Descriptive essay, Asian Americans or African Americans

1.  Write a descriptive essay that summarizes the contributions of either Asian Americans or African Americans to the culture of America. Use the diagram or chart that you created on either African Americans or Asian Americans.

African Americans “instead of the diagram”

The reading assignments will focus on African Americans using information from these documents.

U.S. Census 2000

U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. “African Reflections on the American Landscape, Chapter 1: Africa in America: An Introduction.” 2012. http://www.cr.nps.gov/crdi/publications/Africanisms-Chapter1.pdf.

These reading assignments discuss the cultural contributions of African Americans. The concept of Africanism will also be discussed. These articles describe the works of various authors and their opinions of the social and cultural status of African Americans.

The Black population: a Snapshot.

“In the total population, 34.7 million people, or 12.3 percent, reported only Black. An additional 1.8 million people reported Black and at least one other race. Within this group, the most common combinations were “Black and White” (45 percent), followed by “Black and Some other race” (24 percent), “Black and American Indian and Alaska Native” (10 percent), and “Black and White and American Indian and Alaska Native” (6 percent). These four combination categories accounted for 85 percent of all Blacks who reported two or more races. Thus, 36.4 million, or 12.9 percent of the total population, reported Black alone or in combination with one or more other races.”

Source:
U.S. Census 2000

The Black Population Increased Faster Than the Total Population Between 1990 and 2000

“The 1990 census showed there were 30.0 million Blacks. Using the Black alone population in 2000 shows an increase of 4.7 million, or 15.6 percent, in the total Black population between 1990 and 2000. If the Black alone or in combination population is used, an increase of 6.4 million, or 21.5 percent, results. Thus, from 1990 to 2000, the minimum-maximum range for the increase in the Black population was 15.6 percent to 21.5 percent. In comparison, the total population grew by 13.2 percent, from 248.7 million in 1990 to 281.4 million in 2000.”