African Americans

==Contemporary issues==
{{main|African American contemporary issues}}
African Americans have improved their social economic standing significantly since the [[Civil Rights Movement]] and recent decades have witnessed the expansion of a robust, African American middle class across the [[United States]]. Unprecedented access to higher education and employment has been gained by African Americans in the post-civil rights era, however, due in part to the legacy of [[slavery]], [[racism]] and [[discrimination]], African Americans as a group remain at a pronounced [[economic]], [[educational]] and [[social]] disadvantage in many areas relative to whites. Persistent [[social]], [[economic]] and [[political]] issues for many African Americans include inadequate health care access and delivery; [[institutional racism]] and discrimination in housing, [[education]], policing, [[criminal justice]] and [[employment]]; [[crime]], [[poverty]] and [[substance abuse]]. One of the most serious and long standing issues within African American communities is [[poverty]]. [[Poverty]] itself is a hardship as it is related to marital stress and dissolution, health problems, low educational attainment, deficits in psychological functioning, and crime.<ref name="CharacOfFam">{{cite web |url=http://ssw.unc.edu/RTI/presentation/PDFs/aa_families.pdf |title=Characteristics of African American Families |author=Oscar Barbarin, PhD |publisher=University of North Carolina |accessdate=September 23 |accessyear=2006 |format=PDF}}</ref> In 2004, 24.7% of African American families lived below the poverty level.<ref name="DeNavas-Walt"/>
===Economic status===
[[Image:Oprah Winfrey (2004).jpg|thumb|200px|[[Oprah Winfrey]], the richest African American of the 20th century and the world's only black billionaire for 3 straight years.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.africanecho.co.uk/business.html |title=Oprah Winfrey the richest black person in the world |journal=African Echo |volume=43 |date=[[2006-09-11]] |accessdate=2006-09-11}}</ref><ref name="roles"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/10/O0ZT.html |title=#562 Oprah Winfrey |work=Forbes Special Report: The World's Billionaires |date=2006 |accessdate=2006-09-11}}</ref>]]
Economically, blacks have benefited from the advances made during the [[African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)|Civil Rights era]]. The racial disparity in poverty rates has narrowed. The black [[middle class]] has grown substantially. In 2000, 47% of African Americans owned their homes. The poverty rate among African Americans has dropped from 26.5% in 1998 to 24.7% in 2004.<ref name="DeNavas-Walt"/>

However, African Americans are still underrepresented in government and employment. In 1999, the median income of African American families was $33,255 compared to $53,356 of Whites. In times of economic hardship for the nation, African-Americans suffer disproportionately from job loss and underemployment, with the black underclass being hardest hit. The phrase "last hired and first fired" is reflected in the [[Bureau of Labor Statistics]] unemployment figures. Nationwide, the September 2004 unemployment rate for blacks was 10.3%, while their white counterparts were unemployed at the rate of 4.7%.

In 2004, African American workers had the second-highest [[median]] earnings of American [[minority]] groups after [[Asian Americans]], and African Americans had the highest level of male-female income parity of all ethnic groups in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/acs-01.pdf |title=Incomes, Earnings, and Poverty from the 2004 American Community Survey |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|date=August 2005 |accessdate=October 24 |accessyear=2006 |format=PDF}}</ref> Also, among American [[minority groups]], only [[Asian Americans]] were more likely to hold [[white collar]] occupations (management, professional, and related fields),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-25.pdf |title=Occupations: 2000 |author=Peter Fronczek and Patricia Johnson |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |date=August 2003 |accessdate=October 24 |accessyear=2006 |format=PDF}}</ref> and African Americans were no more or less likely than whites to work in the service industry.<ref name="Black Pop-March 2002">{{cite web |url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p20-541.pdf |title=The Black Population in the United States: March 2002 |author=Jesse McKinnon |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |date=April 2003 |accessdate=October 24 |accessyear=2006}}</ref> In 2001, over half of African American households of married couples earned $50,000 or more.<ref name="Black Pop-March 2002"/> Although in the same year African Americans were over-represented among the nation's poor, this was directly related to the disproportionate percentage of African American families headed by single women; such families are collectively poorer, regardless of ethnicity.<ref name="Black Pop-March 2002"/>

The income gap between black and white families is also significant. In 2005, Employed blacks earned only 65% of the wages of whites in comparable jobs, down from 82% in 1975.<ref name="DeNavas-Walt">{{cite journal |author=Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, Cheryl Hill Lee |url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p60-229.pdf |title=Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004 |date=August 2005 |publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]] |pages=P60-229 |format=PDF}}</ref>  Although rates of births to unwed mothers among both blacks and whites have risen since the 1950s, the rate of such births among African Americans is three times the rate of whites.


