African Americans in California

African-American Californians or Black Californians are residents of the state of California who are of African ancestry. According to U.S. Census Bureau, those identified as African American or black constituted 5.9% or 2,265,387 residents in California in 2015.

People of African-descent first appeared in California from Mexico due to the Spanish Conquest. The first census recorded of African Americans in California appeared in 1850 with 962 people and 1860 with 4,086 people. Then, in 1910 the number rose to 22,000. African Americans totaled to less than one percent of California's population before the Second World War. Post-WWII, African Americans boosted its population enormously in California. The population of African Americans grew slowly with other minorities in California, with only 21,645 African American residents in 1910 compared to two million white residents.

African American residents of California were first mentioned in 1919 by black Californian historian Delilah Beasley, and later on Rudolph Lapp, others. More information appeared in journals such as The Journal of Negro history and The Journal of African American History. (3) Other Californian publications about African Americans include the California Eagle, California Voice, and Los Angeles Sentinel.

After a petition sent by African Americans to the Los Angeles Board of Education in 1872, the California Supreme Court ruled Ward v. Floor current segregation in educational practices as unconstitutional, breaching U.S. Constitution's 14th and 15th amendments. African American students in lower education increased from 24 in 1870 to 183 by the late 19th century, and ranked highest performing students in literacy subjects in 1900. In 1994, California's African American students made up about seven percent of higher education, compared to nine percent in the country.

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