African Americans
da Kelsey Potter
1. Early Experience
1.1. In the mid-1500s, European mariners started bringing black Africans to America as slaves. This forced migration was unique in American history.
1.2. But the slave trade was not new to Europe or Africa. In the eighth century, Moorish merchants traded humans as merchandise throughout the Mediterranean. In addition, many West African peoples kept slaves. West African slaves were usually prisoners of war, criminals, or the lowest-ranked members of caste systems.
1.3. In the 17th and 18th centuries, some blacks gained their freedom, acquired property, and gained access to American society. Many moved to the North, where slavery, although still legal, was less of a presence. African Americans, both slave and free also made significant contributions to the economy and infrastructure working on roads, canals, and construction of cities.
1.4. Beginning in the 1890s, many blacks started moving North. World War I opened many factory jobs. In the 1920s, strict new laws drastically cut European immigration. The drop in immigration created a demand for industrial workers in the Northern cities. Southern blacks, still oppressed by segregation, began to migrate northward in increasing numbers. Young black men eagerly took unskilled jobs in meat packing plants, steel mills, and on auto assembly lines in Chicago, Omaha, and Detroit.
1.5. The Depression brought many blacks and whites together for the first time. In the cities, a half-million African Americans joined predominantly white labor unions. In the South, poor black and white farmers joined together in farmers’ unions.
1.6. An Overview of the African-American Experience - Constitutional Rights Foundation
2. Identification
2.1. The debate over “who counts” has created somewhat of an identity crisis in the black community, exposing a divide between those who think being black should be based on physical looks, and those who think being black is more than looks.
2.2. It includes not only the people we interact with but also the clothes we wear, the food we eat and the music we listen to. Mixed-race African-Americans – just like dark-skinned African-Americans – would be equally uncomfortable wearing a kimono, drinking sake or listening to ongaku (a type of Japanese music). On the other hand, wearing a dashiki, eating soul food and relaxing to the beats of rap or hip-hop music is something all black people – regardless of skin tone – can identify with
2.3. Many multiracial Americans simply identify as “multiracial.” Others, even if they’re a product of mixed ancestry, choose “black.”
2.4. It sometimes seems to suggest that if you are black, you have dark skin. Your hair is kinky. Green or blue eyes, on the other hand, represent someone who is white.
2.5. Who counts as black?
3. Current Reality
3.1. Among all communities of color, African American workers have the highest unemployment rate. As of January 2018, the African American unemployment rate was 7.7%, nearly twice the national average unemployment rate of 4.9%. By comparison, unemployment rates stand at five percent for Hispanic workers, 3.5% for White workers and three percent for Asian American workers.
3.2. African American students attend the lowest-performing school districts and have significantly lower test scores than students nationally.
3.3. While the wage and income gaps between African Americans and their White counterparts are wide, the racial wealth divide between these groups is even more pronounced. Black median household wealth is at $3,4000 compared to $140,055 for White households, meaning African Americans have about two percent the wealth of Whites.
3.3.1. Much of this can be attributed to disparities in homeownership, as housing is known to make up two-thirds of a typical household’s wealth. However, discrimination in employment also plays a significant role. Access to quality jobs and safe, affordable homeownership are key to boosting the financial security of African American households.