They are an ethnic group of citizens or residents of the USA with total or partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa. The term may also be used to include only those individuals who are descended from African Slaves.
Afroamerican history starts in the 16th century, with Africans forcibly taken as slaves to Spanish America, and in the 17th century with African slaves taken to English colonies in North America. After the founding of the United States, black people continued to be enslaved. Believed to be inferior to white people, they were treated as second-class citizens.