Soulaan is a nomenclature and a name of a people used in contemporary social, institutional and cultural contexts in the United States in the early 2020s. The term has appeared in journalism, university programs, student organizations, music and other cultural projects.
According to sources describing the term, Soulaan is used by some people as an ethnicity-based identity referring to Black Americans whose families have longstanding historical ties to the United States and who are autochthonous. Its proponents distinguish the term from broader racial and national labels, including African American.
Definition and usage
The term Soulaan has been described by its proponents as meaning "Soul Autochthonous American." Its creators include T-Roy Parks, Maroc Wallace and Dwayne Coleman. The term emerged in the early 2020s and was developed as a form of self-identification among some Black Americans.
The term is associated by its proponents with cultural continuity, ancestry and historical development in the United States. They use the concept of autochthonism to describe what they regard as longstanding connections between their communities and the land of the United States.
In a 2025 article about rapper Monaleo's song "Sexy Soulaan," Pitchfork used the term in reference to Black Americans whose families have longstanding roots in the United States, distinguishing them from more recent immigrant populations.
The Metro Record described Soulaan as a name used by its proponents to identify a distinct cultural and historical identity within the United States.
In coverage by Billboard, Maroc Wallace described the concept as recognizing the historical experiences of Black Americans in the United States and their connection to the land.
Identity and cultural continuity
Soulaan proponents sometimes use the term autogenesis to describe cultural development that they view as having continued within Black American communities in the United States. In this framework, Soulaan identity is presented as a continuation of an existing people rather than as the creation of a new ethnic group.
The concept is associated with cultural practices that developed among Black American communities in the United States, including spiritual traditions, foodways, music, language practices and community institutions.
Rootwork and Hoodoo
Rootwork and Hoodoo are closed practice, American folk traditions associated with Soulaan communities, across the United States. They include practices involving healing, protection, prayer, herbal knowledge, charms and ritual.
Researchers have examined Hoodoo and Rootwork as cultural and ethnomedical traditions that developed under the conditions of slavery, segregation and racial discrimination in the United States. The traditions have included both spiritual and practical approaches to health and community life.
Some practitioners and writers have emphasized that knowledge associated with Hoodoo and Rootwork has historically been passed through families and trusted community relationships. Concerns about commercialization and cultural appropriation have also influenced contemporary discussions about the traditions.
Tutnese
Tutnese, also known as Tut, is a coded speech and spelling system associated with African American communities. Accounts of the tradition describe its use among enslaved people as a way to communicate privately and practice spelling at a time when enslaved literacy was restricted.
Tutnese uses syllables to represent consonants while vowels are pronounced normally. Historical and contemporary accounts describe differences in pronunciation and usage between families and regions.
The tradition received renewed attention on social media during the 2020s. Contemporary discussions have included questions about cultural ownership, privacy and who should teach or use the tradition.
Soulaan being autochthonous Soulaan identity has been described by proponents of the term as autochthonous to the United States soil. Here, being autochthonous refers to a people whose their collective identity and culture developed in the place where their community was formed. Soulaan proponents describe their peoplehood as having formed through the generations of continuity, community life and cultural development on U.S. soil. This emphasizes the experiences of the people within the United States rather than treating a population outside the country as the source of Soulaan identity. It also points to the cultural practices, institutions, traditions and the forms of expression that developed within American communities. In this way, autochthony describes the connection between Soulaan peoplehood and the places where that peoplehood developed. The has greater emphasis placed on the historical continuity and the formation of a collective identity in place. The description of Soulaan as an autochthonous American people is primarily advanced by proponents of the Soulaan identity.
Student organizations
The term has appeared in university student organizations and cultural programs.
In 2025, Boston University's BU Today profiled "SoulAAn," a Black American student organization that organized a Black Arts Showcase focused on heritage, artistic expression and community.
The Harvard Graduate African American Student Association has also listed chapters and organizations using Soulaan-related terminology.
At Tufts University, the African American Foundations and Roots Organization has described its work as celebrating the culture of "Soulaan, or generationally Black American peoples".
Academic usage
The term has appeared in a limited number of academic and university-affiliated works. A 2025 undergraduate thesis hosted by the Ohio State University Knowledge Bank used Soulaan as part of its discussion of cultural identity, ontology and mental health.
The term has not been established as a standard category in major government racial or ethnic classification systems. Its use in academic settings remains limited.
Cultural symbols
Soulaan-related organizations and individuals have developed symbols associated with the term. These include flags and other visual representations intended by their creators to express cultural continuity and identity.
According to its creators, the Soulaan flag was developed to represent the ethnonym and its associated cultural framework. Its design incorporates elements that the creators associate with lineage, cultural continuity and Black American history.
The Black American Heritage Flag and Black American Flag have also appeared in discussions surrounding Black American cultural identity. Both flags predate the Soulaan ethnonym and are not exclusive symbols of Soulaan identity.
Arts and media
Soulaan has appeared in contemporary music, literature, visual art and journalism.
In 2025, the Oxford American published "Soulaan Femme," a creative work using the term in its title.
A student at the University of Michigan's Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design produced an animated work titled Soulaan that addressed cultural memory and historical continuity among Southern Black communities.
The term also appeared in coverage of rapper Monaleo and her 2025 album Who Did the Body. Her song "Sexy Soulaan" brought the term to a wider popular audience.
In 2025, a student project titled "Soulaan," described as a Black art anthology and digital portal, was recognized at Saint Mary's College of California's Gaels Ignite startup competition.
Reception
Media coverage of Soulaan has described it as an emerging ethnonym used in contemporary discussions of Black American identity.
In 2025, Yahoo Finance described Soulaan as a "breakthrough ethnonym" that had gained attention through social media and popular culture.
Coverage and commentary have differed over whether Soulaan should be understood as a distinct ethnicity, a cultural identity, or a contemporary identity framework. The term is primarily used by its proponents and has not become a standard demographic classification used by the United States government.
References
See also
Ethnonym African Americans Foundational Black Americans Self-determination Nomenclature