded in 1783, most Black people continued to be enslaved , primarily concentrated in the American South , with four million enslaved people only liberated during and at the end of the Civil War in 1865. During Reconstruction , they gained citizenship and adult-males the right to vote ; however, due to the widespread policy and ideology of White supremacy , they were largely treated as second-class citizens and found themselves soon disenfranchised in
8580-558: The Americas . Of the 3.2 million Americans who identified as American Indian or Alaska Native alone in 2022, around 45% are of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, with this number growing as increasing numbers of Indigenous people from Latin American countries immigrate to the US and more Latinos self-identify with indigenous heritage. A third significant minority is the Asian American population, which comprised 19.36 million people, or 5.9% of
8775-532: The Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa . Both groups of people may also identify as Black or some other written-in race. However, some immigrants from the continent of Africa do not identify as Black and are not socially perceived as such, such as the Afrikaners of South Africa . According to the 2009 American Community Survey, there were 38,093,725 Black and African Americans in the United States, representing 12.4% of
8970-409: The Civil War , African Americans employed playing European music in military bands developed a new style called ragtime that gradually evolved into jazz . Jazz incorporated the sophisticated polyrhythmic structure of dance and folk music of peoples from western and Sub-Saharan Africa . These musical forms had a wide-ranging influence on the development of music within the United States and around
9165-669: The Civil War , eight serving presidents had owned slaves, a practice that was legally protected under the US Constitution. By 1860, the number of enslaved Black people in the US had grown to between 3.5 to 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) across the country. With legislated limits imposed upon them in addition to "unconquerable prejudice" from Whites according to Henry Clay . In response to these conditions, some free Black people chose to leave
9360-676: The District of Columbia , American Samoa , Guam , the Northern Mariana Islands , Puerto Rico , and the US Virgin Islands . However, those identifying as White alone or in combination (including multiracial White Americans) are the majority in every state except for Hawaii, along with being a majority in the territory of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 US census, non-Hispanic Whites are a majority in 44 states, excluding California , Hawaii , Maryland , Nevada , New Mexico , Texas ,
9555-635: The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians . The second largest tribal group is the Navajo , who call themselves Diné and live on a 16‑million-acre Indian reservation covering northeast Arizona , northwest New Mexico , and southeast Utah . It is home to half of the 450,000 members of the Navajo Nation . The third largest group are the Lakota ( Sioux ) Nation, with distinct federally recognized tribes located in
9750-715: The Great Awakening . By 1775, Africans made up 20% of the population in the American colonies , which made them the second largest ethnic group after English Americans . During the 1770s, Africans, both enslaved and free, helped rebellious American colonists secure their independence by defeating the British in the American Revolutionary War . Blacks played a role in both sides in the American Revolution. Activists in
9945-586: The Irish and Germans . According to the 2010 census , nearly 3% of people who self-identified as Black had recent ancestors who immigrated from another country. Self-reported non-Hispanic Black immigrants from the Caribbean , mostly from Jamaica and Haiti, represented 0.9% of the US population, at 2.6 million. Self-reported Black immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa also represented 0.9%, at about 2.8 million. Additionally, self-identified Black Hispanics represented 0.4% of
SECTION 50
#173283779597510140-824: The Music School Settlement for Colored and the Martin-Smith School of Music, were founded in New York. The Music School Settlement for Colored became a sponsor of the Clef Club orchestra in New York. The Clef Club Symphony Orchestra attracted both black and white audiences to concerts at Carnegie Hall from 1912 to 1915. Conducted by James Reese Europe and William H. Tyers, the orchestra included banjos, mandolins, and baritone horns. Concerts featured music written by black composers, notably Harry T. Burleigh and Will Marion Cook . Other annual black concert series include
10335-989: 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. Among 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, 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%). Race and ethnicity in
10530-580: The Northern Mariana Islands ) – as of 2010, Guam's population was 32.2% Asian, and the population of the Northern Mariana Islands was 49.9% Asian. Filipinos have been in the territories that would become the United States since the 16th century. In 1635, an "East Indian" is listed in Jamestown, Virginia; preceding wider settlement of Indian immigrants on the East Coast in the 1790s and
10725-620: The Oberlin School of Music , National Conservatory of Music , and the New England Conservatory . Black people also formed symphony orchestras in major cities such as Chicago, New Orleans, and Philadelphia. Various black orchestras began to perform regularly in the late 1890s and the early 20th century. In 1906, the first incorporated black orchestra was established in Philadelphia. In the early 1910s, all-black music schools, such as
10920-693: The Philippines , which was a US colony from 1898 to 1946. Exclusion laws and policies largely prohibited and curtailed Asian immigration until the 1940s. After the US changed its immigration laws during the 1940s to 1960s to make entry easier, a much larger new wave of immigration from Asia began. Today, the largest self-identified Asian American sub-groups, according to census data, are Chinese Americans , Filipino Americans , Indian Americans , Vietnamese Americans , Korean Americans , and Japanese Americans , among other groups . Not all of Asian Americans' ancestors directly migrated from their country of origin to
11115-596: The Thirteenth Amendment in December 1865. While the Naturalization Act of 1790 limited US citizenship to Whites only, the 14th Amendment (1868) gave Black people citizenship, and the 15th Amendment (1870) gave Black men the right to vote. 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
11310-399: The US Virgin Islands are mostly African American. The first United States census in 1790 classed residents as free white people (divided by age and sex), all other free persons (reported by sex and color), and enslaved people . The 2000 census officially recognized six racial categories including people of two or more races; a category called "some other race" was also used in
11505-749: The Underground Railroad and were sung by enslaved African Americans in plantation fields to send coded messages to other slaves, unbeknownst to the slaveholders. According to musicologist and historian Eric Sean Crawford who published Gullah Spirituals: The Sound of Freedom and Protest in the South Carolina Sea Islands , Gullah music influenced all genres of American music. Crawford said: "All genres of music have been influenced by Gullah Geechee spirituals. This music's bent notes, syncopated rhythms, and improvisational qualities heavily influenced gospel and country music. These musical traits found
