Blacks in Iran

You read right. Yes, Tyrone and Imani, there are black folks in Iran. You may be thinking, “Well, Shay, why haven’t I seen them on my TV, given all these Iranian protests?”. They don’t live in the capital city of Tehran. This small population is overwhelmingly concentrated in southern coastal provinces far from Tehran, particularly in the cities of Bandar Abbas and Abadan. Many Afro-Iranians are descendants of the Portuguese/Arab/Middle Eastern slave trade along eastern Africa. Others descend from ancient east African traders who interacted with Persia (now Iran). In 2007, a documentary was done about Afro-Iranians. Other stuff:

The Diss Video, Afro-Iranian Style

An Afro-Iranian guy from Bandar Abbas makes fun of light-skinned people from Tehran (which is in north-central Iran), who haven’t seen blacks before. He is describing their reaction and comments asking him why he is black….while comically dissing their ignorance and assumption that everyone is from Tehran or perhaps Shiraz and looks like them:

Photos Of Black Iranians

Street scene in Bandar Abbas. Note that the women aren’t dressed in blah black outfits, like non-black Iranian women tend to wear, but in rich colors and prints.

A street scene in Bandar Abbas. Note the East African features. Bandari, a popular form of Iranian music, comes from black Iranians.

Dude would fit in anywhere in Black America LOL. Even has the swagga pose down pat. Most black Iranians have visible non-black admixture, but there are some like him.

Soccer team from Abadan, Iran, 1936