Africans in the United States

Africans in the United States
Group	Africans in the United States
Population	Diverse; millions (est.)
Regions	New York City, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago
Languages	English language, French language, Arabic language, Swahili language, Amharic language, Yoruba language
Religions	Christianity, Islam, Traditional African religion, Judaism

Africans in the United States are people in the United States who trace their ancestry to the African continent, encompassing recent migrants from Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Cameroon, South Africa and other African countries, as well as longer-established communities tied to diasporic movements and historic links with Haiti, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Cape Verde. Their presence intersects with major U.S. institutions such as Harvard University, Howard University, Columbia University, New York University, Georgetown University and with political centers like United States Congress, White House, Supreme Court of the United States.

History

Early arrivals included sailors and settlers linked to Jamestown, Virginia and transatlantic routes involving São Tomé and Príncipe and Cape Verde, with later forced migration via the Atlantic slave trade reaching ports like Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. The 19th and 20th centuries saw connections with Liberia and movements involving figures such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois and organizations like the American Colonization Society. Pan-African activism tied communities to Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Ella Baker, Ralph Bunche and transnational congresses including the Pan-African Congresses. Post-1965 changes followed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, prompting new flows from Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Liberia and engaging institutions like United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and events such as the Ethiopian Civil War and Somali Civil War.

Demographics and Distribution

Concentrations appear in metropolitan areas such as New York City, Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas–Fort Worth and Miami. National data collection involves agencies like the United States Census Bureau and studies by Pew Research Center, Brookings Institution, Migration Policy Institute and universities including University of California, Berkeley, Princeton University, Rutgers University and University of Pennsylvania. Ethnic communities include Yoruba people, Igbo people, Hausa people, Akan people, Amhara people, Tigrayans, Somalis, Ethiopians, Liberians, Sierra Leoneans, Senegalese and Cape Verdean Americans with neighborhoods such as Bronx enclaves, Brooklyn's districts, Harlem, Washington, D.C.'s wards, Silver Spring, Maryland, Norwalk, Connecticut and Somerville, Massachusetts.

Immigration and Legal Status

Immigration pathways involve family-sponsored visas, employment-based visas, diversity visas tied to the Diversity Immigrant Visa program, refugee resettlement coordinated with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and asylum claims related to conflicts like the Sudanese Civil War and Rwandan genocide. Legal advocacy groups include American Civil Liberties Union, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, African Services Committee, International Rescue Committee, Human Rights Watch and local organizations such as African Communities Together. Judicial decisions and legislation—referenced in forums including the United States Court of Appeals and debated in United States Congress—shape status, with interactions involving Department of Homeland Security and programs like Temporary Protected Status.

Culture and Community Life

Cultural life is vibrant across artistic, religious and civic institutions: festivals tied to Caribbean Carnival traditions, celebrations at venues like Apollo Theater, exhibitions at Smithsonian Institution museums, and performances at Kennedy Center. Religious institutions include congregations linked to Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Sunni Islam, Shia Islam, Messianic movements and diasporic churches in the tradition of African Methodist Episcopal Church and Pentecostalism. Media outlets and publishers include collaborations with NPR, The New York Times, Washington Post, The Root, Essence (magazine), The Atlantic, Vox, BBC News, Al Jazeera and community newspapers. Civic engagement channels include chapters of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Black Lives Matter, African Union diaspora forums, student groups at Spelman College, Morehouse College and alumni networks of Howard University.

Socioeconomic Status and Education

Educational attainment varies, with many immigrants holding degrees from institutions such as University of Ibadan, University of Lagos, University of Ghana, Addis Ababa University, Makerere University and earning advanced degrees at Columbia University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University and Princeton University. Employment spans sectors including healthcare settings affiliated with hospitals like Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins Hospital, technology firms such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon (company), finance firms like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, and entrepreneurship supported by incubators tied to Kauffman Foundation and university tech transfer offices. Economic research from Brookings Institution, Urban Institute and Pew Research Center examines income, homeownership, remittances to countries like Nigeria and Ethiopia, and disparities addressed by policy groups and foundations such as Ford Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Notable Individuals and Contributions

Prominent figures of African origin or descent in the United States include leaders and creatives linked to politics, science and the arts: elected officials in United States Senate and United States House of Representatives, activists associated with Nelson Mandela's legacy and the Anti-Apartheid Movement, scholars connected to Cornel West, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Teju Cole, artists and performers tied to Beyoncé Knowles, Kendrick Lamar, John Legend, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Ava DuVernay, Spike Lee, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and scientists associated with Salk Institute, National Institutes of Health, NASA including researchers who collaborate with institutions like MIT and Harvard Medical School. Entrepreneurs and professionals include founders linked to Andela, executives at Uber Technologies, Stripe (company), physicians trained at Mayo Clinic, journalists at The New Yorker, The Washington Post, CNN, judges in the United States Federal Courts, and cultural ambassadors at Kennedy Center Honors. Legacy contributions span scholarship, policy, arts, medicine and business through networks involving Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Chicago, Princeton University and philanthropic work associated with foundations such as Rockefeller Foundation and Gates Foundation.

Category:African diaspora in North America