11700-405: The blood quantum laws defining Native American identity enabled whites to acquire indigenous lands during the allotment process, and the one-drop rule of black identity, enforced legally in the early 20th century, enabled them to preserve their agricultural labor force in the South. The descendants of Native and Black Americans not only had to contend with laws defining their racial identity for
11895-445: The colony of Georgia to come to Florida as a refuge, promising freedom in exchange for conversion to Catholicism . 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 , but escaped slaves also reached Pensacola. St. Augustine had mustered an all-Black militia unit defending Spanish Florida as early as 1683. One of
SECTION 60
#173283779597512090-412: The natural harmonic series and blue notes . "If one considers the five criteria given by Waterman as cluster characteristics for West African music, one finds that three have been well documented as being characteristic of Afro-American music. Call-and-response organizational procedures, dominance of a percussive approach to music, and off-beat phrasing of melodic accents have been cited as typical of
12285-673: The wah wah pedal to create a unique guitar solo sound. Psychedelic soul , a mix of psychedelic rock and soul began to flourish with the 1960s culture. Even more popular among black people, and with more crossover appeal, was album-oriented soul in the late 1960s and early 1970s, which revolutionized African-American music. The genre's intelligent and introspective lyrics, often with a socially aware tone, were created by artists such as Marvin Gaye in What's Going On , and Stevie Wonder in Innervisions . In
12480-461: The "Harlem Hit Parade", which was changed in 1945 to " Race Records ", and then in 1949 to "Rhythm and Blues Records". By the 1940s, cover versions of African-American songs were commonplace, frequently topping the charts while the original versions did not reach the mainstream. In 1955, Thurman Ruth persuaded a gospel group to sing in the Apollo Theater . This presentation of gospel music in
12675-428: The "two or more races" population (multiracial Americans), and 46% of those self-designated as "some other race". Each of the five inhabited US territories is fairly homogeneous, though each comprises a different primary ethnic group. American Samoa has a high percentage of Pacific Islanders, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are mostly Asian and Pacific Islander, Puerto Rico is mostly Hispanic/Latino, and
12870-474: The "two terms were used interchangeably", until about 1957. Fats Domino was not convinced that there was any new genre. In 1957 he said: "What they call rock 'n' roll now is rhythm and blues. I've been playing it for 15 years in New Orleans". According to Rolling Stone , "this is a valid statement ... all Fifties rockers, black and white, country born and city bred, were fundamentally influenced by R&B,
13065-573: The 16th century, with Africans from West Africa and coastal Central Africa being sold to European slave traders and transported across the Atlantic to the Western Hemisphere . After arriving in the Americas , they were sold as slaves to European colonists and put to work on plantations , particularly in the southern colonies . A few were able to achieve freedom through manumission or escape, and founded independent communities before and during
13260-429: The 1790s, Governor 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,
13455-627: 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." Within the housing market, stronger discriminatory measures were used in correlation to the influx, resulting in a mix of "targeted violence, restrictive covenants , redlining and racial steering ". 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,
13650-594: The 1940s and 1950s were developing rhythm and blues into rock and roll , which featured a strong backbeat . Prominent exponents of this style included Louis Jordan and Wynonie Harris . Rock and roll music became commercially successful with recordings of white musicians, however, such as Bill Haley and Elvis Presley , playing a guitar-based fusion of black rock and roll and rockabilly . Rock music became more associated with white artists, although some black performers such as Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley had commercial success. In 2017, National Public Radio wrote about
13845-747: The 1970s, album-oriented soul continued its popularity while musicians such as Smokey Robinson helped turn it into Quiet Storm music. Funk evolved into two strands, a pop-soul-jazz-bass fusion pioneered by Sly & the Family Stone , and a more psychedelic fusion epitomized by George Clinton and his P-Funk ensemble. Disco evolved from black musicians creating soul music with an up-tempo melody. Isaac Hayes , Barry White , Donna Summer , and others helped popularize disco, which gained mainstream success. Some African-American artists including The Jackson 5 , Roberta Flack , Teddy Pendergrass , Dionne Warwick , Stevie Wonder , The O'Jays , Gladys Knight &
14040-486: The 19th century with the advent of blackface minstrelsy . The banjo , of African origin, became a popular instrument, and its African-derived rhythms were incorporated into popular songs by Stephen Foster and other songwriters. Over time the banjo's construction adopted some European traditions such as a flat fingerboard. Some banjos had five strings, in contrast to the West African three-string version. This resulted in
14235-605: The 2000 US census. The overwhelming majority of African immigrants (~95%) identified instead with their own respective ethnicities. Self-designation as "African-American" or "Afro-American" was highest among individuals from West Africa (4–9%), and lowest among individuals from Cape Verde, East Africa, and Southern Africa (0–4%). Nonetheless, African immigrants often develop very successful professional and business working-relationships with African Americans. Immigrants from some Caribbean, Central American, and South American nations and their descendants may or may not also self-identify with
14430-534: The 20th and 21st centuries, immigration has played an increasingly significant role in the African-American community. As of 2022, 10% of Black Americans were immigrants, and 20% were either immigrants or the children of immigrants. In 2008, Barack Obama became the first, and so far only, African American to be elected president of the United States. Kamala Harris became the nation's first African-American vice president in 2020. African-American culture has had
14625-517: The 20th century, with the rise of migration of laborers from Spanish-speaking countries of the western hemisphere to the United States. It includes people who may have been considered racially distinct (black, white, native, or other mixed groups) in their home countries. Today, the word "Latino" is often used as a synonym for "Hispanic". Even if such categories were earlier understood as racial categories, today they have begun to represent ethnolinguistic categories, regardless of perceived race. Similarly,
14820-474: The 50 states, the majority live in just 10 states; nearly a third live in California, New York, and Michigan. More Middle Eastern Americans live in California than any other state, with ethnic groups such as Arabs, Persians, and Armenians being a large percentage, but Middle Eastern Americans represent the highest percentage of the population of Michigan. In particular, Dearborn, Michigan has long been home to
15015-648: The African American population reached about 30 million and represented 12% of the US population, roughly the same proportion as in 1900. At the time of the 2000 US census , 54.8% of African Americans lived in the South . In that year, 17.6% of African Americans lived in the Northeast and 18.7% in the Midwest , while only 8.9% lived in the Western states. The west does have a sizable Black population in certain areas, however. California,
