9 times out of 10, the "
politically correct" way of referring to a Black person, even one who has never set foot outside of the US, and was born here. A completely misleading term for a couple of reasons:
1) the phrase implies you were born in Africa and then moved to the US. While that's the case for some, such as model Alek Wek, someone such as Chris Rock or myself, born in the US, is BLACK.
2) despite the stereotype, there ARE
white people originally from Africa who move to the US, i.e. actress Charlize Theron. Although the phrase was coined primarily for Blacks, techically, Theron IS an African-American, or at least, more African-American than I am, in the literal sense of the word.
The word is a roundabout way of calling someone Black because "Black" is considered offensive, even though the late
James Brown said to "Say it loud...I'm Black and I'm proud." Even when someone says the term, you can tell they're trying their best to tiptoe around being offensive.
1.
Presidential hopeful
Barack Obama could be considered African-American, as his father is from Kenya. Jesse Jackson, on the other hand, is Black.
2. "Did
you know that, in 2002, Denzel Washington and Halle Berry became the first African-Americans to win Best Actor and Actress Oscars in the same year?"
---"No, but I know they became the first BLACKS to win that award. Charlize Theron is the first African-American to win a Best Actress Oscar."