Facts taken from Census Facts for Features (see link at right - bottom)

2002

54%
The proportion of people reporting as African American who lived in the South, according to Census 2000

3.2 million
The number of New York residents who reported as African American in Census 2000, making the Empire State the state with the highest number of African Americans.

2.3 million
The number of people in New York city who in Census 2000 reported as African American.

1999

The nation's African American population is young, with an estimated median age of 30.0 years as of Nov. 1, 1998 five years younger than the median for the U.S. population as a whole.

55 percent of African Americans lived in the South, comprising one-fifth of that region's population

District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) led all states or state equivalents with the largest percentage (63 percent) of African Americans in its total population

1997

33.7 million African Americans in the United States

It is projected that the African American population will grow more than twice as fast as the White population between 1995 and 2050.

53 percent of African Americans lived in the South

The most  African-American residents resided in Cook County, Ill. (1.4 million) on July 1, 1996

African American experience in the United States has led to a variety of migrations through the last few centuries.  Many of the migrations have been prompted by economic or social change and result in the establishment of unique ethnic identities in all regions of the United States.  The below resources are a sampling of cultural and historical resources, many of which relate directly to the wall exhibit in the first floor of the Main Library.

West Coast

Library of Congress.  Trails to Utah and the Pacific: diaries and letters, 1846 - 1869:  Utah and Pacific Migration, primary source materials on pioneer life.   http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award99/upbhtml/overhome.html

Library of Congress.  History of the American West, 1860 - 1920:  photographs taken from the holdings of the Western History and Genealogy Department at Denver Public Library, shows aspects of the history of the American West.   http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/codhtml/hawphome.html

Library of Congress.  African - American Mosaic: western migration and homesteading:  land grant, genealogy information as well as exoduster resources.   http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam009.html

Denver, Colorado.  Black American West Museum and Heritage Center:  when planning your next vacation  http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/bawmus.htm

National Park Service.  A History of Black Americans in California: historic sites:  specifically, this page focuses on the town of Allensworth, established by and for Black Americans.   http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/5views/5views2h7.htm

Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  Black History: reflections on African - American heritage:  a concise page detailing short bios of Black Americans, the majority from the American West.  http://www.ornl.gov/HR/blackhst.htm (not available as of 5/31/05)

Utah.gov, Miriam B. Murphy.  Utah's Early African American Farmers: History Blazer, May 1996:  a short article giving insight into Black American experience in Utah in the nineteenth century.  http://historytogo.utah.gov/afrnfrmrs.html

Midwest and North

Library of Congress.  The First American West: the Ohio River Valley, 1750 - 1820:  a subject listing of documents and pictures pertaining to African American experience in the Ohio River Valley.    http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award99/icuhtml/fawbibSubjects1.html

Library of Congress.  African - American Mosaic: Nicodemus, Kansas:  a page of short blurbs on Nicodemus, Kansas, another Black American established town.  http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam010.html

National Park Service, Angela Bates.  The Kansas African - American History Trail:  a pdf file documenting significant landmarks for African American history in Kansas, including expanded information on Nicodemus.   http://crm.cr.nps.gov/archive/19-2/19-2-13.pdf

Library of Congress.  African - American Mosaic: Chicago - destination for the Great Migration:  includes maps, information on prominent newspapers and organizations, and economic information.   http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam011.html

Library of Congress.  Photographs from the Chicago Daily News, 1902 - 1933:  a subject listing of African - American related news slides.   http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpcoop/ichihtml/cdnSubjects09.html

South

Library of Congress.  The Church in the Southern Black Community, 1780 - 1925:   texts from the libraries at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill traces how Southern African Americans experienced and transformed Protestant Christianity into the central institution of community life (description taken from page).   http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award99/ncuhtml/csbchome.html

Library of Congress.  First Person Narratives of the American South, 1860 - 1920:   text resources documenting the Southern culture from the viewpoint of Southerners.    http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/ncuhtml/fpnashome.html

Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration.  History of African - American Miners in the Appalachian Coal Fields:   learn about empowerment and trial in the coal fields.   http://www.msha.gov/century/blackminers/bminers1.asp

National Park Service, Sharyn Kane and Richard Keeton.  Beneath These Waters: archeological and historical studies of 11,500 years along the Savannah River:  a popular account of the lives of the Savannah River Valley's prehistoric and historic inhabitants.   http://www.cr.nps.gov/seac/beneathweb/index.htm

National Park Service, Sharyn Kane and Richard Keeton; John Jameson and Colette Theodore.  In Those Days: African - American life near the Savannah River:  an online book of popular information on black history and culture along the Savannah River, a product of the creation of a dam in that area.   http://www.cr.nps.gov/seac/ITD/longversion/itd-lg1.htm

References to more texts related to the Savannah River study can be found in this Russell Papers bibliography. http://www.cr.nps.gov/seac/beneathweb/btw-index.htm

National Park Service.  In Those Days: African - American life near the Savannah River:   a listing of resources relating to African - Americans and the South.   http://www.cr.nps.gov/seac/ITD/longversion/sources-lg1.htm

Liberia

Library of Congress.  African - American Mosaic: Liberia:   a study of resources concerning a controversial migration movement of African - Americans to Liberia in the nineteenth century.   http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam003.html

Census Migration Resources

Census Bureau.  Geographic Mobility / Migration page:   a compilation of resources detailing racial breakdowns of the US population.    http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/migrate.html

Facts for Features:  African - American History Month (assorted years):   yearly population distribution information by race.    http://www.census.gov/pubinfo/www/afamhot2.html#affact (this link no longer functional as of 6/1/05) Other links: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features/001645.html and http://www.census.gov/pubinfo/www/multimedia/AfricanAm.html

Other Census Sources

US Census Bureau.  Press Release: Residential Segregation of African-Americans Declines; Signals Mixed for Other Groups, Analysis Shows.  http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02cn174.html

US Census Bureau.  Residential Segregation.  http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/resseg/pdftoc.html