15210-662: The African slave trade, Spanish rule introduced a new law called coartación , which allowed slaves to buy their freedom, and that of others. 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
15405-509: The African-American community. The vast majority of those who were enslaved and transported in the transatlantic slave trade were people from several Central and West Africa ethnic groups. They had been captured directly by the slave traders in coastal raids, or sold by other West Africans, or by half-European "merchant princes" to European slave traders, who brought them to the Americas. The first African slaves arrived via Santo Domingo in
15600-473: The African-American press to speak of the community as a whole with an empowering point of view, as a person of "race" was one involved in fighting for equal rights. Ragtime performers such as Scott Joplin became popular and some were associated with the Harlem Renaissance and early civil rights activists. White and Latino performers of African-American music were also visible. African-American music
15795-503: 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 , 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
15990-454: The Americas came from widely separated regions of Afro-Eurasia , and American immigrant populations frequently mixed among themselves and with the indigenous inhabitants of the continents , creating a complex multiracial population. Throughout American history, efforts to classify the increasingly mixed population of the United States into discrete categories have generated many difficulties. Early efforts to track mixing between groups led to
16185-1216: The Americas from the western coast of Africa. This area encompasses modern-day Nigeria , Ghana , Ivory Coast , Senegal , Gambia and parts of Sierra Leone . Harmonic and rhythmic features from these areas, European musical instrumentation, and the chattel slavery forced upon Black Americans all contributed to their music. Many of the characteristic musical forms that define African-American music have historical precedents. These earlier forms include: field hollers , beat boxing , work song , Spoken Word , rapping , scatting , call and response , vocality (or special vocal effect: guttural effects, interpolated vocality, falsetto , melisma , vocal rhythmization), improvisation , blue notes , polyrhythms ( syncopation , concrescence, tension, improvisation, percussion, swung note ), texture ( antiphony , homophony , polyphony , heterophony ) and harmony (vernacular progressions ; complex, multi-part harmony , as in spirituals , Doo Wop , and barbershop music ). American composer Olly Wilson outlines "heterogeneous sound ideals" that define traditional and common patterns in African Music , such as
16380-543: The Black or African American category contains Non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanic Blacks (see Black Hispanic and Latino Americans ); the Asian American category contains Non-Hispanic Asians and Hispanic Asians (see Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans ), and likewise for all the other categories. Self-identifying as both Hispanic or Latino and not Hispanic or Latino is neither explicitly allowed nor explicitly prohibited. Since
16575-503: 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. 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 Native Americans . De Ayllón and many of
16770-599: The District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. The non-Hispanic White percentage of the 50 states and District of Columbia (60.1% in 2019) has been decreasing since the mid-20th century as a result of changes made in immigration policy, most notably the Hart–Celler Act of 1965. If current trends continue, non-Hispanic Whites will drop below 50% of
16965-472: The Dutch African arrivals, Anthony Johnson , would later own one of the first Black "slaves", John Casor , resulting from the court ruling of a civil case. 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
17160-518: The East Coast in 1841, and Joseph Heco became the first Japanese American naturalized US citizen in 1858. As with the new immigration from central and eastern Europe to the East Coast from the mid-19th century on, Asians started immigrating to the United States in large numbers in the 19th century. This first major wave of immigration consisted predominantly of Chinese and Japanese laborers, but also included Korean and South Asian immigrants. Many immigrants also came during and after this period from
17355-518: The Hispanic population through immigration and high birth rates is noted as a partial factor for US population gains in the last quarter-century. The 2000 census revealed that Native Americans had reached their highest documented population, 4.5 million, since the US was founded in 1776. In some cases, immigrants and migrants have formed ethnic enclaves ; in others, this mixture of races has created ethnically diverse communities. Earlier immigrants to
17550-450: The Jim Crow laws, to avoid racially motivated violence . To maintain self-esteem and dignity, African Americans such as Anthony Overton and Mary McLeod Bethune continued to build their own schools , churches , banks, social clubs, and other businesses. In the last decade of the 19th century, racially discriminatory laws and racial violence aimed at African Americans began to mushroom in
17745-520: The MENA category to include: African Americans , or Black Americans, are citizens of the United States with African ancestry. According to the Office of Management and Budget , the grouping includes individuals who self-identify as African American and are descended from Africans that were forcibly relocated to the United States and enslaved, as well as those who recently and voluntarily emigrated from nations in
17940-558: The MENA populations as a minority/disadvantaged community. Following consultations with MENA organizations, the US Census Bureau announced in 2014 that it would establish a new MENA ethnic category for populations from the Middle East , North Africa , and the Arab world , separate from the "white" classification that these populations had previously sought in 1909. The expert groups felt that
18135-723: The Montgomery bus." The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and the conditions which brought it into being are credited with putting pressure on presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson . Johnson put his support behind passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that banned discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and 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. By 1966,
18330-586: The North (where 2% of the population were enslaved), and field hands in plantations in the South (where 25% were enslaved); by the beginning of the American Revolutionary War , a fifth of the total population was enslaved. During the revolution, some served in the Continental Army or Continental Navy , while others fought for the British Empire in units such as the Ethiopian Regiment . By 1804,
18525-731: The Patriot cause included James Armistead , Prince Whipple , and Oliver Cromwell . Around 15,000 Black Loyalists left with the British after the war, most of them ending up as free Black people in England or its colonies, such as the Black Nova Scotians and the Sierra Leone Creole people . In the Spanish Louisiana , Governor Bernardo de Gálvez organized Spanish free Black men into two militia companies to defend New Orleans during
18720-460: The Pips , and Earth, Wind & Fire found crossover audiences, while white listeners preferred country rock , singer-songwriters, stadium rock , soft rock , glam rock , and, to some degree, heavy metal and punk rock . During the 1970s, The Dozens , an urban African-American tradition of using playful rhyming ridicule, developed into street jive in the early '70s, which in turn inspired hip-hop by
