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African Americans
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Barack Obama waves on stage with his wife Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia at an election-night rally in Chicago, surrounded by American flags and cheering crowds.
Collage spells African American English in cutout letters; at right, a large open mouth, a hand with megaphone, and chat bubbles with laptop.
Portrait of Crispus Attucks, shown from the chest up wearing a dark coat and white cravat, with short hair and a neutral expression.
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Brown v. Board. L-R: George E.C. Hayes, Washington, D.C. lawyer, Thurgood Marshall, special counsel for the NAACP; and James Nabrit, Jr., Professor and Attorney at law at Howard University, pose outside Attorneys who argued the case against segregation stand together smiling in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. after the decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka on May 17, 1954. In this case, the Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.
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Barack Obama waves on stage with his wife Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia at an election-night rally in Chicago, surrounded by American flags and cheering crowds.
Barack Obama: Election night 2008 President-elect Barack Obama at an election-night rally in Chicago's Grant Park on November 4, 2008. With him are (from left) his daughters, Sasha and Malia, and his wife, Michelle.

African Americans

people
Written by
Hollis Lynch
Professor Emeritus of History, Columbia University. Author of Edward Wilmot Blyden: Pan-Negro Patriot, 1832-1912.
Hollis Lynch
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
Last updated
•History

African Americans, one of the largest of the many ethnic groups in the United States. African Americans are mainly of African ancestry, but many have non-Black ancestors as well. African Americans are largely the descendants of enslaved people who were brought from their African homelands by force to work in the New World. Their rights were severely limited, and they were long denied a rightful share in the economic, social, and political progress of the...

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