The U.S. Black population is growing. At the same time, how Black people self-identify is changing, with increasing shares considering themselves multiracial or Hispanic.
A record 3.8 million black immigrants live in the U.S. today, accounting for 8.7% of the nation’s black population, nearly triple their share in 1980. While half are from the Caribbean, African immigration has soared since 2000.
Although the U.S. has long had a sizable black population as a legacy of slavery, voluntary black immigration here is projected to grow in coming decades.