2.10 Black Pride, Identity, and the Question of Naming

After the United States banned the international slave trade in 1808, the African American population became increasingly American born, and debates over what people of African descent should call themselves grew more intense. As white leaders pushed to exile free Black people through the American Colonization Society, many Black Americans rejected the label "African," asserted their American identity, and debated names that reflected both heritage and belonging.

The required source for this topic is a set of letters from Call and Response (1831 to 1841), written to newspapers by named and anonymous authors who debated what people of African descent in the United States should call themselves.

Naming as Self-Definition Under Colonization Pressure

• The 1808 ban on importing enslaved Africans meant the African American population grew mostly through US-born generations, even though illegal smuggling continued.
• The American Colonization Society, led by white leaders, aimed to send free Black people to Africa, which many Black Americans saw as a threat rather than an opportunity.
• "African" was the most common term for people of African descent in the US until the late 1820s, when many began rejecting it to stress their American identity.
• African Americans used a range of ethnonyms over time, including Afro-American, African American, and Black.
• Colored Conventions, beginning in the 1830s, became key spaces for debating shared heritage and self-identification.
• Naming is an act of self-definition and resistance, not just a label.

How Demographics Shaped Identity

The Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves took effect on January 1, 1808, banning the international slave trade. Illegal importation of enslaved Africans continued for some time, but the share of African-born people in the African American population steadily declined.

This shift mattered for identity. As more generations were born in the United States, the community's culture and sense of self increasingly reflected American-born experiences rather than direct memory of Africa. People who had never seen Africa were now being labeled "African," and that gap helped fuel debates about naming.

The American Colonization Society and the Rejection of "African"

White leaders founded the American Colonization Society during this same era with the goal of removing the growing free Black population to Africa. The push to exile free Black people treated them as outsiders who did not belong in the country of their birth.

Many Black Americans pushed back by emphasizing their American identity. One way they did this was by rejecting the term "African," which had been the most common term for people of African descent in the United States until the late 1820s. Distancing themselves from "African" was a direct response to colonization efforts: claiming an American identity was a way of insisting they had a right to stay and belong.

This was not a simple or settled choice. Communities disagreed about which terms best captured their heritage and their place in the nation, and those debates continued for generations.

The Evolution of African American Ethnonyms

Ethnonyms are names for ethnic groups, racial groups, and nationalities. From the nineteenth century onward, African Americans described themselves with a range of these names, including:

• Afro-American
• African American
• Black

Each term carried different meanings and connections, whether to African heritage, to American identity, or to racial solidarity. The ongoing use of multiple names reflects how identity stayed dynamic, shaped by community debate rather than handed down from outside.

As an example of this longer arc, in 1988 civil rights activist Rev. Jesse L. Jackson promoted "African American" to highlight the shared cultural heritage of people descended from enslaved Africans who were born in the United States. This shows how the naming question that started in the nineteenth century continued well into the twentieth.

Colored Conventions and Debates Over Self-Definition

Beginning in the 1830s, African Americans held political meetings known as Colored Conventions across the United States and Canada. These gatherings foregrounded shared heritage and gave communities a place to debate identity and self-identification.

The conventions show that naming was tied to bigger goals. Delegates linked questions of identity to education, moral reform, antislavery work, and the fight for full belonging in American society. Choosing what to call themselves was part of organizing for rights and recognition.

Analyzing Naming Debates as Evidence of Self-Definition

Using Sources Effectively: When you read the Call and Response letters, focus on the debate itself. Identify what each proposed name signals about belonging, heritage, and the relationship to the United States, and compare how different writers argued for their choice.

Continuity and Change: Trace how naming evolved from "African" to terms like Afro-American, African American, and Black. Connect the nineteenth-century debates to later moments, such as Jesse Jackson's 1988 promotion of "African American," to show continuity and change in self-definition.

Causation: Be ready to explain causes. The 1808 ban and the rise of an American-born population, combined with the American Colonization Society's exile efforts, help explain why many Black Americans rejected "African" and asserted an American identity.

Common Trap: Do not treat naming as a side detail. Frame it as an act of self-definition and resistance tied to demographics, politics, and the broader struggle for belonging.

Common Misconceptions

• Misconception: Rejecting the term "African" meant rejecting African heritage.
  Actually: Rejecting the term "African" did not mean rejecting African heritage. It was mainly a response to colonization efforts that tried to push free Black people out of the country.
• Misconception: The 1808 ban ended slavery and fully stopped the arrival of enslaved Africans.
  Actually: The 1808 ban did not end slavery or fully stop the arrival of enslaved Africans. Slavery continued and grew through US-born generations, and illegal smuggling persisted.
• Misconception: The American Colonization Society was a Black-led movement for returning to Africa.
  Actually: The American Colonization Society was led by white leaders, and many Black Americans opposed it. It was not a Black-led movement for returning to Africa.
• Misconception: There was one single "correct" name.
  Actually: There was never one single "correct" name. African Americans used multiple ethnonyms over time, and the choices reflected ongoing community debate.
• Misconception: "African American" became widely promoted overnight.
  Actually: "African American" did not become widely promoted overnight. The naming debate stretched from the nineteenth century into the twentieth, including Jesse Jackson's push for the term in 1988.

Related AP African American Studies Guides

• 2.9 Creating African American Culture
• 2.12 Legacies of the Haitian Revolution
• 2.5 Slave Auctions and the Domestic Slave Trade
• 2.8 The Social Construction of Race and the Reproduction of Status
• 2.13 Resistance and Revolts in the United States
• 2.4 African Resistance on Slave Ships and the Antislavery Movement