Black or African American

Blacks or African Americans are people having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.¹ According to the 2000 U.S. Census, those who identify only as African American constitute approximately 12 percent of the American population -- almost 35 million individuals. The Census Bureau projects that by the year 2035 there will be more than 50 million African American individuals in the United States, comprising 14.3 percent of the population. The African American population is represented throughout the country, with the greatest concentrations in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic regions, especially Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Maryland.²

African Americans have a long history in the United States. Some African American families have been in the United States for many generations; others are recent immigrants from places such as Africa, the Caribbean, or the West Indies. The health disparities between African Americans and other racial groups are striking and are apparent in life expectancy, infant mortality, and other measures of health status. For example, in 1999 the average American could expect to live 76.9 years, the average African American could only expect to live 71.4 years.³ Factors contributing to poor health outcomes among African Americans include discrimination, cultural barriers, and lack of access to health care.⁴

Ten Leading Causes of death in the U.S. in 2001
for Blacks or African Americans:

	1.	Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)
	2.	Cancer
	3.	Stroke
	4.	Unintentional injuries
	5.	Diabetes
	6.	Homicide
	7.	HIV/AIDS
	8.	Chronic lower respiratory disease
	9.	Nephritis, Nephrotic syndrome, and Nephrosis
	10.	Septicemia
Source: Health, U.S., 2003, Table 31.

In addition, Blacks or African Americans have disproportionately high prevalence of the following conditions and risk factors:

	¹ Census Bureau, Census 2000 Brief: Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin, 2000.
	² Census Bureau, Census 2000.
	³ National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Health U.S., 2002, Table 28.
	⁴ The Health Care Challenge: Acknowledging Disparity, Confronting Discrimination, and Ensuring Equality. United States Commission on Civil Rights, Sept. 1999.

	Census 2000 adheres to the federal standards for collecting and presenting data on race and Hispanic origin as established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in October 1997 and subsequent guidelines. One of the most important changes for Census 2000 was the revision of the questions on race and Hispanic origin to better reflect the country’s growing diversity. The federal government considers race and Hispanic origin to be two separate and distinct concepts. In addition, Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders are counted as two separate and distinct racial groups. Because of these changes, the Census 2000 data on race are not directly comparable with data from the 1990 census or earlier censuses. Caution must be used when interpreting changes in the racial composition of the U.S. population over time.
	Census Bureau Glossary of Terms: Race, 2000.
	Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Provisional Guidance on the Implementation of the 1997 Standards for Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, 2000.
	Office of Management and Budget Recommendations from the Interagency Committee for the Review of the Racial and Ethnic Standards to the Office of Management and Budget Concerning Changes to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, 1997.