AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY

African American History or Black American History, a history of black people in the United States from their arrival in the Americas in the 15th century until the present day. In 2000, 34.7 million Americans, about one out of every eight people in the United States, were black. Although blacks from the West Indies and other areas have migrated to the United States in the 20th century, most African Americans were born in the United States, and this has been true since the early 19th century. Until the mid-20th century, the African American population was concentrated in the Southern states. Even today, a little over half of all African Americans live in the South. Blacks also make up a significant part of the population in most urban areas in the eastern United States and in some mid-western and western cities as well.