African American, African-American, Black, black

People in the United States who share a lineage that can be traced directly or indirectly to Africa. African American and Black are both generally acceptable although some individuals may have a strong preference for one term or other. Black and African American do not necessarily mean the same thing and individuals may not identify with one term or the other. It’s best to ask. If that’s not possible, use either term. In a series of polls between 1991 and 2019, Gallup found that half to two-thirds of African American and Black respondents did not have a preference, and in the most recent poll in 2019 those who did have a preference were evenly split between the two terms. The Black Lives Matter Movement of recent years may be inspiring more people to prefer Black.

Some Black people do not identify as African American. This lineage, while collective, contains a diverse array of histories, cultures and experiences. This includes, but is not limited to, Black, African American, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Latino and African immigrants living in the United States. Jesse Jackson popularized the term African American, which had already existed, in the 1980s. It mirrors hyphenated names for other American groups. Some people may identify themselves as African American to resist Black as a socially constructed category. Others may identify this way to assert their American identity. There are many reasons one might identify as African American.

Some people may identify as Black because they do not feel connected to the American state. Others may identify as Black because they do not identify with the African continent. There are various historical, social and political reasons why one might prefer to identify as Black. The term has historically connected people of African descent around the world and was revived during the Black Power Movement.

Black and then African American replaced older terms such as Colored and Negro imposed by others. Self-identification might reflect feelings about origin, affiliation, colonialism, enslavement and cultural dispossession.

The National Association of Black Journalists advises that for a story in which race is relevant and there is no stated preference for an individual or individuals, media writers should use Black because it is an accurate description of race. The NABJ Style Guide also says, ”Do not use race in a police description unless the report is highly detailed and gives more than just the person’s skin color. In news copy, aim to use Black as an adjective, not a noun. Also, when describing a group, use Black people instead of just Blacks. In headlines, however, Blacks is acceptable.”

[A NOTE ABOUT CAPITALIZATION OF THE WORD BLACK: There has been much discussion about whether the b in Black should be capitalized. In the summer of 2020, after protests erupted around the world in response to the brutal killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers, the tide began to turn and many journalism style guides, including those of the Associated Press, NABJ and The New York Times, changed their policy on the capitalization of Black when used in relation to race or ethnicity. The change conveys “an essential and shared sense of history, identity and community among people who identify as Black, including those in the African diaspora and within Africa,” John Daniszewski, AP’s vice president of standards, said in a blog post announcing the decision to capitalize Black. “The lowercase black is a color, not a person.” Most media organizations now capitalize Black when referring to the race, but many do not capitalize White. Essence and Ebony magazines, The Chicago Defender  and many other publications serving African-American communities had capitalized Black for years.]

For more discussion about whether to capitalize the B in Black see:

• “The Case for Capitalizing the B in Black” by Kwame Anthony Appiah,
  The Atlantic, 2020

• “A Debate Over Identity and Race Asks, Are African-Americans ‘Black’ or ‘black’?” by John Eligon
  The New York Times, 2020
• “Black and White: Why Capitalization Matters” by Merrill Perlman
  Columbia Journalism Review, 2015
• “The Case for Black With a Capital B” by Lori Tharps
  The New York Times, 2014
• “Why the ‘B’ in ‘Black’ Is Capitalized at DiversityInc“ by Luke Visconti
  Diversityinc, 2009
• “Black, black, or African American?” by Aly Colón
  Poynter, 2003]

Updated February 2021

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