According to ''[[Forbes]]'' magazine's "wealthiest American" lists, a 2000 net-worth of $800 million dollars made (by 2006 1.5 billion USD) [[Oprah Winfrey]] the richest African American of the [[20th century]] in sharp contrast to the 20th century's richest White American [[Bill Gates]] whose net-worth briefly hit $100 billion in 1999  However, in Forbes' list of 2006, Gates' net worth decreased to $53 billion USD while Winfrey's net worth increased to $1.5 billion USD,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/54/biz_06rich400_Oprah-Winfrey_O0ZT.html |title=#242 Oprah Winfrey |work=Forbes 400 |date=2006 |accessdate=2006-10-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.forbes.com/facesscan/2007/01/02/oprah-winfrey-education-face-cx_cn_0102autofacescan02.html?partner=rss |title=Oprah The Educator |accessdate=2007-05-29}}</ref> making her the richest Black person on the face of the planet,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/africa/article2121670.ece |title=Oprah's £20m school proves she's not all talk |date=[[03 January]] [[2007]] |accessdate=2007-05-29}}</ref><ref name="roles">{{cite web |last=Malonson |first=Roy Douglas |url=http://www.aframnews.com/html/2006-05-10/publisher.htm |title=Condi and Oprah aren't good role models for Black motherhood |work=African-American News & Issues |date=[[2006-05-10]] |accessdate=2006-09-11}}</ref> and the first African American to make Business Week's 50 greatest philanthropists list.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.urbanmecca.com/artman/publish/article_174.shtml |title=Oprah Winfrey Debuts as First African-American On BusinessWeek's Annual Ranking of 'Americas Top Philanthropists' |publisher=''BusinessWeek'' via ''PRNewsWire'' |date=[[November 19]], [[2004]] |accessdate=2006-10-01}}</ref> BET founder Bob Johnson, was also listed as a billionaire prior to an expensive divorce and has recently regained his fortune through a series of real estate investments. Forbes estimates his net worth at $1.1 billion USD solitifying him as the only male billionaire of predominantly African decent.

{{African American}}
===Health===
By 2003, sex had replaced [[race]] as the primary factor in life expectancy in the United States, with African American females expected to live longer than white males born in that year.<ref name="CDC2003Deaths">{{cite web |url=http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr53/nvsr53_15.pdf |title=Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2003 |author=Donna L. Hoyert, PhD.; Hsiang-Ching Kung, PhD.; Betty L. Smith, B.S. Ed. |publisher=Division of Vital Statistics, [[Center for Disease Control]]. |date=[[February 28]], [[2005]] |accessdate=September 23 |accessyear=2006 |format=PDF}}</ref>  In the same year, the gap in [[life expectancy]] between American whites (78.0) and blacks (72.8) had decreased to 5.2 years, reflecting a long term trend of this phenomenon.<ref name="CDC2003Deaths" />  The current life expectancy of African Americans as a group is comparable to those of other groups who live in countries with a high [[human development index]].

With no system of [[universal health care]], access to medical care in the U.S. generally is mediated by income level and employment status. As a result,  African Americans, who as a group are disproportionately poor and unemployed, are more often uninsured than non Hispanic whites or Asians.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/002484.html |title=Income Stable, Poverty Up, Numbers of Americans With and Without Health Insurance Rise, Census Bureau Reports |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau News |date=[[2006-08-26]] |accessdate=2006-10-14}}</ref> For a great many African Americans, healthcare delivery is limited, or nonexistent. And when they receive healthcare, they are more likely than others in the general population to receive substandard, even injurious medical care.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nursingworld.org/readroom/position/ethics/etdisrac.htm |title=Ethics and Human Rights Position Statements: Discrimination and Racism in Health Care |publisher=American Nursing Association. |date=[[1998-03-06]] |accessdate=2006-10-14}}</ref> African Americans have a higher prevalence of some chronic health conditions,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4726 |title=Risk Factors and Coronary Heart Disease |publisher=[[American Heart Association]] |accessdate=2006-09-23}}</ref> and a higher rate of out-of-wedlock births relative to the general population. 56% of African American children are born into families where the mother is not married to the biological father. In 1998, single women headed 54% of African American [[households]].<ref name="CharacOfFam" />

