Are blacks in America really Hebrews?

Answer 1

While there are several African-American churches which support this contention, namely the Black Israelite churches, the historical and general religious consensus has come to the fact that the Jews (both in the Arab world and in Europe) along with several non-Jewish Levantine populations are the descendants of the ancient Hebrews. This has been clearly supported by DNA studies. The Jews (Israelites; Hebrew people) are Mediterranean in origin and range fair-skinned to Middle Eastern in appearance. Any others who decide to join us are permitted to do so but that requires formal conversion and acceptance of what Judaism entails.

Answer 2

This is a controversial subject and a matter of opinion, but it's unlikely that all African Americans are from the Hebrew tribes.

No; that is a fanciful notion, or wishful thinking, contradicted by DNA studies.
Just as today, Israelites came in differing skin-tones, heights, and body-types. Our tradition is that the twelve sons of Jacob (the 12 Tribes) were not completely similar to each other in appearance, though none of them was really dark-skinned (Rashi commentary on Genesis 12:11).
Abraham and Sarah came from southern Iraq and their wider family from northern Iraq. Since DNA tests have shown that Jews intermarried infrequently throughout history, Abraham and the Israelites probably looked like Jews today.
DNA testing of Jewish communities worldwide has shown that they are all interrelated and of Middle Eastern genetics, comparable to the Sephardim today (not African or Egyptian).
In 2000, the analysis of a report by Nicholas Wade "provided genetic witness that Jewish communities have, to a remarkable extent, retained their biological identity separate from their host populations, evidence of relatively little intermarriage or conversion into Judaism over the centuries. The results accord with Jewish history and tradition."
The only exception to this is the Ethiopian Black Jews, who show only a trace of DNA connection to other Jewish communities. Western ethnologists today hold the view that the Jews of Gondar (Ethiopia) either emerged from a Judaizing strain among Ethiopian Christians, or were converted by Yemeni Jews who crossed the Red Sea. A study by Professors Lucotte and Smets has shown that the genetic father of Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) was close to the Ethiopian non-Jewish populations. This is consistent with the theory that Beta Israel are descendants of ancient inhabitants of Ethiopia, not the Middle East. Hammer et al. in 2000, and the team of Shen in 2004, arrive at similar conclusions, namely that the DNA of the Ethiopian Jews probably indicates a conversion of local populations.
It has been estimated that this happened some 2,000 years ago.
And in America:
The beliefs and practices of Black Hebrew groups vary considerably. The differences are so great that historian James Tinney has suggested the classification of the organizations into three quite distinct groups.
Some of these groups are actually Christians, or part-Christians in their beliefs and practices. They have titles such as Church of the Living God, the Church of God and Saints of Christ, and the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ. Others profess beliefs closer to Judaism, such as the Commandment Keepers.
As Judaism sees it, the issue with their claims is that they can produce no generally-accepted evidence of actual Semitic ancestry. These groups created themselves spontaneously within recent history, from within the wider African-American population.
Any African-Americans who choose to become actual Jews through proper conversion are accepted into Judaism.

This is a controversial subject and a matter of opinion, but it's unlikely that all African Americans are from the Hebrew tribes.

Answer 3

No; that is a fanciful notion, or wishful thinking, contradicted by DNA studies.
Just as today, Israelites came in differing skin-tones, heights, and body-types. Our tradition is that the twelve sons of Jacob (the 12 Tribes) were not completely similar to each other in appearance, though none of them was really dark-skinned (Rashi commentary on Genesis 12:11).
Abraham and Sarah came from southern Iraq and their wider family from northern Iraq. Since DNA tests have shown that Jews intermarried infrequently throughout history, Abraham and the Israelites probably looked like Jews today.
DNA testing of Jewish communities worldwide has shown that they are all interrelated and of Middle Eastern genetics, comparable to the Sephardim today (not African or Egyptian).
In 2000, the analysis of a report by Nicholas Wade "provided genetic witness that Jewish communities have, to a remarkable extent, retained their biological identity separate from their host populations, evidence of relatively little intermarriage or conversion into Judaism over the centuries. The results accord with Jewish history and tradition."
The only exception to this is the Ethiopian Black Jews, who show only a trace of DNA connection to other Jewish communities. Western ethnologists today hold the view that the Jews of Gondar (Ethiopia) either emerged from a Judaizing strain among Ethiopian Christians, or were converted by Yemeni Jews who crossed the Red Sea. A study by Professors Lucotte and Smets has shown that the genetic father of Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews) was close to the Ethiopian non-Jewish populations. This is consistent with the theory that Beta Israel are descendants of ancient inhabitants of Ethiopia, not the Middle East. Hammer et al. in 2000, and the team of Shen in 2004, arrive at similar conclusions, namely that the DNA of the Ethiopian Jews probably indicates a conversion of local populations.
It has been estimated that this happened some 2,000 years ago.
And in America:
The beliefs and practices of Black Hebrew groups vary considerably. The differences are so great that historian James Tinney has suggested the classification of the organizations into three quite distinct groups.
Some of these groups are actually Christians, or part-Christians in their beliefs and practices. They have titles such as Church of the Living God, the Church of God and Saints of Christ, and the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ. Others profess beliefs closer to Judaism, such as the Commandment Keepers.
As Judaism sees it, the issue with their claims is that they can produce no generally-accepted evidence of actual Semitic ancestry. These groups created themselves spontaneously within recent history, from within the wider African-American population.
Any African-Americans who choose to become actual Jews through proper conversion are accepted into Judaism.

Answer 4

This is a controversial subject and a matter of opinion, but it's unlikely that all African Americans are from the Hebrew tribes.