The African diaspora in the Americas refers to the people born in the Americas with partial, predominant, or complete sub-Saharan African ancestry. Many are descendants of persons enslaved in Africa and transferred to the Americas by Europeans, then forced to work mostly in European-owned mines and plantations, between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. Significant groups have been established in the United States (African Americans), in Canada (Black Canadians), in the Caribbean (Afro-Caribbean), and in Latin America (Afro-Latin Americans).
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Brazil | 20,656,458 |
| United States | 46,936,733 |
| Haiti | 10,896,000 |
| Colombia | 4,944,400 |
| Mexico | 2,576,213 |
| Jamaica | 2,531,000 |
| Dominican Republic | 1,704,000 |
| Panama | 1,258,915 |
| Canada | 1,198,540 |
| Cuba | 1,034,044 |
| Venezuela | 936,770 |
| Peru | 828,824 |
| Ecuador | 814,468 |
| Puerto Rico | 574,287 |
| Nicaragua | 572,000 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 452,536 |
| Bahamas | 324,000 |
| Barbados | 280,000 |
| Martinique | 273,985 |
| Uruguay | 255,074 |
| Guyana | 227,062 |
| Suriname | 202,500 |
| Honduras | 191,000 |
| Argentina | 149,493 |
| Saint Lucia | 142,000 |
| Belize | 108,000 |
| Languages | |
| English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Haitian Creole, Martinican Creole, Papiamento, Dutch | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, Rastafari, Afro-American religions, Traditional African religions, Islam, others | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| African diaspora, Maroons | |
History
After the United States achieved independence, next came the independence of Haiti, a country populated almost entirely by people of African descent and the second American colony to win its independence from European colonial powers. After the process of independence, many countries have encouraged European immigration to America, thus reducing the proportion of black and mulatto population throughout the country: Brazil, the United States, and the Dominican Republic. Miscegenation and more flexible concepts of race have also reduced the overall population identifying as black in Latin America, whereas the one-drop rule in the United States has had the opposite effect.
From 21 to 25 November 1995, the Continental Congress of Black Peoples of the Americas was held. Black people still face discrimination in most parts of the continent. According to David D.E. Ferrari, vice president of the World Bank for the Region of Latin America and the Caribbean, black people have lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, more frequent and more widespread diseases, higher rates of illiteracy and lower income than Americans of different ethnic origin. Women, also the subjects of gender discrimination, suffer worse living conditions.
On 4 November 2008, the first black U.S. president, Barack Obama, won 52% of the vote. His father was from Kenya and his mother was from Kansas.
Distribution
Black population by country
| Country | % Black African | % Mixed Black African |
|---|---|---|
| Haiti | 95% | ~5% |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 92.5% | 3% |
| Barbados | 92.4% | 3.1% |
| Martinique | 92.4% | |
| Jamaica | 92.1% | 6.1% |
| Curaçao | 91.8% | |
| The Bahamas | 90.6% | 2.1% |
| Turks and Caicos | 87.6% | 2.5% |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 87.3% | 4.7% |
| Montserrat | 86.2% | 4.8% |
| Saint Lucia | 85.3% | 10.9% |
| Anguilla | 85.3% | 3.8% |
| Dominica | 84.7% | 9% |
| Grenada | 82.4% | 13.3% |
| British Virgin Islands | 76.3% | 5.4% |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 76% | 2.1% |
| Vincent and the Grenadines | 71.2% | 23% |
| French Guiana | 66% | |
| Bermuda | 52% | 9% |
| Suriname | 37.4% | |
| Guyana | 30.2% | 16.7% |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 34.2% | 22.8% |
| Panama | 32.8% | |
| Belize | 25.6% | 6.1% |
| Cayman Islands | 20% | 40% |
| Dominican Republic | 15.8% | 70.4% |
| Aruba | 15% | |
| United States | 12.4% | 1.8% |
| Brazil | 10.2% | 45.3% |
| Guadeloupe | 10% | 76.7% |
| Cuba | 9.3% | 26.6% |
| Colombia | 9.34% | 15.44% |
| Nicaragua | 9% | |
| Puerto Rico | 7% | 10.5% |
| Ecuador | 4.8% | |
| Uruguay | 4.6% | 3.2% |
| Canada | 4.26% | |
| Venezuela | 3.6% | 51.6% |
| Peru | 3.6% | |
| Mexico | 2.04% | |
| Honduras | 2% | |
| Costa Rica | 1.1% | 6.7% |
| Argentina | 0.37% | |
| Guatemala | 0.3% | |
| Bolivia | 0.2% | |
| El Salvador | 0.13% | |
| Paraguay | 0.13% | |
| Chile | 0.06% | |
Black population by region according to the censuses
| Region | Percentage | Total population | Country | Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Between 50% and 100% | |||||||
| Chocó | 73.83% | 337,696 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| San Andrés y Providencia | 55.64% | 26,873 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Between 25% and 50% | |||||||
| District of Columbia | 41.45% | 285,810 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Mississippi | 36.62% | 1,084,481 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Louisiana | 31.43% | 1,464,023 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Georgia | 31.00% | 3,320,513 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Maryland | 29.47% | 1,820,472 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Alabama | 25.80% | 1,296,162 | USA | 2020 | |||
