African diaspora in the Americas

History

Main article: Atlantic slave trade

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

Black population by region according to the censuses

Languages

Dialects are linguistic varieties that may differ in pronunciation, vocabulary, spelling, and other aspects of grammar. The African diaspora in the Americas has been subject to various colonial languages. A list of languages spoken by or developed in the Amer-Afro diaspora is provided below.

National or territorial varieties of colonial languages

• American English
• Caribbean English
  • Antiguan and Barbudan English
  • Bahamian English
  • Bajan English
  • Belizean English
  • Bermudian English
  • Cayman Islands English
  • Bay Islands English or Caracol
  • Jamaican English
  • Trinidad and Tobago English
  • Saban English
  • San Nicolaas English
  • Puerto Rican English
• Caribbean Spanish
  • Puerto Rican Spanish
  • Dominican Spanish
  • Venezuelan Spanish
  • Nicaraguan Spanish
  • Panamanian Spanish
  • Cuban Spanish
• Mexican Spanish
• Honduran Spanish
• Colombian Spanish
• Rioplatense Spanish
• Equatorial Spanish
• Haitian French
• Louisiana French
• Brazilian Portuguese

Maroon languages, creoles, and ethno-cultural dialects

Portuguese-based

• Papiamento

French-based

• Haitian Creole
• Kouri-Vini
• Créole Guyanais
• Antillean Creole
  • Martinican Creole French
  • Dominican Creole French
  • Saint Lucian Creole French
  • Grenadian Creole French
  • Trinidadian French Creole
  • San Miguel Creole

Dutch-based

• Berbice Creole Dutch (extinct)
• Skepi Creole Dutch (extinct)
• Negerduits (extinct)
• Negerhollands (extinct)

Spanish-based

• Palenquero
• Bozal Spanish (extinct)

English-based

North America

• African-American English
  • Black Appalachian English
  • African-American Outer Banks English
  • African Nova Scotian English
• African-American Vernacular English or Ebonics
  • Jive
  • Samaná English
• Bawlmerese
• Nuwaubian
• Gullah Geechee
  • Afro-Seminole Creole

Eastern Caribbean

• Vincentian Creole

Northeastern Caribbean

• Bahamian Creole

Southeastern Caribbean

• Antiguan and Barbudan Creole or Raabak
  • Saint Kitts Creole
  • Montserrat Creole
  • Anguillian Creole
  • Kokoy
  • North Antiguan Creole
  • South Antiguan Creole
  • Barbudan Creole
• Bajan Creole
• Tobagonian Creole
• Trinidadian Creole
• Guyanese Creole or Creolese
• Virgin Islands Creole
• Grenadian Creole English

Western Caribbean

• Jamaican Patois
  • Bermudian Creole
  • Bocas del Toro Creole
  • Limonese Creole or Mekatelyu
  • Iyaric
  • Miskito Coast Creole
    • Rama Cay Creole
• Turks and Caicos Creole
• San Andrés–Providencia Creole
  • Providence Creole English
  • Saintandrewan
• Belizean Creole or Belize Kriol

Southern Caribbean

• Venezuelan English Creole

Suriname

• Sranan Tongo
• Ndyuka
  • Aluku
• Kwinti
• Paramaccan
• Saramaccan
• Nengue Tongo
• Maroon Spirit language or Kromanti

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

Related bibliography

• Ethnic domination and racist discourse in Spain and Latin America. Dijk, Teun A. van. van. Gedisa Editorial SA
• Gender, class and race in Latin America: some contributions. Luna, Lola G. Ed PPU, SA
• Gender, race and class "color" desensientes Latinas. Impoexports, Colombia, Yumbo
• Afro Atlantic Histories resource, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.

References

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