African American or Black?
Is One Term Better Than The Other?

Society loves categorizing us from our race to ethnicity to nationality to gender to income to religion to sexual orientation and so on. I don’t necessarily have a problem for the need to constantly categorize people per se. They do this so they can collect data and get an idea on the demographics around the world; however I find some of the labels that are commonly used to be quite flawed and inaccurate in some ways.
In the Americas, one can find a very diverse population of people from all walks of life. Majority of the people living in these lands did not originate there. Colonialism, African slavery, mass immigration, and interracial relationships have created a gigantic melting pot in this region of the world, especially in countries like my place of birth: the United States.
The descendants of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade have been labeled a variety of words to describe their race throughout the years: negro, colored, black, and African-American. The terms “colored” and “negro” are not commonly used in today’s age, but black and African American (African American being the more “politically correct” term) are often used interchangeably to describe the descendants of the African slaves. On job and university applications or filling out surveys, you often find the terms “African American” or “Black,” and every now and then, you’ll find “Black/African descent.”
Why The Term “African American” Can Be Viewed As “Inaccurate”
The descendants of African slaves in the US have little to no connection to their African roots. Many feel more connected to American culture than African culture. Unless they’ve taken an ancestry test, they have no clue what African country(ies) their ancestors came from (also ancestry tests are not completely accurate). Some still hang onto the title because they know that’s where their ancestors come from even if they don’t know exactly where and what tribe.
What If You’re Of African Descent But Not American?
Even though majority of the melanated people living in the United States were born and raised there, there are a number of African descendants who are not American. Take the Caribbean population as an example. They were not born in the United States, so calling them “African American” would be incorrect because you’re erasing half of their nationality. Since majority of the Caribbean population is of African descent, they wouldn’t identify themselves as African-Caribbean because they are the dominant race in that region. They just identify as black. In my mother’s birthplace, Jamaica, you’ll often find the people who are of non-African descent labeled as Indo-Jamaicans (Jamaicans of East Indian descent) or Chinese-Jamaicans for statistical purposes. In the Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries, majority of the people are multiracial (a combination of African, European, and/or Native American ancestry). Most go by the term “Latino/a” or “Hispanic,” (even though both terms are ethnicities not races) whether they are multiracial or not and “Afro-Latino/a” is sometimes used to describe the dark skin Latinos (i.e. black).
What If You’re From An African Country But Not Black?
There is also a population of people who moved from the US who come from the African continent. If they become American citizens and/or have children in the country, the term “African American” would be more fitting, but here’s a catch. What about the non-black Africans? Let’s say a white person from South Africa or an Arab from Morocco moves to the United States and becomes a US citizen, would they and their off-spring also be African Americans? Some would argue no because of the context, but to be technical, the term African American can still apply to them too (and maybe some additional hyphens).
Is “Black” A Better Term?
Many people of African-descent like to use the term Black to describe themselves and others because it’s more inclusive to black people of all nationalities compared to African American. But once again there’s a catch. In countries like India, where there is a population of people who have the same or darker skin tone as many people of African descent. Could one argue that they’re black because their skin tone matches (or is darker) mine? Many people would say no because of context and that black only applies to people who are of African origins.
Let’s address the elephant in the room: how many people in the world have skin that is black like the crayon? Most of the people who fit under “black” description are actually various shades of brown, so why are we called “black”?
Why Both Terms Honestly Suck
Both “African American” and “Black” are both very vague terms to describe people with African ancestry. The African continent is huge and filled with various races, ethnicities, tribes and languages. You can easily tell the difference between a Kenyan, an Ethiopian, and a Nigerian. Both titles feed that narrative that the African and African diaspora populations are one gigantic monolith, which simply isn’t true at all.
Soooo What Term Should We Use?
That’s a great question. Some people may have ideas, but there hasn’t been a unanimous decision. I think a lot of people are aware of the flaws in both terms but choose to remain with the status quo just because it can be tiring trying to explain yourself every single time.
DISCLAIMER: I’m aware his can be applicable to other races; however this is not the focus on this piece.
So what do you think? Do you think one term is better than the other? Do you have an alternative solution? I would love to hear your thoughts below in the responses!