African American vs Black vs African American

[jccLove]

Hello Members and fellow SF's, I believe that this topic has never been discussed before, so I apologize in advanced if it has already been brought up. My sister's and I were talking the other day about race and nationality and where we as black people in America fit in. As I thought about the different terms we use to identify ourselves I began to wonder are they really representative of us as a people. What do we gain by using the term African American and why does it seem that using the term black is all of a sudden taboo? I have extremely strong feelings about this subject and I just wanted to know how other people felt as well.