18915-401: The South . 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. However, racism against African Americans and racial socioeconomic disparity remain a problem into the 21st century. In
19110-532: The South sparked the Great Migration during the first half of the 20th century which led to a growing African American community in Northern and Western United States. 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. The Red Summer of 1919 was marked by hundreds of deaths and higher casualties across
19305-425: The US Census Bureau in 2020 comprising 1.06% of the population and including both Arab and non-Arab Americans. The Arab American Institute in 2014 estimated a population of 3.6 million. US census population estimates are based on responses to the ancestry question on the census, which makes it difficult to accurately count Middle Eastern Americans. Though Middle Eastern American communities can be found in each of
19500-453: 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. Nigerian Americans and Ethiopian Americans were
19695-634: The US and emigrate to Liberia in West Africa. 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. Slaves not only represented a significant financial investment for their owners, but they also played
19890-497: 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 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
20085-793: The US population, in 2019. In 2019, 6.12 million Asian Americans lived in California . As of 2019, approximately 532,300 Asians live in Hawaii , forming 37.6% of the islands' people. This makes Hawaii the state with the highest percentage of Asian Americans. Although they were historically first concentrated in Hawaii and the West Coast , Asian Americans now live across the country, living and working in large numbers in New York City , Chicago , Boston , Houston , and other major urban centers. There are also many Asians living in two Pacific US territories ( Guam and
20280-405: The US. 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. The 1863 photograph of Wilson Chinn , a branded slave from Louisiana, along with the famous image of Gordon and his scarred back, served as two of the earliest and most powerful examples of how
20475-400: The US. For example, more than 270,000 people from Guyana, a South American country, reside in the US, but a predominant number of Guyanese people are of Indian descent . Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders numbered approximately 656,400 in 2019, or 0.2% of the population. Additionally, nearly as many individuals identify themselves as having partial Native Hawaiian ancestry, for
20670-480: The United States The United States has a racially and ethnically diverse population. At the federal level, race and ethnicity have been categorized separately. The most recent United States census recognized five racial categories ( White , Black , Native American / Alaska Native , Asian , and Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander ), as well as people who belong to two or more of
20865-526: The United States . Most African Americans are descendants of enslaved people within the boundaries of the present United States. 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. Most African Americans are of West African and coastal Central African ancestry, with varying amounts of Western European and Native American ancestry. African-American history began in
21060-421: The United States . In June 2021, Juneteenth , a day which commemorates the end of slavery in the US, became a federal holiday. In 1790, when the 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 Civil War , the African American population had increased to 4.4 million, but the percentage rate dropped to 14% of
21255-595: The United States continued to make drums to send coded messages to other slaves across plantations. The making and use of drums by enslaved Africans was outlawed after the Stono Rebellion in South Carolina in 1739. Enslaved African Americans used drums to send coded messages to start slave revolts , and white slaveholders banned the creation and use of drums. After the banning of drums, slaves made rhythmic music by slapping their knees, thighs, arms and other body parts,
21450-470: The United States population, at about 1.2 million people, largely found within the Puerto Rican and Dominican communities. 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
21645-747: 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 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. The desperate conditions of African Americans in
21840-637: The United States, continuing to flourish until the 1860s. 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
22035-592: The United States. Both groups had high rates of immigration to the US beginning in the mid-19th century, triggered by the Great Famine in Ireland and the failed 1848 Revolution in Germany. English Americans and British Americans are still considered the largest ethnic group, despite the statistical errors caused by events such as the confusion in the 2000 census where many English and British Americans self-identified under
22230-671: The Vandellas , Marvin Gaye , The Temptations , and The Supremes . Black divas such as Aretha Franklin became '60s crossover stars. In the UK, British blues became a gradually mainstream phenomenon, returning to the United States in the form of the British Invasion , a group of bands led by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones who performed blues and R&B-inspired pop with both traditional and modern aspects. WGIV in Charlotte, North Carolina ,
22425-512: The Virginia General Court recorded the earliest documentation of lifetime slavery when they sentenced John Punch , a Negro, to lifetime servitude under his master Hugh Gwyn , for running away. In Spanish Florida , some Spanish married or had unions with Pensacola , Creek or African women, both enslaved and free, and their descendants created a mixed-race population of mestizos and mulattos . The Spanish encouraged slaves from
22620-458: The West Coast in the 1800s. In 1763, Filipinos established the small settlement of Saint Malo, Louisiana, after fleeing mistreatment aboard Spanish ships. Since there were no Filipino women with them, these "Manilamen", as they were known, married Cajun and indigenous women. The first Japanese person to come to the United States, and stay any significant period of time was Nakahama Manjirō who reached
22815-676: The William Hackney's "All-Colored Composers" concerts in Chicago and the Atlanta Colored Music Festivals. The return of the black musical to Broadway occurred in 1921 with Sissle and Eubie Blake 's Shuffle Along . In 1927, a concert survey of black music was performed at Carnegie Hall including jazz, spirituals and the symphonic music of W. C. Handy 's Orchestra and the Jubilee Singers. The first major film musical with
23010-527: The benefit of the majority, but also with a variety of social consequences depending on how they were perceived in society. Compared to other mixed Americans, the blood quantum laws made it easier for a person of mixed European and Native American ancestry to be accepted as white; after a few generations of intermarriage, the offspring of Native and White Americans would no longer legally be considered Native American. They could have treaty rights to land, but because an individual with only one native great-grandparent
