Foreign-born African Americans
Encyclopedia
Foreign-born Afro Americans are Americans who are not born in the United States
but are of Afro-American descent or have assimilated into Afro American society. Foreign-born Afro Americans have slave ancestry and are sometimes of direct Afro American descent. The difference between African immigrants
to the U.S. and foreign born Afro Americans is that foreign-born Black Americans are of North American
or Caribbean
slave descent. Foreign-born Afro Americans can also be a term used to refer to the Americo-Liberian
population of Liberia
, who are direct descendants of Afro American slaves who settled in Liberia. Foreign-born Afro Americans are not immigrants as they are of Afro American ancestry in most cases; or they have an American grandparent (whether naturalized or not) through which they can claim American ancestry.
are descendants of Afro American slaves who returned to Africa through the services of the American Colonization Society
. The Americo-Liberians maintained ties to America and modelled the country after the U.S.; the Liberian flag resembles the U.S. flag and Monrovia was named in honor of U.S. President James Monroe
. The Americo Liberians considered themselves as Afro Americans in Liberia, and they typically sent their children to study in the United States for college.
are descendants of African Americans who immigrated to Sierra Leone as well as 'Black Loyalists from the American South who fought for the British in Revolutionary War. The Creoles speak a language similar to African American
Gullah
called Krio
. The Creoles like the Americo-Liberians sent their children to study overseas; many did not return back to Sierra Leone. Because of the Sierra Leone Civil War
there is also a large community of these Sierra Leone Creoles in the East Coast of the United States today, and a contingent on the West Coast of the United States. Some Creoles are related to Americo-Liberians because the early Americo-Liberians are the descendants of the Black Americans who initially settled in Freetown, Sierra Leone and Sherbro, Sierra Leone.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
but are of Afro-American descent or have assimilated into Afro American society. Foreign-born Afro Americans have slave ancestry and are sometimes of direct Afro American descent. The difference between African immigrants
African immigration to the United States
African immigration to the United States refers to the group of recent immigrants to the United States who are nationals of Africa. The term African in the scope of this article refers to geographical or national origins rather than racial affiliation....
to the U.S. and foreign born Afro Americans is that foreign-born Black Americans are of North American
North American
North American generally refers to an entity, people, group, or attribute of North America, especially of the United States and Canada together.-Culture:*North American English, a collective term used to describe American English and Canadian English...
or Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
slave descent. Foreign-born Afro Americans can also be a term used to refer to the Americo-Liberian
Americo-Liberian
Americo-Liberians are a Liberian ethnicity of African American descent. The sister ethnic group of Americo Liberians are the Sierra Leone Creole people who are of African American, West Indian, and liberated African descent...
population of Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, who are direct descendants of Afro American slaves who settled in Liberia. Foreign-born Afro Americans are not immigrants as they are of Afro American ancestry in most cases; or they have an American grandparent (whether naturalized or not) through which they can claim American ancestry.
Americo-Liberian population
The Americo-LiberiansAmerico-Liberian
Americo-Liberians are a Liberian ethnicity of African American descent. The sister ethnic group of Americo Liberians are the Sierra Leone Creole people who are of African American, West Indian, and liberated African descent...
are descendants of Afro American slaves who returned to Africa through the services of the American Colonization Society
American Colonization Society
The American Colonization Society , founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the "return" of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen...
. The Americo-Liberians maintained ties to America and modelled the country after the U.S.; the Liberian flag resembles the U.S. flag and Monrovia was named in honor of U.S. President James Monroe
James Monroe
James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation...
. The Americo Liberians considered themselves as Afro Americans in Liberia, and they typically sent their children to study in the United States for college.
