I remember reading a story about a newspaper editor who told a reporter to change the description of a man from Jamaica from "black" to "African-American" in a story the reporter was writing. The reporter said that the man is Jamaican, not American, so "African-American" would be a wrong label. The editor said, "If you want the story to run, change "black" to "African-American."
Along similar lines, I was working on a system with our HR people who needed to indicate the race of employees. I included "black" in the list of choices. An HR temp worker asked if it should be "African-American." I said, "We're a world-wide company. Do you think someone in Nigeria would like being referred to as African-American?"
-PJ
Fellow state employee was born of Italian parents who were stationed in Ethiopia. He became and amercian. When the BS started he claimed African-American. Did well on civil service exams. Black folks were always mad at him. When did continent of origin become a substitute for racial designation?