I will say that I do not like seeing the terms black or white used to label a person (as in “blacks” or “whites”). They can be referred to as “black people” or “white people” but they are beyond just a color.
I cringe whenever I hear people say "the blacks", too, the same way certain grammatical errors make me cringe. I'm probably the only FReeper who prefers the term African-American, but I don't use it on FR because it makes people go nuts here. Here's why I don't find the term itself unpatriotic at all:
Growing up here in the northeast, in response to the question, "What are you?" I've never heard a white person answer, "I'm white." Most white people would respond: "I'm Polish." "I'm Irish." "I'm half German, half English." And so on.
But, I was taught that we're Americans, not Europeans, so always add the word American: "I'm Italian-American." "I'm Irish-American." It's just a quick way of saying, "I'm American, but, yes, my ancestors were from this other country."
Maybe other parts of the country don't have the little ethnic enclaves we always had here. Maybe the difference in opinion varies depending on where you live.