"African and White" is the debut single by the English new wave and synth-pop band China Crisis.

As an independent release, the single, initially released on Liverpool's Inevitable label in early 1982, had limited distribution, although was played by Radio 1's John Peel, which also led the group to getting their first BBC session for the disc jockey (DJ) in March 1982, well before the release of their debut studio album.

Upon its re-release on Virgin Records in a remixed form in August 1982, the single achieved wider distribution and listening audience, meeting with critical acclaim.

Smash Hits wrote "Intelligent lyrics, an insistent hook and some clever drumming should put it in the mainstream as well as the independent chart.

"[4] Spin retrospectively wrote, "China Crisis showed it could create music that flowed with a strong rhythmic base, most strongly demonstrated on the track "African and White".