African Americans are the American racial group most affected by [[HIV]] and [[AIDS]], according to the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]]. It has been estimated that "184,991 adult and adolescent HIV infections [were] diagnosed during 2001-2005" (1). More than 51 percent occurred among blacks than any other race. Between the ages of 25-44 years 62 percent  were African Americans.  Dr. Robert Janssen (2007) states, "We have rates of HIV/AIDS among blacks in some American cities that are as high as in some countries in Africa".  The rate for African Americans with HIV/AIDS in Washington D.C. is 3 percent, based on cases reported.  In a New York Times Article, about 50 percent of AIDS-related deaths were African American woman, which accounted for 25 percent of the city's population.  In Many cases there are a higher proportion of black people being tested than any other racial group.  Dr. Janssen goes on by saying "We need to do a better job of encouraging African Americans to test.  Studies show that approximately one in five black men between the ages 40 to 49 living in the city is HIV-positive, according to the ''TIMES''. Research indicates that African Americans sexual behavior is no different than any other racial group. Dr. Janssen says "Racial groups tend to have sex with members of their own racial group.{{Fact|date=June 2007}}

[[Image:Barakobama.jpg|left|thumb|200px|[[Barack Obama]], the [[junior Senator]] from [[Illinois]] and [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] Presidential candidate in the United States.]]
===Politics and Social Issues===
Collectively, African Americans are more involved in the American political process than other minority groups in the US, indicated by the highest level of voter registration and participation in elections among these groups in 2004. <ref name="vote-nov2007">{{cite web |url=http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p20-556.pdf |title=Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2007 |date=March 2006 |accessdate=2007-05-30 |format=PDF}}</ref> African Americans collectively attain higher levels of education than immigrants to the United States.<ref name="vote-nov2007"/>

Crime, particularly in impoverished, urban communities, is a serious and ongoing issue in America. The African American population in many urban areas are disproportionately poor, a factor which resonate in the nation's crime statistics for metropolitan areas.

===Impact on the United States===
From their earliest presence in [[North America]], African Americans have contributed [[literature]], [[art]], agricultural skills, [[foods]], clothing styles, [[music]], [[language]], [[social]] and [[technological]] innovation to American culture.
The cultivation and use of many agricultural products in the U.S., such as [[yam (vegetable)|yams]], [[peanuts]], [[rice]], [[okra]], [[sorghum]], [[grits]], [[watermelon]], [[indigo dye]]s, and [[cotton]], can be traced to African and African American influences. A couple of notable examples include [[George Washington Carver]], who created 300 products from peanuts, 118 products from sweet potatoes, and 75 from pecans; and [[George Crum]], who invented the potato chip in 1853.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/black.shtml |title=African-American Inventors |accessdate=2007-05-30}}</ref>
[[Image:Malcolmxmartinlutherking.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] (left) and [[Malcolm X]] (right) at the [[United States Capitol|U. S. Capitol]] on [[March 26]], [[1964]].]]
[[African American music]] is one of the most pervasive African American cultural influences in the United States today and is among the most dominant in mainstream popular music. [[Hip hop music|Hip hop]], [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]], [[funk]], [[rock music|rock and roll]], [[soul]], [[blues]], and other contemporary American musical forms originated in black communities and evolved from other black forms of music including  [[blues]], [[jazz]], and [[gospel music]]. African American derived musical forms have also influenced and been incorporated into virtually every other popular musical genre in the world, including [[Country music|country]] and [[techno]]. African American genres are the most important ethnic vernacular tradition in America as they have developed independent of African traditions from which they arise more so than any other immigrant groups, including Europeans; make up the broadest and longest lasting range of styles in America; and have, historically, been more influential, interculturally, geographically, and economically, than other American vernacular traditions <ref name="stewart">{{cite book |last=Stewart |first=Earl L. |date=1998 |title=African American Music: An Introduction |isbn=0-02-860294-3 |pages=p.3}}</ref>.

