A Dominican American is any American who has origins in the Dominican Republic.. Although their emigration began in the nineteenth century, waves of migration of Dominicans in the United States emerged in the 60's especially, after the fall of the Trujillo regime. In 2010, there were approximately 1.71 million people of Dominican descent in the US, inclusive both native and foreign-born.

Immigration records of Dominicans in the United States date from the late 19th century, and New York City has had a Dominican community since the 1930s. From the 1960s onward, after the fall of the Rafael Trujillo military regime, large waves of migration have thoroughly transnationalized the Dominican Republic, metaphorically blurring its frontier with the United States. Thus, be created Dominican communities in New Jersey, the Miami area, Philadelphia, Providence, Rhode Island, and Boston, Massachusetts. Smaller waves of Dominicans have gone to the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Illinois; Washington, D.C.; Houston, Texas; Los Angeles, California; Portland, Oregon; Kansas City, Missouri; Orlando, Florida; Buffalo, New York; and New Orleans, Louisiana. The Dominican population has similar settlement patterns to that of the Puerto Rican population.

African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans, and formerly as American Negroes) are citizens or residents of the United States that have ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa.

African Americans make up the single largest racial minority in the United States. Most African Americans are of West and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States. However, some immigrants from African, Caribbean, Central American or South American nations, or their descendants, may be identified or self-identify with the term.

African-American history starts in the 16th century with African slaves who quickly rose up against the Spanish explorer Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón and progresses to the present day, with Barack Obama as the 44th and current President of the United States. Between those landmarks there have been events and issues, both resolved and ongoing, including slavery, racism, Reconstruction, development of the African-American community, participation in the great military conflicts of the United States, racial segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement.