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A term meant to describe Americans of African origin.  The term 'Black' and its predecessor 'Negro' have fallen out of favor due to a plethora of reasons, most particularly the terms 'Black' and 'Negro' do not define a specific place since Asians could be defined as Black, see Vijay Singh, moreover the term Negro which fell out of favor decades ago because it failed to properly represent a place African Americans could relate to.  The term 'African American' has fallen into the acceptable realm of a proper definition because it defines a place, it defines a region where Africans are one.   Which begs the question, why would Americans of African ethnicity WANT to assocciate themselves with a place other than America?  Simply put, slavery, Jim Crow and continued disenfranchizement of African Americans has led them to create a moniker as a defence mechanism, a way to associate with others of their kind in collective objection to American 'White' culture as a whole.  The numerous entries on this thread detailing the ineffectual and unneccessary use of the term African American clearly shows the lack of understanding whites have about people of African ethnicity.  Perhaps people should get to know an African American, get to know them before passing judgements and making childish and inane comments about how people choose to refer to themselves.

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