History
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Featured Photo
Photographs from the U.S. Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Collection document Americans at home, work, and play, and show the effects of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and increasing farm mechanization. Like data from the U.S. Census Bureau, these photographs tell the story of the United States in the 1930s and 1940s.
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February 2012: African-American History Month
George Washington Carver, 1942
Painting by Betsy Graves Reyneau
Image courtesy of the National Archives
African-American History Month recognizes the contributions of African Americans to U.S. history. Data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau tracks the progress African Americans have made over time. For example:
- Between 2000 and 2010 the African-American population [PDF 2.88 MB] of the United States (black or African American alone or in combination with other races) increased by 15.4 percent.
- In 1940, about 8 percent of African Americans had completed high school, and just over 1 percent had completed college. In comparison, in 2010, 84 percent of African Americans 25 years or older had at least a high school education, and nearly 20 percent had completed at least 4 years of college.
- African Americans accounted for 7.9 percent of the people who voted in the 1964 presidential election and 12.7 percent of voters in 2008.
- Between 1987 and 2007, the number of African-American-owned businesses in the United States increased from 424,000 to 1.9 million.
Cotton fields, White Plains, GA, 1941
Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress
This Month in Census History
On February 14, 1903, the U.S. Census Bureau, then known as the Census Office, became part of the newly created U.S. Department of Commerce and Labor.
Did You Know?
President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the “Federal Council of Negro Affairs," informally known as the “Black Cabinet.” In 1937, Census Bureau employee, Charles E. Hall, was appointed to the council. Hall began his Census Bureau career in 1900 as a statistics clerk. By 1935, he had been promoted to the position of “Specialist in Negro Statistics.” He wrote several census publications, including the first U.S. government report on a commercial subject written by an African American, Clay Products of the United States. In 1933, Hall authored, The Negro Farmer in the United States [PDF 11.86 MB].
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Questions or comments? E-mail the History Staff.
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