| South Carolina | 25.02% | 1,280,531 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Between 10% and 25% | |||||||
| Bahia | 22.38% | 3,164,691 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Delaware | 22.11% | 218,899 | USA | 2020 | |||
| North Carolina | 20.50% | 2,140,217 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Cauca | 19.74% | 245,362 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Virginia | 18.62% | 1,607,581 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Nariño | 17.45% | 233,062 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Valle del Cauca | 17.09% | 647,526 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Bolívar | 16.73% | 319,396 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Rio de Janeiro | 16.16% | 2,594,253 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Tennessee | 15.81% | 1,092,948 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Florida | 15.07% | 3,246,381 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Arkansas | 15.07% | 453,783 | USA | 2020 | |||
| New York | 14.78% | 2,986,172 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Illinois | 14.11% | 1,808,271 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Michigan | 13.66% | 1,376,579 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Tocantins | 13.19% | 199,394 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| New Jersey | 13.13% | 1,219,770 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Cesar | 12.97% | 142,436 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Sergipe | 12.85% | 283,960 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Maranhão | 12.61% | 854,424 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Ohio | 12.53% | 1,478,781 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Piauí | 12.25% | 400,662 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Texas | 12.19% | 3,552,997 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Sucre | 11.91% | 102,836 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Minas Gerais | 11.84% | 2,432,877 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Amapá | 11.81% | 86,662 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Missouri | 11.37% | 699,840 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Espírito Santo | 11.21% | 429,680 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Pennsylvania | 10.95% | 1,423,169 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Connecticut | 10.78% | 388,675 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Federal District | 10.71% | 301,765 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Pernambuco | 10.04% | 909,557 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Between 5% and 10% | |||||||
| Mato Grosso | 9.86% | 360,698 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Nevada | 9.82% | 304,739 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Pará | 9.77% | 793,621 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Indiana | 9.56% | 648,513 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Alagoas | 9.55% | 298,709 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Goiás | 9.19% | 648,560 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Rio Grande do Norte | 9.17% | 302,749 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Rondônia | 8.65% | 136,793 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Acre | 8.56% | 71,086 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Magdalena | 8.42% | 106,318 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Kentucky | 8.04% | 362,417 | USA | 2020 | |||
| São Paulo | 7.99% | 3,546,562 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Paraíba | 7.96% | 316,572 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Roraima | 7.73% | 49,195 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Oklahoma | 7.32% | 289,961 | USA | 2020 | |||
| La Guajira | 7.32% | 60,475 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Massachusetts | 7.03% | 494,029 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Minnesota | 6.98% | 398,434 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Ceará | 6.77% | 595,694 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Córdoba | 6.58% | 102,495 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Rio Grande do Sul | 6.52% | 709,837 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 6.50% | 179,101 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Wisconsin | 6.39% | 376,356 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Atlántico | 5.99% | 140,142 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Kansas | 5.75% | 168,809 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Rhode Island | 5.67% | 62,168 | USA | 2020 | |||
| California | 5.66% | 2,237,044 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Antioquia | 5.22% | 312,112 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Between 0% and 5% | |||||||
| Amazonas | 4.91% | 193,667 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Nebraska | 4.92% | 96,535 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Arizona | 4.74% | 339,150 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Paraná | 4.24% | 485,781 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Arauca | 4.20% | 10,058 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Iowa | 4.14% | 131,972 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Guaviare | 4.10% | 2,991 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Colorado | 4.07% | 234,828 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Santa Catarina | 4.07% | 309,908 | Brazil | 2022 | |||