Sierra Leone Creole population
The Freetown CreolesSierra Leone Creole people
The Sierra Leone Creoles, or Krios, are an ethnic group in Sierra Leone, descendants of West Indian slaves from the Caribbean, primarily from Jamaica; freed African American slaves from the Thirteen Colonies resettled from Nova Scotia; and Liberated Africans from various parts of Africa...
are descendants of African Americans who immigrated to Sierra Leone as well as 'Black Loyalists from the American South who fought for the British in Revolutionary War. The Creoles speak a language similar to African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
Gullah
Gullah
The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia, which includes both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands....
called Krio
Krio
Krio may refer to:*Sierra Leone Krio people*Krio language, language of the Sierra Leone Krio people*Krio Dayak people, an ethnic group in West Kalimantan, Indonesia*Krio Dayak language*Keriau River, in West Kalimantan, Indonesia...
. The Creoles like the Americo-Liberians sent their children to study overseas; many did not return back to Sierra Leone. Because of the Sierra Leone Civil War
Sierra Leone Civil War
The Sierra Leone Civil War began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front , with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia , intervened in Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government...
there is also a large community of these Sierra Leone Creoles in the East Coast of the United States today, and a contingent on the West Coast of the United States. Some Creoles are related to Americo-Liberians because the early Americo-Liberians are the descendants of the Black Americans who initially settled in Freetown, Sierra Leone and Sherbro, Sierra Leone.
Notable Foreign-born Afro Americans
- Dave Roberts-Afro-Asian American Major League Baseball player born in JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- Jon LucienJon LucienJon Lucien was born on the island of Tortola, the main island of the British Virgin Islands. Born Lucien Harrigan, and raised in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands by his musician father, Lucien was best known for his song "Rashida", the title track of an album released in 1973, and one of two...
-musician - Martin LawrenceMartin LawrenceMartin Fitzgerald Lawrence is an American actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and stand up comedian. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor, most notably the films Bad Boys, Blue Streak, and Big Momma's House...
, African American comedian and actor, born in Frankfurt-am-Main, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... - Ruben StuddardRuben StuddardChristopher Theodore Ruben Studdard , best known as Ruben Studdard, is an American R&B, pop, and gospel singer. He rose to fame as winner of the second season of American Idol...
-Singer born in Germany - Tamera MowryTamera MowryTamera Darvette Mowry-Housley is an American actress. She first gained fame for her teen role as Tamera Campbell on the ABC/WB sitcom Sister, Sister...
-female actor born in Germany - Tia MowryTia MowryTia Dashon Mowry-Hardrict is an American actress. She first gained fame for her teen role as Tia Landry on the ABC/WB sitcom Sister, Sister...
-female actor born in Germany - LeVar BurtonLeVar BurtonLevardis Robert Martyn Burton, Jr. , professionally known as LeVar Burton, is an American actor, director, producer and author who first came to prominence portraying Kunta Kinte in the 1977 award-winning ABC television miniseries Roots, based on the novel by Alex Haley...
-male actor born in Germany
See also
- Americo-LiberianAmerico-LiberianAmerico-Liberians are a Liberian ethnicity of African American descent. The sister ethnic group of Americo Liberians are the Sierra Leone Creole people who are of African American, West Indian, and liberated African descent...
- Sierra Leone Creole peopleSierra Leone Creole peopleThe Sierra Leone Creoles, or Krios, are an ethnic group in Sierra Leone, descendants of West Indian slaves from the Caribbean, primarily from Jamaica; freed African American slaves from the Thirteen Colonies resettled from Nova Scotia; and Liberated Africans from various parts of Africa...
- Atlantic slave tradeAtlantic slave tradeThe Atlantic slave trade, also known as the trans-atlantic slave trade, refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries...
- Afro Americans in the AmericasAfro Americans in the AmericasAfro-American peoples of the Americas is used to refer to people born in the Americas who have African ancestors. Most are descendants of people enslaved and transferred from the Sub-Saharan Africa to America by the Europeans to work in their colonies, mostly in mines and plantations as slaves,...
- Afro-American
Sources
- http://ann.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/569/1/135
- http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/29/national/29african.html?ei=5090&en=0bcaf902834f7e0e&ex=1251432000&partner=rssuserland&pagewanted=all&position=
- http://www.migrationinformation.org/USFocus/display.cfm?ID=250