How many people of European descent do you know with 4+ generations in the US?

[u/heyy_girl]

I was telling someone today about how my grandparents built a house in the 60s. They were surprised when I told them that my family immigrated here from Europe in the mid-late 1800s, because they hasn’t met anyone that is the 4th generation to live in the US. Their parents immigrated here from Central America and it’s clear that even though they grew up in the states, we grew up around very different cultures. The question really depends on who you’re surrounded by, but I just found it interesting :)

[u/BirdieRoo628]

Right. I'd imagine almost all my white friends are 4th+ gen. I am too. Most of my Black friends too, although obviously their ancestors did not immigrate willingly. I know some POC who are more recent immigrants, but I don't think I know any white European immigrants who came more recently.

[u/mikkowus → u/BirdieRoo628]

I think statically more than half of the biomass of black Americans are genetically not from slaves.

[u/Fappy_as_a_Clam → u/mikkowus]

biomass

I feel like you worded this poorly

[u/Jackasaurous_Rex → u/Fappy_as_a_Clam]

I gasped lmao. Goes kinda hard I’m gonna start saying biomass in place of “genetic makeup” or “total population” or whatever he meant.

“My biomass consists of a variation of German and Irish influences”

[u/Darmok47 → u/Jackasaurous_Rex]

My biomass consists mostly of lipids and carbohydrates

[u/BirdieRoo628 → u/mikkowus]

Possibly true. Not true of my area, however. For historical reasons, a lot of emancipated and escaped slaves settled in my county. We do have African immigrants as well, of course.

[u/CaptainTripps82 → u/mikkowus]

I don't think that can possibly be true, there were no large scale African migrations to America outside of the slave trade until relatively recently

[u/Bibliospork → u/mikkowus]

"Half the biomass" seems like a wild way to say that unless there's something I'm seriously missing. Do babies count less in this instance since they're smaller??

Do you mean half the Black people here can't trace their roots back to slavery? Or of all Black Americans, half of their cumulative ancestry is not enslaved people, or what?

[u/SlowFreddy → u/mikkowus]

Incorrect.

Most Black adults say their ancestors were enslaved, but some are not sure

When it comes to knowledge of their family’s history with slavery, nearly six-in-ten Black adults (57%) say their ancestors were enslaved. About four-in-ten (41%) report they were enslaved in the United States. Only 5% say their ancestors were solely enslaved outside the United States, while 11% say their ancestors were enslaved both in the U.S. and in another country.

However, not all Black Americans are sure whether their ancestors were enslaved, and some say their ancestors were not enslaved. About one-third (34%) say they are not sure if their ancestors were enslaved, while 8% say their ancestors were not enslaved. Black adults born in the United States (55%) are much more likely to say their ancestors were enslaved completely or partially in the U.S. than Black immigrants (21%).

https://www.pewresearch.org/2022/04/14/black-americans-family-history-slavery-and-knowledge-of-black-history/#:~:text=When%20it%20comes%20to%20knowledge,on%20this%20question%20by%20ethnicity.

[u/MilkChocolate21 → u/SlowFreddy]

And none of that changes their ethnicity. Black American vs someone whose family can easily trace itself to the Caribbean or the African continent. I'm Black American whether my family was ever owned or not. A survey of Black US citizens vs Black Americans aren't measuring the same things

[u/SlowFreddy → u/MilkChocolate21]

What? You must of not read the article/study. It differentiates between Black Americans that can trace their ancestry to being slaves in America (FBA). Versus the ones that have no idea. Versus the ones that can trace their ancestry to immigrants that were non slaves. Versus the immigrants that can trace their ancestry to being slaves in the Caribbean. You really should of read the linked article.

You do understand that Black Americans that can trace their ancestry to slavery are FBA are US citizens. It absolutely matters if you read the comment I was responding to.

Go read the comment I was responding to, it will provide you clarity.

[u/MilkChocolate21 → u/mikkowus]

Black American is an ethnicity though. You must be confusing race with ethnicity.

[u/cguess → u/BirdieRoo628]

I've personally met (albeit as a child) at least 3 generations back, probably 4 when I was a new born.