African American In New York City - Info for Oral

Dominique :

Racial displacement is the action of moving a racial group from its place to another. Many communities and especially the African American community have been suffering from this , which explains  why their community is so present in some areas in NY but inexistant in others. Today I am going tell you geographically where they live and why. During segregation many black families moved to the north of the United States to escape from the racist Jim Crow Laws hoping to live a less persecuted life , to 1910 from 1970 approximately 6 millions of AA moved to the north of us , this is one of the biggest migration movement in the us , which is why it was named the great Migration.This migration led them to NY where segregation was less severe which meant that they could have bigger opportunities, They started installing themselves in neighborhoods where the cost of the housings was cheaper or next to factories or powerhouses for example in Manhattan when everything was still a forest and everything was built around the power house.That’s how so many boroughs became in majority black like Harlem who thanks to its black community became popular for its music , Jazz

Even though mostly black people used to live in these borough, nowadays gentrification has been forcing black people to move away from these neighborhoods, to leave room for an upper white class who is attracted by the history and exoticism of these places but not by the actual native habitants

AA have a big influence on NYC music ,art and language .This influence can be seen in NY slang which is heavily influenced by AAVE. AAVE means African American Vernicular English (just like the verlan in French) this english invited by them has roots of Caribbean and west African dialects,if you still don’t know what I’m talking about I’m pretty sure that you already heard of terms like (sis,slay,period,cap or even opps) all of these terms were invited however most of the time this language is renamed as internet slang or gen z slang , completely erasing AA impact on NY city language and their culture.This erasure marks the racial inequalities this community face.

During the city’s early centuries, the majority of African American residents were enslaved. It was not until 1827 that slavery was abolished in New York. Much of the city was built with enslaved labor.        ▪        The land had been a farm north of the city that was divided for development. Since many landowners in New York City wouldn’t sell to African Americans, this area provided a unique opportunity. Purchase of a plot of land also brought the right to vote for men.

* At its height over 250 people lived in Seneca Village, most of whom were African Americans. At the time of eviction one-third of the population was of European descent, mostly Irish who had emigrated in the years immediately following the Great Potato Famine

* Blacks have been an important part of New York City's population from the very beginning tracing back to the colonial days. In fact, many of early Manhattan's structures were built with slave labor as was the wall that gave Wall Street its name. This part of our Wiki guides visitors through time, chronicling the Black experience of Slavery under the Dutch, British, and American governments. We also trace the process of emancipation in the City, look at how Blacks and immigrants interacted, describe New York's infamous draft riots of 1863, expose Manhattan's 19th century color line, chronicle the Great (Black) Migration to the north, and much, much more

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