23205-489: The black popular music of the late Forties and early Fifties". Elvis Presley's recognition of the importance of artists such as Fats Domino was significant, according to a 2017 article: the "championing of black musicians as part of a narrative that saw many positives in growing young white interest in African American-based musical styles". At a press event in 1969, Presley introduced Fats Domino, and said, "that's
23400-409: The career of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and concluded with these comments: Tharpe "was a gospel singer at heart who became a celebrity by forging a new path musically ... Through her unforgettable voice and gospel swing crossover style, Tharpe influenced a generation of musicians including Aretha Franklin , Chuck Berry and countless others ... She was, and is, an unmatched artist." As the 1940s came to
23595-498: The census and other surveys, but is not official. In the 2000 census and subsequent Census Bureau surveys, Americans self-described as belonging to these racial groups: In the census, people are asked about their racial identity, including their origins, and whether or not they are of Hispanic ethnicity. These categories are sociopolitical constructs and should not be interpreted as being scientific or anthropological in nature. They have been changed from one census to another, and
23790-515: The central-east of the United States. In the following years, professional "jubilee" troops formed and toured. The first black musical-comedy troupe, Hyers Sisters Comic Opera Co., was organized in 1876. In the last half of the 19th century, barbershops often served as community centers, where men would gather. Barbershop quartets originated with African-American men socializing in barbershops; they would harmonize while waiting their turn, singing spirituals, folk songs and popular songs. This generated
23985-543: 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. The marriage between Luisa de Abrego, a free Black domestic servant from Seville , and Miguel Rodríguez, a White Segovian conquistador in 1565 in St. Augustine (Spanish Florida), is the first known and recorded Christian marriage anywhere in what
24180-427: The colony's slaves, however, were freed upon its surrender to the English. 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 . By an act of 1699, Virginia ordered
24375-441: The combination of social perceptions of race and self-identification with a racial identity frequently complicated legal standards of racial identity. Even people who did not identify as mixed faced the issue of unclear legal terminology; until the 2000 census, Hispanic Americans were required to identify as one race on censuses, and without the option to select Latino or Hispanic, confusion flourished. Historical trends influencing
24570-540: The concept of race became widespread in the early United States, people of Native American heritage, African heritage, and European heritage were considered to belong to different races. For nearly three centuries, the criteria for membership in these groups were similar; a person's appearance, their social circle (how they lived), and ancestry were all considered by society when determining someone's race. The motivations behind historical definitions of racial identity, especially Native American and black identities, have been
24765-637: The creation of several different types of banjos in the United States. In the 1830s, the Second Great Awakening led to a rise in Christian revivals, especially among African Americans. Drawing on traditional work songs , enslaved African Americans originated and performed a wide variety of spirituals and other Christian music . Some of these songs were coded messages of subversion against slaveholders, or signals to escape. For example, Harriet Tubman sang coded messages to her mother and other slaves in
24960-426: The deportation of all free Blacks, effectively defining all people of African descent who remained in the colony as slaves. 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". In Spanish Louisiana , although there was no movement toward abolition of
25155-746: The earlier "White" designation no longer accurately represents MENA identity, so they successfully lobbied for a distinct categorization. This process does not currently include ethnoreligious groups such as Sikhs , as the Bureau only tabulates these groups as followers of religions rather than members of ethnic groups. According to the Arab American Institute, countries of origin for Arab Americans include Algeria , Bahrain , Egypt , Iraq , Jordan , Kuwait , Lebanon , Libya , Morocco , Oman , Qatar , Palestine , Saudi Arabia , Syria , Tunisia , United Arab Emirates , and Yemen . As of December 2015,
25350-508: The education and welfare of their people through health care and construction of improved housing. Today, more than 800,000 to one million persons claim Cherokee descent in part or as full-bloods; of these, an estimated 300,000 live in California, 160,000 in Oklahoma (of which a majority are Cherokee Nation citizens), and 15,000 in North Carolina , living in ancestral homelands as members of
25545-532: 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. 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
25740-529: The ethnic demographics of the United States include: For demographics by specific ethnic groups rather than general race, see "Ancestry" below. White and European Americans are the majority of people living in the United States. White people are defined by the United States Census Bureau as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe , the Middle East , or North Africa ". Like all official US racial categories, "White" has
25935-402: The fiddle and violin. Due to the fact that white colonizers viewed indigenous African religious practices that included drumming and dancing as idolatrous, the enslaved individuals conducted their music-infused religious ceremonies in private. During the eighteenth century, the slaves' informal assemblies in praise houses and brush arbor meetings featured songs and chants such as the ring shout,
26130-682: The field to let them know she was escaping on the Underground Railroad. Tubman sang: "I'm sorry I'm going to leave you, farewell, oh farewell; But I'll meet you in the morning, farewell, oh farewell, I'll meet you in the morning, I'm bound for the promised land, On the other side of Jordan, Bound for the Promised Land." During the period after the Civil War, the spread of African-American music continued. The Fisk University Jubilee Singers first toured in 1871. Artists including Jack Delaney helped revolutionize post-war African-American music in
26325-529: The first African American woman elected to the 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. 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 . On November 4, 2008, Democratic Senator Barack Obama —the son of
26520-541: The first recording by black musicians— Bert Williams and George Walker —highlighting music from Broadway productions. Theodore Drury played a pivotal role in nurturing black talent in opera, establishing the Drury Opera Company in 1900. Despite its short run until 1908, the company left an indelible mark as the pioneer in black participation within opera. Fast forward to 1911, where Scott Joplin's trailblazing ragtime-folk opera, Treemonisha , took center stage, adding
26715-406: The foundation for many musical developments in the years to come. As African-American musicians continued to shape the musical landscape, the 1940s witnessed the emergence of rhythm and blues (R&B) . R&B became a pivotal genre, blending elements of jazz, blues, and gospel , and it laid the groundwork for the evolution of rock and roll in the following decade. Most slaves arrived to
