African American vs Black vs African American

[AKAtude]

Talaxe,

Well said. I can back you up on a few of the differences which you made reference to. One of my cousins married a woman from a South American country and she is "white" by American standards. However, she refers to herself as black.

I remember when some people got upset when Tiger Woods would not refer to himself as an African-American because he did not wish to deny his mother's heritage (she is from Thailand). That still does not change the fact that American society views him as a black man based on the color of his skin.
I use both Black and African-American interchangeably although I prefer Black because I know my heritage consists of more. My grandfather (dad's father) is Filipino.