African-American 

According to the United States government, African-Americans (Black Americans) are:
"Residents or citizens of the United States, who have biological origins in any black ethnic group on the continent of Africa"

What African-American does not mean:
1) It does not mean that blacks born in the U.S. are African. It means that these Americans are of African descent. A specific country of origin cannot be named because enslaved Africans were stripped of their culture.
2) It does not apply to people who come from Africa, unless they are biologically African (i.e. Black)
3) Legally it does apply to blacks from Africa, the Caribbean, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.....as long as they reside within the borders of the United States.

Notable African-Americans include Bill Cosby, El Haji Malik El Shabbaz, Martin Luther King, and Medgar Evers

Person #1 - Is a white person from Nigeria, who lives in the U.S., an African-American?

Me- Legally no they are not. That person would be considered a White Nigerian-American.

African-American by Amaru1971 March 10, 2008

African-American 

The word given to black people as a way of making them feel less american then everyone else. Making them feel like they all belong or grew up in Africa when most have families that trace back to america in the 18th-19th century. Or 1700's-1800's for people who don't know.

- A word given to black americans only by other americans, not used in any other countries to refer to black americans.

Son: Why are brown people called African-Americans?

DAD: Because they're all African!
Son: Then why aren't we called European-American?
Dad: Because white people are true Americans.

African-American by TheUrbainDict August 10, 2015

African-American 

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.

I am a proud African American. Irrespective of the fact that I have no relatives in Africa, the people in that region of the world are closer to me than any American of euro-trash ancestry ever will be.

African-American by Franz Fanon February 8, 2007

african-american 

African-american people who deserve to be treated just like any other person. People how have minds too and that should be judged by their personality instead of the color of their skin at first glance. People who are great if you get to know them(that was for the racist, regardless of your color). I'm SO proud of being afrian-american.

African-Americans are just like every other good person in the world. Just like that white soccer mom that can do no harm(in some cases).

african-american by MMMUUUHAHAHAH November 15, 2005

african-american 

While the term 'African American' may seem nothing more than a PC term for 'blacks,' it does carry a signficant amount of social implications. It is inappropriate and quite uneducated to assume that an entire group of people should be degraded to the description of a color, namely black. The term is referring to an entire race of people who have historically undergone discrimination, oppression, segregation and slavery in THIS country for over 3 centuries. Thus, the label 'African American' subsequently emerged as a response to the overwhelming amount of racism still prevalent in modern society. It attempts to erradicate previous racist notions that non-whites are somehow (even biologically) inferior to whites. It also attempts to provide them with a certain heritage as well as a respect for a socially disadvantaged group who still face de facto discrimination. (side note- I am not black or African American, I am actually a member of a privileged race, for those of you who think only a 'black' person should give a damn about the subordination of others, and the violation of our Constitution's equal protection clauses- see 14th amendment. Feel free to look up any terms you may be confused about- in fact, they designed wikipedia for ignorant individuals such as yourself)

Educated people, or perhaps only Harvard grads, do not refer to others in terms of the amount of melanin in their skin. They have moved beyond, or evolved so to speak, PAST the concept of race. Connotating 'African-American' with one's actual descent is not only irrational, but clearly misses the point. Caucasians are presumed to be of European decent, wheras the majority cannot afford a passport to travel outside of the U.S. border.

african-american by E. Gardener May 15, 2007

african-american 

A very derogatory and almost obsolete way to refer to a nigger. This term was most often used in the south during the days of slavery, before the NAACP told us that "nigger" was a friendlier way to refer to these people.

Hey look at all of those african.... oh um i mean niggers on the side of the street trying to steal that guy's car.
(african-american)

african-american by Rosa Parks II February 3, 2010

African-American 

A human being with a direct line of ancestry to African, but was born in one of the Americas. It is not a term for any and all black U.S. citizens.

Correct: Some of the slaves in the past were African-American.

Incorrect:

Suzy: I made a friend, they're African-American!
Suzy's Mom: Oh, what part of Africa were their relatives from?
Suzy: Oh my god Mom, you're being so embarrassing, I meant black. Duh.

African-American by poochie.butt December 27, 2015