African Americans have also had an important role in American dance. [[Bill T. Jones]], a prominent modern choreographer and dancer, has included historical African American themes in his work, particularly in the piece "Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land". Likewise, [[Alvin Ailey]]'s artistic work, including his "Revelations" based on his experience growing up as an African American in the South during the 1930s has had a significant impact on modern dance. Another form of dance, [[Stepping (African-American)|Stepping]], is an African American tradition whose performance and competition has been formalized through the traditionally black fraternities and sororities at universities.{{Fact|date=May 2007}}

[[Image:Millenium Park Fountain 3.jpg|thumb|right|Two African American children]]
Many African American authors have written stories, poems, and essays influenced by their experiences as African Americans, and [[African American literature]] is a major genre in American [[literature]]. Famous examples include [[Langston Hughes]], [[James Baldwin]], [[Richard Wright (author)|Richard Wright]], [[Zora Neale Hurston]], [[Ralph Ellison]], [[Toni Morrison]], and [[Maya Angelou]]. African American [[inventor]]s have created many widely used devices in the world and have contributed to international [[innovation]]. Though most slave inventors were nameless, such as the slave owned by the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] President Jefferson Davis who designed the ship propeller used by the entire Confederate [[navy]], but following the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the growth of industry in the [[United States]] was tremendous and much of this was made possible with inventions by ethnic minorities. By 1913 over 1,000 inventions were patented by Black Americans. Among the most notable inventors were Jan Matzeliger, who developed the first machine to mass-produce shoes, and [[Elijah McCoy]], who invented automatic lubrication devices for steam engines.  [[Granville Woods]] had 35 patents to improve electric railway systems including the first system to allow moving trains to communicate.  He even sued [[Alexander Graham Bell]] and [[Thomas Edison]] for stealing his patents and won both cases.  [[Garrett Morgan]] developed the first automatic traffic signal and gas mask, and [[Norbert Rillieux]] who created the technique for converting sugar cane juice into white sugar crystals.  Moreover, Rillieux was so brilliant that in 1854 he left [[Louisiana]] and went to [[France]] where he spent ten years working with the Champollions deciphering [[Egyptian hieroglyphics]] from the [[Rosetta Stone]].<ref name="black-people-history">{{cite web |url=http://www.computerhealth.org/ebook/1865post.htm |title=Black People and Their Place in World History |accessdate=2007-05-30}}</ref>

[[Lewis Latimer]] created an inexpensive cotton-thread filament, which made electric light bulbs practical because Edison's original light bulb only burned for a few minutes.  More recent inventors include McKinley Jones, who invented the movable refrigeration unit for food transport in trucks and trains and Lloyd Quarterman who with six other Black scientists, worked on the creation of the atomic bomb along (code named the [[Manhattan Project]].)  Quaterman also helped develop the first nuclear reactor, which was used in the atomically powered [[submarine]] called the Nautilus.<ref name="black-people-history"/>

A few other notable examples include the first successful [[open heart surgery]], performed by Dr. [[Daniel Hale Williams]], the conceptualization and establishment of blood banks around the world by Dr. [[Charles Drew]], the air conditioner, patented by [[Frederick M. Jones]]. Dr. [[Mark Dean]] 
holds three of the original nine patents on the computer on which all PCs are based. More current contributors include Otis Bodkin, who invented an electrical device used in all guided missiles and all IBM computers, and Colonel Frederick Gregory, who was not only the first Black [[astronaut]] pilot but the person who also redesigned the cockpits for the last three space shuttles. Gregory was also on the team that pioneered the microwave instrumentation landing system. In 2000, Bendix Aircraft Company began a worldwide promotion of this microwave instrumentation landing system.<ref name="black-people-history"/>

===Political legacy===
The gains made by African Americans in the [[American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)|civil rights]] and [[Black Power]] movements not only obtained certain rights for African Americans, but changed American society in far-reaching and fundamentally important ways. Prior to the 1950s, Americans were still living in the shadow of slavery and [[Jim Crow laws|Jim Crow]], when, in the words of [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]], African Americans and their supporters challenged the nation to "rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed that all men are created equal…."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/38.htm |title=Martin Luther King, Jr |accessdate=2007-05-30}}</ref>

The [[Civil Rights Movement]] marked a sea-change in American social, political, economic and civic life.  It brought with it [[boycotts]], [[sit-ins]], demonstrations, court battles, bombings and other violence; prompted worldwide media coverage and intense public debate; forged enduring civic, economic and religious alliances; disrupted and realigned the nation's two major [[political parties]]; and over time has changed in fundamental ways the manner in which blacks and whites interact with and relate to one another. Ultimately, the movement resulted in the removal of codified, ''de jure'' racial segregation and discrimination from American life and law and heavily influenced the civil and social liberties that many Americans of varied cultural backgrounds expect for themselves.