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• African American
  African American

  noun

  an American with Black African ancestry.
• African-American
  African-American

  noun

  an American of African descent

African American

American  

[af-ri-kuhn uh-mer-i-kuhn] / ˈæf rɪ kən əˈmɛr ɪ kən /

Sometimes Aframerican

noun

1. an American with Black African ancestry.

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adjective

1. of or relating to African Americans.

2. African-American, occurring between the United States and Africa.

   Several international charities are promoting African-American cooperation in expanding access to safe drinking water.

African-American British  

noun

1. an American of African descent

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adjective

1. of or relating to Americans of African descent

Usage

During the 1980s, many Americans sought to display pride in their immigrant origins. Linguistically, this brought about a brief period of short-form hyphenated designations, like Italo-Americans and Greco-Americans. The Black community also embraced the existing term Afro-American, a label that emphasized geographical or ethnic heritage over skin color. The related label, African American, also saw an increase in use among activists in the 1970s and 1980s. African American was even more widely adopted in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s after high-profile Black leaders advocated for it, arguing, as Jesse Jackson did, that the term brought “proper historical context” and had “cultural integrity.” See Black ¹.

This is the currently preferred term in the US for people of African ancestry

Etymology

Origin of African American

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

African American African-American

State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond also emphasized the need for more progress, while calling attention to notable gains by African American students, Latino students, students from low-income families and students experiencing homelessness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

Graves told ProPublica that he had high regard for Bunch — “his accomplishment with the African American museum was remarkable” — but that he became worried that the Smithsonian was operating within a bubble.

From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026

Rebecca completed her bachelor’s degree at Harvard College, where she studied philosophy and African American studies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

His career accomplishments include founding the National Museum of African American History and Culture and authoring numerous books, including one on the NMAAHC's creation.

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

A thin, light-skinned African American woman dressed in a beautifully tailored suit, she was soft-spoken and strikingly serene, with a steady brown-eyed gaze and an impressive grasp of how the city functioned.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Marvin Robbins, the first vice president of District Council 37 Local 983, who is also African-American, had posted the image on the union’s Facebook page, where hundreds of Mr. Seabron’s colleagues could see it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

"His background is everything - European, African-American, Hispanic and indigenous as well," he says.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

By then most teams in the majors had African-American players.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

“We’re doing very well with the Black jobs, African-American jobs,” he said.

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

The court case was about Linda Brown, an eight-year-old African-American girl from Topeka, Kansas, who lived four blocks from an elementary school, but because she was African-American, she was unable to enroll there.

From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals

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