26910-506: The four surviving children entered white society as adults, and their descendants have identified as white. In the late 18th and 19th centuries, people of mixed race often migrated to frontiers where societies were more open, and they might be accepted as white if they satisfied obligations of citizenship. The more familiar " one-drop rule " was not adopted by Virginia and other states until the 20th century, but it classified persons with any known African ancestry as black. Passage of these laws
27105-479: The genre in virtually every study of any kind of African-American music from work songs , field or street calls, shouts, and spirituals to blues and jazz." The roots of American popular music are deeply intertwined with African-American contributions and innovation. The earliest jazz and blues recordings emerged in the 1910s, marking the beginning of a transformative era in music. These genres were heavily influenced by African musical traditions, and they served as
27300-506: The hereditary clan and kinship fundamental to tribal society. The social construction of hypodescent also related to the racial caste system associated with slavery. It was made explicit by Virginia and other colonies' laws as early as 1662. Virginia incorporated the Roman principle of partus sequitur ventrem into slave law, saying that children of enslaved mothers were born into slavery as well. Under English common law, children's social status
27495-414: The historians C. Vann Woodward , George M. Fredrickson , and Stetson Kennedy ) considered the one-drop rule a consequence of the need to justify the oppression of Black Americans and define whiteness as pure. Over the centuries, as whites wielded social and political power over people of color in the United States, they created a social order of hypodescent , in which they assigned mixed-race children to
27690-520: The innovations of James Brown . In 1961, 11-year-old Stevland Hardaway Morris made his first record under Motown's Tamla label as Stevie Wonder . In 1964 the Civil Rights Act outlawed major forms of discrimination towards African Americans and women. As tensions began to diminish, more African-American musicians crossed over into the mainstream. Some artists who successfully crossed over were Aretha Franklin , James Brown , and Ella Fitzgerald in
27885-409: The largest "growth" of any ethnic group in the United States during the 1990s, but it represented how people reported themselves more than growth through birth rates, for instance, and certainly did not reflect immigration. Most French Americans are believed to be descended from colonists of Catholic New France ; exiled Huguenots , much fewer in number and settling in the eastern English colonies in
28080-649: The late 1600s and early 1700s, needed to assimilate into the majority culture and have intermarried over generations. Some Louisiana Creoles , including the Isleños of Louisiana , and the Hispanos of the Southwest have had, in part, direct Spanish ancestry; most self-reported White Hispanics are of Mexican , Puerto Rican , Cuban , and Salvadoran origins, each of which are multi-ethnic nations. Hispanic immigration has increased from nations of Central and South America. There are
28275-506: The late 1970s. Spoken-word artists such as The Watts Prophets , The Last Poets , Gil Scott-Heron and Melvin Van Peebles were some innovators of early hip-hop. Many youths in the Bronx used this medium to communicate the unfairness minorities faced at the time. DJs played records, typically funk, while MCs introduced tracks to the dancing audience. Over time, DJs began isolating and repeating
28470-513: The lower-status groups. However, they were often ignorant of the systems of social classification within Native American tribes. The Omaha people , for instance, who had a patrilineal kinship system, classified all children with white fathers as "White", and excluded them as members of the tribe unless they were formally adopted by a male member. Tribal members might care for mixed-race children of White fathers, but they were considered outside
28665-483: The most reported sub-Saharan African groups in the United States. Historically, African Americans have been undercounted in the US census due to a number of factors. In the 2020 census, the African American population was undercounted at an estimated rate of 3.3%, up from 2.1% in 2010. Texas has the largest African American population by state. Followed by Texas is Florida , with 3.8 million, and Georgia , with 3.6 million. After 100 years of African Americans leaving
28860-448: 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 African Americans identified as Hispanic or Latino in origin , many of whom may be of Brazilian , Puerto Rican , Dominican , Cuban , Haitian , or other Latin American descent. The only self-reported ancestral groups larger than African Americans are
29055-438: The nation. White Americans are the majority in every census-defined region ( Northeast , Midwest , South , and West ) and 44 out of 50 states, except Hawaii , California , Texas , New Mexico , Nevada , and Maryland . Those identifying as white alone or in combination (including multiracial white Americans) are the majority in every state except for Hawaii. The region with the highest proportion of White Americans
29250-545: The new category entry "American", thus considering themselves indigenous because their families had resided in the US for so long, or, if of mixed European ancestry, identified with a more recent and differentiated ethnic group. 7.2% of the population listed their ancestry as American on the 2000 census (see American ancestry ). According to the US Census Bureau, the number of people in the US who reported American and no other ancestry increased from 12.4 million in 1990 to 20.2 million in 2000. This change in reporting represented
29445-457: The newborn medium of photography could be used to visually document and encapsulate the brutality and cruelty of slavery. 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
29640-438: The overall US population by 2050. White Americans overall (non-Hispanic Whites together with White Hispanics, along with many of those identified as "some other race" who are reclassified as White for Census Bureau projections, as this category is not recognized by the Office of Management and Budget ) are projected to continue as the majority, at 72.6% (or 264 million out of 364 million) in 2060, from currently 75.5%. Although
29835-449: The overall White vote, although he won a larger proportion of White votes than any previous non-incumbent Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter . Obama was reelected for a second and final term , by a similar margin on November 6, 2012. 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
30030-416: The overall population of the country. The vast majority were slaves, with only 488,000 counted as " freemen ". By 1900, the Black population had doubled and reached 8.8 million. 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 , as it
30225-480: The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 due to the civil rights movement . According to US Census Bureau data, very few African immigrants self-identify as "African-American" (as "African-American" is usually referring to Blacks with deeply rooted ancestry dating back to the US slave period as discussed in the previous paragraph.) On average, less than 5% of African residents self-reported as "African-American" or "Afro-American" in
30420-608: The plantation fields. African-American spirituals ( Negro Spirituals ) were created in invisible churches and regular Black churches. The hymns, melody, and rhythms were similar to songs heard in West Africa. Enslaved and free blacks created their own words and tunes. Themes include the hardships of slavery and the hope of freedom. Spirituals from the era of slavery are called Slave Shout Songs. These shout songs are sung today by Gullah Geechee people and other African Americans in churches and praise houses. During slavery, these songs were coded messages that spoke of escape from slavery on
