What Is FBA?

Foundational Black American (FBA) is a lineage-based identity used by this project for descendants of the historic Black American population established in the United States.

This population includes descendants of people enslaved in the United States and the historic Free Black American population. Those histories explain the population’s formation; they do not require every present-day FBA person to trace personally to slavery.

Documented FBA Lineage Anchor

A documented lineage connection may be established by tracing a family chain to an ancestor whose contemporaneous U.S. records identify that ancestor as part of the historic Black American population using classifications such as Black, Colored, Negro, Mulatto, African American, or another historically applicable designation, when the overall record reasonably demonstrates historical continuity with that U.S. population.

The historical label is interpreted in context. A racial classification alone does not establish the entire lineage history.

No Blood Fraction or DNA Threshold

No blood fraction applies. DNA may support genealogy, but no DNA percentage defines FBA.