resources

This page provides clear answers and essential definitions to help you understand the USBA ecosystem. 

The FAQs address common questions about FBA identity, misclassification, national materials, and the structural conditions shaping our communities. 

The terms and definitions offer the core language needed to stay aligned, grounded, and precise when discussing FBA lineage and reparative justice. 

The Position Papers clarify why lineage matters, how misclassification distorts outcomes, and why restoration requires disciplined, identity-based frameworks. 

1. Who are Foundational Black Americans (FBAs)?

FBAs are the descendants of chattel slavery in the United States before 1865. Their lineage has a continuous cultural, historical, and structural experience formed inside the United States and is not interchangeable with broader racial categories or other Black populations.

2. Why is identity the starting point of the USBA ecosystem?

Identity creates clarity. Without a defined lineage, reparative justice, policy alignment, and cultural grounding become unstable or redirected.

3. What problem does USBA 2025 address?

USBA 2025 corrects misclassification, narrative distortion, and confusion caused by grouping FBAs with other populations under broad racial labels such as “Black,” “African American,” “minority,” or “POC.”

4. Why are the national assets important to identity?

These assets give FBAs a unified foundation—definitions, symbols, rights, and language—that protect lineage integrity and strengthen claims for repair.

5. How does SSDH relate to FBA experience?

SSDH show that FBA conditions were produced by laws, policies, and institutions—not culture or personal choices. This directs attention to structural harm and the need for restoration. 

1. Alignment

The practice of using identity, accurate language, and national standards to engage with FBA communities responsibly, avoiding distortion, confusion, or harm.

2. Covenant

A shared commitment to uphold identity clarity, cultural integrity, and collective responsibility within the FBA lineage. Covenant establishes the expectations, boundaries, and duties that protect the lineage across generations.

3. Cultural Integrity

The preservation of FBA-specific history, expression, memory, and tradition without dilution from broader racial or diasporic categories.

4. Ecosystem

The national framework that organizes FBA identity, structure, grounding, and long-term restoration into a coherent, lineage-based model.

5. Foundational Black Americans (FBAs)

An American lineage whose ancestors were held in chattel slavery in the United States prior to 1865. This lineage has a continuous cultural, historical, and structural experience formed on American soil.

6. Lineage

A fixed ancestral line defined by shared origin, lived history, cultural continuity, and inherited structural conditions specific to FBAs.

7. Misclassification

The practice of grouping FBAs with unrelated populations under broad racial labels, which distorts data, weakens reparative justice claims, and obscures lineage-specific harm.

8. National Assets

The national documents—Declaration, Constitution, Rights, Symbols, Holidays, and Pledges—that provide grounding, clarity, and cohesion for the FBA lineage.

9. Reparative Justice

A structured process that identifies a harmed lineage, documents the harm, and restores what was taken through targeted, lineage-specific repair—not symbolic action.

10. SSDH (Social & Structural Determinants of Health)

The systems, conditions, and policies that shape FBA outcomes across generations. SSDH emphasizes structure—not behavior—as the primary source of inequality.