Over the last year, you may have seen the phrase Foundational Black American (FBA) tossed around the internet thanks to the “World’s #1 Race Baiter,” Tariq Nasheed. In January, during a Twitter Spaces discussion, the controversial media personality sent the buzzword trending when he argued that Black Americans were the originators of the United States. Since then, the polarizing author and documentarian’s belief has attracted millions of supporters from the Black community, many of whom claim they too identify as a Foundational Black American. But what does the term mean exactly?

The History of the Foundational Black American

According to the Official FBA website, Foundational Black Americans are descendants of Black slaves who built the United States from scratch. Followers of the ideology, however, believe that the origins and history of Foundational Black Americans did not begin at the start of slavery in the early 1600s. They strongly believe that FBA’s settled in North America in 1526, when they were allegedly brought over from the Caribbean by a “colonizer” named Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón.

Ayllón and 600 of his men settled on what would later become the South Carolina and Georgia Coast, but they weren’t there for long. The enslaved Black captives organized a successful rebellion against the Spanish colonizers, ultimately forcing them to retreat.

FBA historians believe that the liberated Black people integrated with local Native American tribes in the region and formed their own community and culture as a result.

The FBA Flag

Pride and honor amongst the FBA community are commemorated through the National Maroon Flag. After escaping bondage, thousands of Foundational Black Americans allegedly fled to areas around the Southern United States and created “maroon communities.”

The FBA flag features five stars which were designed to represent the five primary locations where maroon societies were established during the slave era: Virginia, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and North and South Carolina.

The flag also features an ax and a torch, which were common weapons used by FBA members during their freedom revolts.

FBA’s don’t believe in the concept of pan-Africanism. They believe they are a unique ethnic group with complex cultural and societal ideologies different from Africans and other Black immigrants. FBAs often call those who do not identify with the culture “non-FBAs.”

FBA members claim that Africans and some other Black immigrant communities do not respect them and their lived experiences throughout history.

Same here. I no longer fly that flag. https://t.co/ZdvcFUrf7y

— Brother T (@FBA_AllDay) July 13, 2022

everyone

How long did ppl expect #FBA to keep upholding a one-sided “Pan Africanism” ideology, while most of these non- FBAs REPEATEDLY state they do NOT identify with Foundational Black Americans? pic.twitter.com/5btA7MuXXm

— Tariq Nasheed (@tariqnasheed) July 17, 2022

During an interview on The Movement with Kmt and Kofi in 2021, Tariq Nasheed and Dr. Afiya Mbilishaka shed light on their views regarding the difference between Afrocentricity and Foundational Black American heritage. Watch the full video below to learn more about the growing debate.

SEE ALSO: 

The Aboriginal Australians: The First Inhabitants Of Australia Were Black People

The Origins Of Black People With Red Hair

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