As professional sports continue to diversify their teams and programs, African American female athletes have been a major asset in propelling the art of competition forward within the last 10 years.
African Americans have made significant contributions to the art of music in many genres across generations. One musical genre that has roots back to slavery is gospel music. As slaves became Christians, a religion forced upon them, they began singing hymns later termed spirituals. Then with the abolition of slavery, a new form of music began to emerge. Free Blacks found themselves expressing their disappointment in a post-slavery society, birthing the smooth sound of the blues. Fast-forward to the late 1970’s, Hip-Hop was born. This cultural movement encompassed all past and present music expressions like spirituals, the blues, poems, art, stories,
Since 2020, there has been a noticeable increase in Black representation in movies and television.
Black Americans make up 12% of the country’s population, but less than 6% are appointed as chief executive officers (CEO). In November of 2022, CNBC announced that only 5.9% of all CEO’s in the United States are African American. Within those small percentages, Rosalind Brewer and Thasunda Brown Duckett are the only two Black women who have lead Fortune 500 companies.
Blacks became the prey of lynch mobs if they were accused of a crime, committed a perceived slight against someone white or demanded changes, such as the right to vote. The report documents more than 4,400 cases of men, women and children who were killed between 1877 and 1950. The vast majority were men. Artist Alexis Joyner created art around the tragedy..