African American

Sometimes Af·ra·mer·i·can

[af-ri-kuhn uh-mer-i-kuhn]

noun

1. an American with Black African ancestry.

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

noun

1. an American of African descent

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of African American¹

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90

Example Sentences

Among its proudest acquisitions are the archives of the Johnson Publishing Co., founded in 1942 by African American businessman John H. Johnson and known for Ebony and Jet magazines.

From Los Angeles Times

He added that he “wouldn’t have been elected mayor if not for African Americans, Latinos, Asians, Jews and progressive whites all coming together.”

From Los Angeles Times

This is drilled into African American girls from early childhood, when Disney first sinks its lacquered claws into America’s daughters.

From Salon

Ms Cook was appointed as governor of the Federal Reserve in 2022 by Democratic President Joe Biden, becoming the first African American to serve in the role.

From BBC

Cook is the first African American woman to sit on the board, a position she has held since 2022.

From BBC