30615-407: The pop and jazz worlds, and Leontyne Price and Kathleen Battle in classical music. By the end of the decade, black people were part of the psychedelia and early heavy metal trends, particularly by way of the ubiquitous Beatles' influence and the electric guitar innovations of Jimi Hendrix . Hendrix was among the first guitarists to use audio feedback , fuzz, and other effects pedals such as
30810-617: The pop chart; in 1958, it was ninety-four per cent. The marginal market had become the main market, and the majors had got into the act." The 1950s marked a significant uptick in the allure of blues , captivating audiences both in the US and across the pond in the UK, reminiscent of early 20th-century styles. Alongside this blues resurgence, Doo-wop center stage, enchanting listeners with its unique blend of vocal group harmonies, playful nonsense syllables, minimal instrumentation, and straightforward lyrics. Doo-wop, often featuring solo artists with backing groups, emphasized lead singers who played
31005-403: The population (55%) lives in the South , and there has been a decrease of African Americans in the Northeast and Midwest . The US state/territory with the highest percentage of African Americans is the US Virgin Islands (76% African American as of 2010). Most African Americans are the direct descendants of captives from West Africa , who survived the slavery era within the boundaries of
31200-451: 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 people of mixed-race origin , about 13.5% of the US population self-identified as Black or "mixed with Black". However, according to
31395-448: The population. There were 37,144,530 non-Hispanic Blacks, which comprised 12.1% of the population. According to the 2010 US census , this number increased to 42 million when including multiracial African Americans, making up 13% of the total US population. African Americans make up the second largest group in the United States, but the third largest group after White Americans and Hispanic or Latino Americans of any race. The majority of
31590-506: 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 disenfranchisement . Segregation was now imposed with Jim Crow laws, using signs used to show Blacks where they could legally walk, talk, drink, rest, or eat. For those places that were racially mixed, non-Whites had to wait until all White customers were dealt with. Most African Americans obeyed
31785-504: The post–civil rights era. In 1967, Thurgood Marshall became the first African American Supreme Court Justice. In 1968, Shirley Chisholm became the first Black woman elected to the 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
31980-501: The prefix " Anglo " is now used among some Hispanics to refer to non-Hispanic White Americans or European Americans , most of whom speak the English language but are not of primarily English descent. A similar phenomenon of ethnolinguistic identity can historically (and in some cases contemporarily) be seen in the case of the Louisiana Creole people , who may be of any race but share certain cultural characteristics. The growth of
32175-403: The present United States. The first West Africans were brought to Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. The English settlers treated these captives as indentured servants and released them after a number of years. This practice was gradually replaced by the system of race-based slavery used in the Caribbean. All the American colonies had slavery, but it was usually in the form of personal servants in
32370-401: The racial categories . The United States also recognizes the broader notion of ethnicity. The 2000 census and 2010 American Community Survey inquired about the "ancestry" of residents, while the 2020 census allowed people to enter their "origins". The Census Bureau also classified respondents as either Hispanic or Latino , identifying as an ethnicity , which comprises the minority group in
32565-698: The racial categories include both "racial" and national origin groups. In 2007, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of the US Department of Labor finalized the update of its EEO-1 report format and guidelines concerning the definitions of racial or ethnic categories. In March 2024, the Office of Management and Budget published revisions to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity that address: (1) combined question for race and ethnicity; (2) adding
32760-449: The real King of Rock 'n' Roll" ... a huge influence on me when I started out". By the mid-1950s, many R&B songs were getting "covered" by white artists and the recordings got more airplay on the mainstream radio stations. For example, "Presley quickly covered "Tutti Frutti" ...So did Pat Boone", according to New Yorker . "In 1956, seventy-six per cent of top R.&.B. songs also made the pop chart; in 1957, eighty-seven per cent made
32955-403: 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. 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 Section 9, Clause 1 , Congress
33150-402: The sampling strata for the new MENA category includes the Census Bureau's working classification of 19 MENA groups, as well as Armenian, Afghan , Iranian, Israeli, Azerbaijani , and Georgian groups. The new category will identify "Israeli" as a choice and raises questions as to how the large US Jewish population (7-8 million) will identify. The new question on the US census will identify
33345-505: The singing. They also changed the melodies and rhythms of psalms and hymns , by speeding up the tempo, adding repeated refrains and choruses, and replacing texts with new ones that often combined English and African words and phrases. Originally passed down orally, folk spirituals have been central in the lives of African Americans for more than three centuries, serving religious, cultural, social, political, and historical functions. Folk spirituals were spontaneously created and performed in
33540-540: 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 Charlotte , Houston , Dallas , Fort Worth , Huntsville , Raleigh , Tampa , San Antonio , New Orleans , Memphis , Nashville , Jacksonville , and so forth. A growing percentage of African Americans from
33735-444: The states north of the Mason–Dixon line had abolished slavery. However, slavery would persist in the Southern states until the end of the American Civil War and the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment . Following the end of the Reconstruction era , which saw the first African American representation in Congress , African Americans became disenfranchised and subject to Jim Crow laws , legislation that would persist until
33930-434: The states of Minnesota , Nebraska , Montana , Wyoming ; and North and South Dakota . As of the 2020 census , the largest self-identified Native American group not combined with another race is Aztec , numbering 378,122 individuals. Though Aztecs are indigenous to Mexico and not the United States, they are nevertheless considered Native American people per census guidelines, which includes any indigenous people from
34125-415: The summer with relatives in Money, Mississippi , Till was killed for allegedly having wolf-whistled 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. Vann R. Newkirk wrote "the trial of his killers became a pageant illuminating
34320-674: The system's worst elements. First established in South Carolina in 1704, groups of armed White men— slave patrols —were formed to monitor enslaved Black people. Their function was to police slaves, especially fugitives. Slave owners feared that slaves might organize revolts or slave rebellions , 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 rebellions . The earliest African American congregations and churches were organized before 1800 in both northern and southern cities following
