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{{short description|Sociological phenomenon}}
[[File:Blaxit-logo.png|thumb|Unofficial logo of Blaxit movement]]
'''Blaxit''' is a social movement that promotes the expatriation of [[African Americans|Black]]/African-African Americans from the U.S.United States to destinations abroad. The term Blaxit was coined in the wake of [[Brexit]] by academic, journalist, and human rights consultant Dr. Ulysses Burley III. The term combines Black and Exit to form Blaxit in the same manner that Brexit describes the British Exit from the [[European Union]]. <ref>{{Cite web|title=About|url=http://www.ubthecure.com/about/|access-date=2021-06-14|website=Ulysses Burley III|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Disheartened By Racial Violence In U.S., Inspired By Brexit, He Pondered A 'Blaxit'|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/07/17/486359426/disheartened-by-racial-violence-in-u-s-inspired-by-brexit-he-pondered-a-blaxit|access-date=2020-10-29|website=NPR.org|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Hjeld|first=Kim|title='I'm leaving, and I'm just not coming back': Fed up with racism, Black people head overseas|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2020/06/26/blaxit-black-people-leave-uk-escape-racism-build-lives-abroad/3234129001/|access-date=2020-10-29|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Sewing|first=Joy|date=2020-10-23|title=Joy Sewing: Black Americans, fed up with racism, move abroad as 'Blaxit' trends|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/article/Black-Americans-fed-up-with-racism-move-abroad-15669032.php|access-date=2020-10-29|website=HoustonChronicle.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Savali|first=Kristen West|date=26 January 2020|title=Is Moving To Another Country The Answer?|url=https://www.essence.com/news/is-blaxit-for-you/|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-10-29|website=Essence|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Oshindoro|first=Michael|date=2019-02-22|title=Blaxit and the Romanticization of Africa|url=https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/bic/2019/005/7|journal=Black Issues Conference}}</ref>
== History ==
In the early 1900s, many Black creatives emigrated to Europe, pursuing opportunities not available in the US.<ref name=":1" /> [[Ira Aldridge|Ira Aldredge]] pursued his acting career in Europe because of limited opportunities in the US.<ref name=":1" />
During [[World War I]], when for the first time many Black Americans experienced life in other countries, many decided to remain in France, according to Gaines "where they were treated with respect."<ref name=":1" /> Gaines said this created an African-American expatriate community in Paris and other large French cities.<ref name=":1" /> In this period Jazz music was introduced to France by [[James Reese Europe]], who had headed the [[Harlem Hellfighters]] military band.<ref name=":1" /> [[Josephine Baker]] found recognition in Paris and later became a French citizen.<ref name=":1" /> [[James Baldwin]] described his experience in Paris, contrasting them favorably to those in the US.<ref name=":1" /> [[Richard Wright (author)|Richard Wright]] also moved to Paris, and [[Langston Hughes]] for a time lived in London.<ref name=":0" /> [[Nina Simone]] lived in France and several African countries.<ref name=":0" /> [[Paul Robeson]] testified to the [[House Committee On Un-American Activities|House Committee on Un-American Activities]] that in Russia, "I felt for the first time like a full human being."<ref name=":0" />
After World War II, when Ghana became the first [[Sub-Saharan Africa|sub-Saharan]] colonialized African nation to gain independence in 1957, the country became attractive to US Blacks for travel and emigration.<ref name=":1" /> [[Maya Angelou]] and [[W. E. B. Du Bois|W.E.B. Dubois]] moved there.<ref name=":1" />
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