I’m really having no luck on this subject with the search engines (and yeah, I could be doing it all wrong).
Is there a reliable source of data as to what percentage of black Americans trace some or all of their ancestry to post Civil War immigration to the U. S.? I realize there is some ambiguity to the question, but that’s never stopped the social sciences from attempting a measurement.
I would suspect the bulk of such immigration would have come in the last forty years or so.
The Census Bureau may have this information.
(They definitely track country of origin, so you could probably figure 99% of immigrants from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, etc., +90% of immigrants from Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados, (100% from Haiti), and a large percentage–but I don’t know how large–from South Africa and Zimbabwe.)
I’m just guessing here what beatle is searching for, but it appears he is looking for information on Americans who are of African descent but are not descended from former slaves. If so, then he may not want to count Caribbean immigrants to the United States as many of the blacks in these countries are the descendants of former British/European slave colonies.
It’s impossible to know if a given person’s ancestors were ever slaves. Is every Jew descended from the Jews who were slaves in Egypt?
Two African-Americans in the news recently were immigrants: Amadu Diallo and Abner Louima. Louima came from Haiti and probably descended from the slaves of the French. Diallo came from some African country (it’s not clear which, since he lied to the INS ) and there’s no feasible way to prove that none of his ancestors were ever slaves in Africa. Remember, not all the slaves were bought up and shipped to the Americas.
My wife tried to track Danes (late 1800s)using immigration and shipping records. It was virtually impossible, even where there are records. You can certainly track some, but not all. You may be able to track the recent past better, but I’d say the task is equivalent to a master’s thesis.
) and there’s no feasible way to prove that none of his ancestors were ever slaves in Africa. Remember, not all the slaves were bought up and shipped to the Americas.