History of African Americans in Boston

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Despite being one of the most important stops on the Underground Railroad,^[2] until 1950, African Americans were a small but historically important minority in Boston, where the population was majority white. Since then, Boston's demographics have changed due to factors such as immigration, white flight, and gentrification. According to census information for 2010–2014, an estimated 180,657 people in Boston (28.2% of Boston's population) are Black/African American, either alone or in combination with another race. Despite being in the minority, and despite having faced housing, educational, and other discrimination, African Americans in Boston have made significant contributions in the arts, politics, and business since colonial times.^[3]

Boston has a large foreign-born black population. Many are of Haitian, Cape Verdean, Jamaican, Trinidadian, Ethiopian, Barbadian, and Somalian origin.^[4]