In any discussion of nationalism among black people in the United States, one must somehow contend with what appears to be a complex of contradictions, for in many respects conventional notions about the concept of nationalism do not apply to America's black population. Yet the ideology of black nationalism is widespread among a significant segment of America's black community, and its influence has been felt among those who do not consider themselves nationalists. Although nationalism in general is a characteristic of modern societies, that is, it was not a significant force in the world prior to the eighteenth century, some of its elements can be traced back into history for many centuries. For example, such beliefs as “the chosen people” or the notion of the “promised land,” both nationalist ideas, originated with the ancient Hebrews. Similarly, among black people in the United States, nationalism is often said to have originated in the nineteenth century, but some of its manifestations go as far back as the sixteenth century.

While it is not always possible to specify the precise genesis of nationalist sentiment, in most cases it probably results from a combination of historical factors and social conditions existing at any given time. John Stuart Mill was of the opinion that while many factors give rise to nationalist consciousness among a people, the most important of all is “identity of political antecedents; the possession of a national history, and a consequent community of recollections; collective pride and humiliation, pleasure and regret, connected with the same incidents in the past.”