| Washington | 3.99% | 307,565 | USA | 2020 | |||
| West Virginia | 3.67% | 65,813 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Putumayo | 3.62% | 10,262 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| North Dakota | 3.44% | 26,783 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Alaska | 2.99% | 21,898 | USA | 2020 | |||
| New Mexico | 2.17% | 45,904 | USA | 2020 | |||
| South Dakota | 2.01% | 17,842 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Risaralda | 1.99% | 16,733 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Oregon | 1.95% | 82,655 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Maine | 1.87% | 25,752 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Hawaii | 1.61% | 23,417 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Casanare | 1.61% | 6,130 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Caldas | 1.59% | 14,716 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| New Hampshire | 1.46% | 20,127 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Caquetá | 1.41% | 5,087 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Vermont | 1.40% | 9,034 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Buenos Aires City | 1.31% | 40,670 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Utah | 1.22% | 40,058 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Quindío | 1.18% | 6,060 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Santander | 1.13% | 22,759 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Guainía | 1.04% | 460 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Meta | 0.96% | 8,836 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Wyoming | 0.92% | 5,232 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Bogotá | 0.92% | 66,934 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Chubut | 0.90% | 5,302 | Argentina | 2020 | |||
| Tierra del Fuego | 0.90% | 1,658 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Idaho | 0.86% | 15,726 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Vaupés | 0.77% | 288 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Vichada | 0.76% | 580 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Salta | 0.74% | 10,632 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Amazonas | 0.74% | 486 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Buenos Aires | 0.74% | 128,804 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Misiones | 0.74% | 9,374 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Río Negro | 0.73% | 5,463 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Santa Cruz | 0.73% | 2,446 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Neuquén | 0.71% | 5,026 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Jujuy | 0.69% | 5,583 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Entre Ríos | 0.63% | 8,910 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Corrientes | 0.52% | 6,310 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| La Rioja | 0.51% | 1,959 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Montana | 0.51% | 5,484 | USA | 2020 | |||
| Huila | 0.50% | 5,099 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Formosa | 0.49% | 2,956 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Córdoba | 0.48% | 18,366 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| La Pampa | 0.48% | 1,726 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Chaco | 0.48% | 5,357 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Cundinamarca | 0.47% | 13,092 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Santa Fe | 0.47% | 16,560 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Catamarca | 0.46% | 1,965 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Tucumán | 0.42% | 7,172 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Tolima | 0.42% | 5,207 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Norte de Santander | 0.40% | 5,470 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Mendoza | 0.40% | 8,141 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Santiago del Estero | 0.40% | 4,211 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Boyacá | 0.38% | 4,247 | Colombia | 2018 | |||
| Pando | 0.36% | 394 | Bolivia | 2012 | |||
| Beni | 0.35% | 1,493 | Bolivia | 2012 | |||
| San Luis | 0.35% | 1,896 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| La Paz | 0.33% | 8,835 | Bolivia | 2012 | |||
| San Juan | 0.30% | 2,449 | Argentina | 2022 | |||
| Santa Cruz | 0.30% | 7,845 | Bolivia | 2012 | |||
| Tarija | 0.18% | 770 | Bolivia | 2012 | |||
| Cochabamba | 0.14% | 2,458 | Bolivia | 2012 | |||
| Chuquisaca | 0.11% | 604 | Bolivia | 2012 | |||
| Chuquisaca | 0.11% | 604 | Bolivia | 2012 | |||
| Oruro | 0.10% | 490 | Bolivia | 2012 | |||
| Potosí | 0.05% | 441 | Bolivia | 2012 | |||
| Source: Censuses of American countries. | |||||||
Notable people of African descent in the Americas
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – American basketball player
- Muhammad Ali – American boxer
- Archie Alleyne – Canadian musician
- Deandre Ayton – Bahamian basketball player
- Ronald Acuna Jr. – Venezuelan baseball player
- Ozzie Albies – Curaçaoan baseball player
- Laz Alonso – Cuban actor
- Edem Awumey – Canadian writer
- Susana Baca – Peruvian musician
- Leandro Barbosa – Brazilian basketball player
- Charles Barkley – American basketball player
- RJ Barrett – Canadian basketball player
- Abelardo Barroso – Cuban singer
- Mario Bazán – Peruvian athlete
