African-American patriotism

Patriotism toward the United States is a contentious topic among African Americans due to historical and present day racism.^[1] As a result, different beliefs have formed, regarding the role of patriotism in the lives of African Americans.

History

Periods
Timeline Atlantic slave trade Abolitionism in the United States Slavery in the colonial history of the US Revolutionary War Antebellum period Slavery and military history during the Civil War Reconstruction era Politicians Juneteenth Civil rights movement (1865–1896) Jim Crow era (1896–1954) Civil rights movement (1954–1968) Black power movement Post–civil rights era
Aspects
Agriculture history Black Belt in the American South Business history Military history Treatment of the enslaved
Migrations
Great Migration Second Great Migration New Great Migration

Culture

Lifeways
Dance Family structure Film Folktales Music Musical theater Names Neighborhoods Newspapers Soul food
Schools
Education during the slave period in the US Education of freed people during the Civil War History of African-American education, after the Civil War Historically black colleges and universities Fraternities
Academic study
Studies Art Literature
Celebrations
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Black History Month Juneteenth Kwanzaa
Economic class
African-American businesses Middle class Upper class Billionaires
Symbols and ideas
African-American beauty Black is beautiful Black pride African-American hair Good hair Stepping "Lift Every Voice and Sing" Self-determination

Religion

Institutions
Black church Black Catholicism Black Catholic Movement
Theologies
Black theology Womanist theology
Non-Christian groups
Hoodoo Black Hebrew Israelites African-American Jews African-American Muslims Nation of Islam Louisiana Voodoo African Diaspora Religions

Politics

Organizations
Congressional Black Caucus Joint Center National Black Caucus of State Legislators National Conference of Black Mayors
Ideologies
Afrocentrism Anarchism Back-to-Africa movement Black power Capitalism Conservatism Garveyism Leftism Liberalism Nationalism Pan-Africanism Patriotism Populism Radicalism Socialism

Civic/economic groups

Organizations
Association for the Study of African American Life and History Black conductors NAACP National Black Chamber of Commerce National Council of Negro Women National Pan-Hellenic Council National Urban League TransAfrica UNCF

Sub-communities

Sub-groups
African-American Southerners Affrilachians Black Ozarkers Carmel Melungeons Chestnut Ridge Melungeon Atlantic Creoles Tidewater Brass Ankles Delaware Moors Dominickers Exodusters Gullah Louisiana Mina Maroons Great Dismal Swamp Redbone
Creoles of color
Akransas Alabama Ark-La-Tex Cane River Louisiana Mississippi
Black Indians
Cherokee Chickasaw Choctaw Creek Freedmen Mascogos Seminole
Multiethnic
African-American Jews Afro-Romani Black Mennonites Blaxicans
Diasphoric
Americo-Liberians Merikins Nova Scotians Samaná Americans Sierra Leone Creole
Sexual orientation
LGBTQ community Down-low

Dialects and languages

English dialects
African-American English African-American Vernacular English Liberian English Samaná English Tutnese
Languages and other dialects
Gullah Afro-Seminole Creole Louisiana Creole Nuwaubian Negro Dutch Black American Sign Language

Population

US states
Alabama Arkansas California Florida Georgia Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Louisiana Maryland Mississippi Nebraska New York North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia
US cities
Black mecca List of neighborhoods Atlanta Baltimore Boston Chicago Dallas-Fort Worth Davenport Detroit Houston Jacksonville Kentucky Lexington Los Angeles New York City Omaha Philadelphia San Antonio San Francisco
Historic places
District of Columbia Florida Georgia Mississippi Missouri Omaha, Nebraska North Carolina South Carolina Texas West Virginia
Population count
US states and territories US metropolitan areas US cities US communities Places by plurality of population
Diaspora
Africa Canada France Ghana Israel Liberia Nova Scotia Sierra Leone

Prejudice

Racism
Black genocide Race and ethnicity in the US census Racism against Black Americans Reparations for slavery School segregation in the US Unarmed African Americans killed by police officers
Stereotypes and media depictions
Blackface Criminal stereotypes Hollywood Magical Negro Minstrel show

Frederick Douglass

In 1847, when most African Americans were still enslaved, the influential abolitionist Frederick Douglass denounced patriotism, stating "I have no love for America, as such; I have no patriotism. I have no country. What country have I? The institutions of this country do not know me, do not recognize me as a man."^[2]

James Baldwin

In Notes of a Native Son, James Baldwin advocated for constructive patriotism, claiming "I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually."^[3]

Contemporary

Johnson's four profiles

After interviewing African Americans on their beliefs regarding patriotism, Micah E. Johnson described four distinct profiles among African Americans, which Johnson labelled the bystander, the sycophant, the subverter, and the conscious patriot.^[1]

Several black nationalist organisations have rejected American patriotism and instead advocate for the creation of a new black nation.

Bystander: Johnson describes bystanders as African Americans who lack patriotism for the United States and are detached from American history and values.^[1] Furthermore, these individuals also tend to be detached from blackness and often espouse a color-blind, meritocratic understanding of society.^[1]
Sycophant: Johnson describes sycophants as African Americans who downplay racial inequalities and priotitize assimilation into mainstream America. These individuals tend to deny the existence of institutional racism.^[1]
Subverter: Johnson describes subverters as African Americans who reject patriotism towards the United States and are aware of the racial inequality present in American society. One subverter expressed:^[1]; "At what point in time in Americas history has America given the black man reason to be patriotic? On the contrary, America continuously shows the black man he has no rights that the white American has to respect."; Subverters usually express patriotism towards an alternative homeland such as Africa or a metaphorical black nation.^[1] Several historical and contemporary black nationalist organisations have advocated for the creation of a separate black nation in the United States.^[4]
Conscious patriot: Johnson describes conscious patriots as African Americans who feel attached to America and are willing to critique the social inequalities present in American society.^[1] Johnson describes Martin Luther King as a conscious patriot.^[1]

Surveys

Among African-American respondents in a 2022 YouGov survey of 1,000 American adults:^[5]

29% described themselves as "very patriotic".
30% described themselves as "somewhat patriotic".
12% described themselves as "not very patriotic".
9% described themselves as "not at all patriotic".

African-American patriotism

Frederick Douglass

James Baldwin

Contemporary

Johnson's four profiles

Surveys

See also

References

Related Articles