As Black representation evolves, diversity dimensions gain significance. By 2060, the US Census says 1/3 of Black population growth will stem from immigration, amplifying audience diversity. Here's what the Census 2020 data further found according to the Pew Center:

One-in-ten Black people in the U.S. are immigrants. The number of Black immigrants living in the country reached 4.6 million in 2019, up from roughly 800,000 in 1980. This increase accounted for 19% of the growth in the overall Black population, which increased by 20 million during the same period. The Black immigrant population is projected to account for roughly a third of the U.S. Black population’s growth through 2060.

A sizable share of Black Americans have recent immigrant connections. In addition to the 12% of Black people who were born in a foreign country themselves, roughly 9% are second-generation Americans, meaning they were born in the U.S. and have at least one foreign-born parent. Combined, these two groups account for 21% of the overall Black population – comparable to the share among Americans overall, but lower than the share among Hispanics or Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

More than half of Black immigrants (58%) arrived in the U.S. after 2000. Roughly three-in-ten (31%) came to the U.S. between 2010 and 2019, and a little over a quarter (27%) immigrated between 2000 and 2009. Among all U.S. immigrants, by comparison, about half have immigrated to the country since 2o00, including a quarter who did so between 2010 and 2019 and another quarter who did so between 2000 and 2009.

Among Black immigrants, the year of immigration differs by birth region. African-born Black immigrants stand out for their more recent arrival in the U.S.: Three-quarters immigrated in 2000 or later, with over four-in-ten (43%) arriving between 2010 and 2019 alone. Black immigrants born in other regions – the Caribbean, Central America or Mexico, or South America – came to the U.S. earlier than their African-born counterparts, on average, with majorities of all three regions arriving before 2000.

The Caribbean is the most common region of birth for the 4.5 million Black immigrants in the United States, accounting for 46 percent of the total. Jamaica (16 percent) and Haiti (15 percent) are the two largest origin countries for Black immigrants.

Caribbean immigrants are generally older than both the foreign- and U.S.-born populations. The median age of immigrants from the Caribbean was approximately 50 in 2019, compared to 46 for the overall foreign-born population and 37 for the U.S.-born. Seventy-three percent of Caribbean immigrants were of working age (18 to 64 years old), compared to 78 percent and 59 percent for the overall immigrant and native-born populations, respectively. Most immigrants from the Dominican Republic (77 percent), Haiti (76 percent), and Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica (75 percent each) were of working age, while more than one-quarter (28 percent) of Cuban immigrants were seniors (ages 65 and older).

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE?

Understanding Black audience perceptions of representation is crucial for the media industry due to their higher media engagement, spending 32% more time with TV weekly. This impacts not only creators and platforms but also brands, especially with rising ad-supported video content consumption, Neilsen research found.

The research further found that 35.7% of Black Americans believe that brands always represent Black people the same way in advertising, compared with 27.9% among the U.S. general population. The disconnect between how Black audiences feel they’re represented in a campaign could affect the ROI that brands are counting on to fuel growth.

In the era of media, prioritizing inclusion is key to retaining the engagement of this avid audience. As media diversifies, discerning viewers swiftly shift away from content lacking inclusivity.

Hard Beat Communications, the award-winning, global multicultural content creation agency, serves this marketplace. Connect with us for multicultural content creation under one roof.