- DaMarcus Beasley – American football player
- Jean Beausejour – Chilean football player
- Adrián Beltré – Dominican baseball player
- Halle Berry – American actress
- Beyoncé – American singer
- Usain Bolt – Jamaican sprinter
- Cory Booker – American politician
- E. R. Braithwaite – Guyanese writer, educator and diplomat
- Melvin Brown – Mexican football player
- Rudel Calero – Nicaraguan football player
- Mariah Carey – American singer
- Sueli Carneiro – Brazilian philosopher and political activist
- Ramiro Castillo – Bolivian football player
- Aimé Césaire – Martinican author, philosopher and politician
- Bill Cosby – American actor and comedian
- Celia Cruz – Cuban singer
- Teófilo Cubillas – Peruvian football player
- Stephen Curry – American basketball player
- Léon Damas – French Guianese writer
- Edwidge Danticat – Haitian-American author
- Charlie Davies – American football player
- Oscar D'León – Venezuelan musician
- Drake – Canadian rapper
- Tim Duncan – American basketball player
- Kevin Durant – American basketball player
- Giovanny Espinoza – Ecuadorian football player
- Patrick Ewing – Jamaican basketball player
- Frantz Fanon – Martinican philosopher and Pan-Africanist
- Jefferson Farfán – Peruvian football player
- Marielle Franco – Brazilian politician
- Marcus Garvey – Jamaican Pan-Africanist
- Gilberto Gil – Brazilian musician and politician
- Juan José Nieto Gil – Colombian president
- Edray H. Goins – African American president of the National Association of Mathematicians (NAM)
- Eddy Grant – Guyanese pop and reggae music star
- Kevin Hanchard – Canadian actor
- Devern Hansack – Nicaraguan baseball pitcher
- James Harden – American basketball player
- Kamala Harris – American politician, Vice President of the United States
- Wilson Harris – Guyanese writer
- Buddy Hield – Bahamian basketball player
- Whitney Houston – American singer
- Kyrie Irving – American basketball player
- Michael Jackson – American singer
- Janet Jackson – American singer
- Lamar Jackson – American football player
- C. L. R. James – Trinidadian historian and academic
- LeBron James – American basketball player
- Wyclef Jean – Haitian musician
- Jerry Jeudy, American football player
- Dwayne Johnson – American actor and wrestler
- Magic Johnson – American basketball player
- Michael Jordan – American basketball player
- Colin Kaepernick – American civil rights activist and American football player
- Martin Luther King Jr. – American civil rights activist
- Hayden Knight – American football player
- Don Lemon – American journalist
- Mia Love – American politician
- Malcolm X – American human rights activist
- Bob Marley – Jamaican reggae musician
- Jackson Martínez – Colombian football player
- Margareth Menezes – Brazilian singer and producer
- Nicki Minaj – Trinidadian rapper
- Totó la Momposina – Colombian singer
- Zezé Motta – Brazilian actress
- Morella Muñoz – Venezuelan singer
- Milton Nascimento – Brazilian singer
- Anthony Nesty – Surinamese swimmer
- Lupita Nyong'o – Mexican actress
- Barack Obama – American politician, first black president of the United States
- Michelle Obama – American politician, former First Lady of the United States
- Shaquille O'Neal – American basketball player
- David Ortiz – Dominican baseball player
- Deval Patrick – American politician
- Chris Paul – American basketball player
- Pelé – Brazilian soccer player
- Carlos Posadas – Argentine musician
- Álex Quiñónez – Ecuadorian Olympic sprinter
- Rubén Rada – Uruguayan singer
- Lionel Richie – American singer
- Rihanna – Barbadian singer
- Robinho – Brazilian football player
- Walter Rodney – Guyanese historian and political activist
- Arturo Rodríguez – Argentine boxer
- Bill Russell – American basketball player
- Carlos Andrés Sánchez – Uruguayan football player
- Pablo Sandoval – Venezuelan athlete
- Giovani dos Santos – Mexican football player
- Milton Santos – Brazilian geographer
- Tupac Shakur – American rapper
- Cayetano Alberto Silva – Uruguayan musician
- Will Smith – American actor and singer
- Domingo Sosa – Argentine soldier
- Sloane Stephens – American tennis player
- Mike Tyson – American boxer
- María Isabel Urrutia – Colombian athlete
- Bebo Valdés – Cuban pianist
- Elcina Valencia – Colombian teacher
- Dwyane Wade – American basketball player
- Derek Walcott – Saint Lucian poet, playwright and the 1992 Nobel Prize Literature Winner
- Denzel Washington – American actor
- The Weeknd – Canadian singer
- Kanye West – American rapper and singer
- Russell Westbrook – American basketball player
- Andrew Wiggins – Canadian basketball player
- Eric Eustace Williams – Trinidad and Tobago's first Prime Minister
- Serena Williams – American tennis player
- Zion Williamson – American basketball player
- Russell Wilson – American football player
- Oprah Winfrey – American talk show host, actress and producer
- Tiger Woods – American golfer
See also
- African-American
- African-Canadian
- African-Caribbean
- Afro-Latin American
Related bibliography
- Ethnic domination and racist discourse in Spain and Latin America. Dijk, Teun A. van. van. Gedisa Editorial SA ISBN 84-7432-997-3
- Gender, class and race in Latin America: some contributions. Luna, Lola G. Ed PPU, SA ISBN 84-7665-959-8
- Gender, race and class "color" desensientes Latinas. Impoexports, Colombia, Yumbo
- Afro Atlantic Histories resource, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.
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