African Americans at the Dawn of a New Millennium

I. Progress and Poverty Civil rights progress has led to socioeconomic changes Blacks lead longer, healthier lives But disparities remain between blacks and whites

Prominent African-Americans Barack Obama Oprah Winfrey Colin Powell- fmr Sec of State Condoleeza Rice – fmr Sec of State Robert (Bob) Johnson (New Orleans)- BET/ owner of Charlotte Hornets John Johnson- Ebony and Jet Berry Gordy- Motown Russell Simmons Reginald Lewis-Beatrice Foods (1987- became wealthiest African-American)

Economics Blue collar to white collar occupations White collar positions –35% of black men –62 % of black women % of black men –6.4% of black women income & home ownership has risen dramatically

Persistence of Black Poverty Poverty rate –Clinton years – 22.7% –Bush to 24.1% Urban areas marked by crime, drugs, and high rates of HIV/AIDS infection 55% of all black children lived at or near the poverty level in 2000 Economic restructuring Incarceration

Health - Life Expectancy 1970 –60 yrs for Black men –68 yrs for Black women 2000 –68 yrs for Black men –75 yrs for Black women 2000 – 75 yrs for White men –80 yrs for White women

The Health Gap Blacks have shorter lives and worse health care –Cancer and HIV/AIDS are greatest threats –Smoking, obesity, alcohol, and drug use –more likely to have HIV/AIDS than any other group in U.S. –HIV spread by “down low” practices

HIV/AIDS African-Americans: –38% of all HIV/AIDS cases –13% of the population –47% of all new cases were African Americans and 63% of all women with HIV are black –#1 killer of b. women, ages 25-35

Education Brown vs. Board of Education – % completed high school (Blacks) – % completed high school (Blacks) – % completed high school (Whites) Severe problems- inner city and rural areas (suburbs have their problems, too)

Enrollment in College rose, too! , ,548,000 Blacks among the most highly educated in the world

II. African Americans at the Center of Art and Culture Intellectual Movements at the of the Millennium –Cultural renaissance emerged, 1980s Black history, culture museums, festivals, literary August Wilson Wynton Marsalis Toni Morrison Alice Walker Maya Angelou Terry McMillan

Culture Rap – most recent musical genre to arise out of black communities. –has gone mainstream of course hip-hop –not without controversy. Misogyny (women as objects and commodities) Language Violence/ Drugs

Black Intellectuals –Black intellectuals participate in public debate –Redefine black identity –Explore race in social and political works John Hope Franklin, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Cornel West –Doctoral degrees in African-American Studies found at prestigious schools

Afrocentricity Molefi Kete Asante, Celebrate and reclaim positive African identity Afrocentricity needs to challenge Eurocentric values Indictment of American ideals and institutions Many black people reject it as regressive

III. Black Religion At heart of African-American experience –25 million members of black churches –membership growing in Catholic, Episcopal, and other denominations Demographic changes have altered churches –Middle class moved to suburbs with new mega- churches

VI. Complicating Black Identity In 2000 census, 12% of total (281 million) –blacks were no longer the largest minority group –54% of blacks lived in South Census respondents could choose more than one racial designation Challenge to long-standing notions of “race”

Immigration and African Americans 1965 Hart-Cellar Act helped African immigration West Indies – 1 million in 1990s Many migrants come from societies in which racial discrimination is less than in U.S.

VII. Conclusion Progress, in spite of setbacks Contributions to all aspects of culture Diversity has led to changes in conceptions of identity Tensions between racial and other identities will shape African-American life in the 21 st c.