34515-567: The term "African American". Recent African immigrants in the United States come from countries such as Jamaica , Haiti , Nigeria , Ethiopia , Dominican Republic , Ghana , Trinidad and Tobago , Kenya , Guyana , and Somalia . Indigenous peoples of the Americas , particularly Native Americans , made up 2.9% of the population in 2020, numbering 3.7 million. An additional 5.9 million persons declared part-American Indian or Alaska Native ancestry. Levels of Native American ancestry (distinct from Native American identity ) differ. According to
34710-407: The time benefited from using Black Americans as a labor force, it was advantageous for as many people as possible to be defined as black. Many experts on the Jim Crow period agree that the 20th century notion of invisible blackness shifted the color line in the direction of paleness, and "expanded" the labor force in response to Southern blacks' Great Migration to the North, although others (such as
34905-525: The topic of much discussion in modern years. According to many anthropologists , these racial designations were a means to concentrate power, wealth, privilege and land in the hands of white people in a society of white hegemony and privilege . Racial distinctions generally had little to do with biology and more to do with the history of slavery, the systemic racism it produced, and specific forms of white supremacy that benefited from specific definitions of racial identity. For example, it has been suggested that
35100-417: The tyranny of White supremacy ". The state of Mississippi tried two defendants, but they were speedily acquitted by an all-White jury . 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
35295-408: The use of timbre , pitch , volume and duration, and the incorporation of the body in making music. His findings include uses of call-and-response and the importance of interjections from the audience to express satisfaction or dissatisfaction. These heterogeneous sound ideals are also found in many other types of music. White people sometimes taught black slaves to play Western instruments such as
35490-452: The west and north are migrating to the southern region of the US for economic and cultural reasons. The New York City , Chicago , and Los Angeles metropolitan areas have the highest decline in African Americans, while Atlanta , Dallas , and Houston have the highest increase respectively. Several smaller metro areas also saw sizable gains, including San Antonio; Raleigh and Greensboro, N.C.; and Orlando. Despite recent declines, as of 2020,
35685-432: The world during the 20th century. Analyzing African music through the lens of European musicology can leave out much of the cultural use of sound and methods of music making. Some methods of African music making are translated more clearly though the music itself, and not in written form. Blues and ragtime were developed during the late 19th century through the fusion of West African vocalizations, which employed
35880-417: The years when working classes lived and worked closely together, and before slavery had hardened as a racial caste. In the United States, social and legal conventions developed over time by Whites classified individuals of mixed ancestry into simplified racial categories, but these were always flawed. The decennial censuses conducted since 1790, after slavery was well established in the United States, included
36075-411: Was William Grant Still 's Afro-American Symphony (1930) by the New York Philharmonic . Florence Beatrice Price 's Symphony in E minor was performed in 1933 by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra . In 1934, William Dawson 's Negro Folk Symphony was performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. Billboard started making a separate list of hit records for African-American music in October 1942 with
36270-542: Was $ 5,600 (equivalent to $ 58,532 in 2023), compared with $ 2,900 (equivalent to $ 30,311 in 2023) for non-White families. In 1965, 43 percent of all Black families fell into the poverty bracket, earning under $ 3,000 (equivalent to $ 29,005 in 2023) a year. The 1960s saw improvements in the social and economic conditions of many Black Americans. 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 (equivalent to $ 26,285 in 2023)
36465-439: Was a Whites-only establishment, with Blacks (such as Duke Ellington ) allowed to perform, but to a White audience. Black Americans also found a new ground for political power in Northern cities, without the enforced disabilities of Jim Crow . 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
36660-483: 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, that trend reversed , with more African Americans moving south to the Sun Belt than leaving it. The following table of the African American population in the United States over time shows that the African American population, as a percentage of the total population, declined until 1930 and has been rising since then. By 1990,
36855-506: Was determined by the father, not the mother, but the colonists considered enslaved Africans outside the category of English subjects. Although White men were in positions of power to take sexual advantage of enslaved black women, this meant that their offspring would be considered Black and were enslaved regardless of their parentage. However, most free Black American families listed in the censuses of 1790–1810 were descended from unions between White women and African men in colonial Virginia, from
37050-430: Was no longer was classified as Native American, they lost legal claim to their land under historical allotment rules, making it easier for White Americans to acquire the land for their own development. On the other hand, the same individual who could be denied legal standing in a tribe because he was "too White" to claim property rights might still have enough visually identifiable native ancestry to be considered socially as
37245-402: Was often altered and diluted to be more palatable for white audiences, who would not have accepted black performers, leading to genres like swing music . By the turn of the 20th century African Americans were becoming part of classical music as well. Originally excluded from major symphony orchestras, black musicians could study in music conservatories that had been founded in the 1860s, such as
37440-506: Was often encouraged by white supremacists and people promoting "racial purity", who disregarded the long history of multi-racial unions in the South. In other countries in the Americas , where mixing among groups was overtly more extensive, social categories have tended to be more numerous and fluid. In some cases, people may move into or out of categories on the basis of a combination of socioeconomic status, social class, ancestry, and appearance. The term Hispanic as an ethnonym emerged in
37635-407: Was one of a few radio stations dedicated to African-American music that started during this period. The British Invasion knocked many black artists off the US pop charts, although some, like Otis Redding , Wilson Pickett , Aretha Franklin and a number of Motown artists, continued to do well. Soul music, however, remained popular among black people through new forms such as funk , developed out of
37830-413: 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
38025-412: Was unable to pass an Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves until 1807. Fugitive slave laws (derived from the Fugitive Slave Clause of the Constitution— Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 ) were passed by Congress in both 1793 and 1850 , guaranteeing the right of a slaveholder to recover an escaped slave anywhere within the US. Slave owners, who viewed enslaved people as property, ensured that it became
#974025