Plenty of black folks (I refuse to use the term "African American" -- 95+% of the people who embrace that term have never been to The Dark Continent, let alone came from there) are actually ashamed to be Americans; that's where (IMO) the genesis of the term "African American" came from.
They feel the necessity to come up with some other term to distance themselves from "those people," as if being an "American" (and yes, they say it with the tone you'd use to describe something pungently undesirable on the sole of your shoe) were akin to having some sort of disease.
Then again, I guess many people outside our borders view our patriotism as a malady; especially when they feel they can look down their collective noses at us as being rude, uncouth and every other uppity "french" adjective they can come up with.
Just damn.
Why must we criticize someone’s preference of how they view themselves. If I want to call myself African American then what is the problem to you. Some of you who oppose this term make it seem like I am downplaying myself for wanting to be addressed as such. Me visiting a place has nothing to do with it. It is MY identity and when I check off on an application it does not say check if you are American, it says (black or from African origin, Caucasian (not Hispanic etc.))