Tucker Cemetary, Hampton, VA
*On this date in 1606, the first recorded birth of a Black African child in the continental United States occurred. This was is in the Cathedral Parish Archives in St. Augustine, Florida, thirteen years before more enslaved Africans were brought to the English colony at Jamestown in 1619.
William Tucker, the first Black child born (recorded) in the American colonies, was baptized in Jamestown, Virginia, on January 3, 1624. Two of the first Black Africans brought to North America in 1619 were called Anthony and Isabella. They were married and, in 1624, gave birth to the first Black child born in English America named William, in honor of a Virginia Planter.
After 1619, all Africans brought into the colonies were sold as slaves. Today, the Black population Is over 35 million, or nearly 13 percent of the U.S. total. The largest numbers of Blacks live in New York State (more than 3 million). Other states with more than 2 million Black populations include California, Florida, Georgia, and Texas.
Black First:
2,000 years of extraordinary achievement
by Jessie Carney Smith
Copyright 1994 Visible Ink Press, Detroit, MI
ISBN 0-8103-9490-1
