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Previous discussions concerning the infobox in the top right corner of the article can be found at Talk:African Americans/summary.

Black American over African American[edit]

I have been reading that "Black American" is taking precedence as the newest, best preferred term over "African American." Is either acceptable in most articles right now? Iljhgtn (talk) 18:56, 1 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Also, is it appropriate to capitalize the "B" in "Black Americans" or is it "black Americans"? Iljhgtn (talk) 20:51, 9 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

It is correct to capitalize the B in Blacks, as in L for Latinos and A for Asians. However is its NOT correct to do the same for w in whites. Associated Press and New York Times have determined that "white doesn’t represent a shared culture and history in the way Black does." (Personally I see this as regressive in implying all Black cultures are similar, when in reality they are quite varied.) The underlying message however is that whites are the only racial group not befitting a capital letter.

https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-cultures-race-and-ethnicity-us-news-ap-top-news-7e36c00c5af0436abc09e051261fff1f 107.192.19.201 (talk) 21:03, 18 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

We follow MOS:RACECAPS. It's "Black and White" or "black and white". Rsk6400 (talk) 09:07, 19 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The most recent move discussion happened last march (link), and it ended in consensus against such a move. I'd recommend researching whether things have changed when it comes to RS usage of the terms. Firefangledfeathers (talk / contribs) 13:34, 19 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

That was not a very thoroughly responded to RfC. Would be logical to have another. Iljhgtn (talk) 18:31, 21 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

At the very least we can say that Black American should be prioritized over Afro-American right? Google searching "Afro Americans"/"Afro-Americans" gives 1.5 million results while "Black Americans" gives around 24.6 million. (Both are searched with quotation marks included) Gabecube45 (talk) 20:02, 7 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Support for "Black American" as the recommended preferred usage instead of "Afro", "Afro-" or "African American". Black American is the best, most neutral, and widely used term. Iljhgtn (talk) 15:40, 9 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

New map[edit]

Following this discussion, I created this map mostly to replace File:Absenceblacks.png, but also to complement File:Black Americans by county.png. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks. M.Bitton (talk) 02:11, 29 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

North American ?[edit]

@Freee Contributor: First: Please read WP:BRD and don't edit war. Then: Why should we call African Americans a "North American" group ? Black Canadians and Afro-Mexicans are not called "African Americans". Then: "North American ethnic group consisting of Americans" sound a bit funny, doesn't it ? Rsk6400 (talk) 12:19, 12 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not referring to Black Canadians or Afro-Mexicans. I'm referring to the African-Americans who've settled Canada for 2 centuries setting up towns and villages in Canada. Namely, the Black Nova Scotians. If you see the Afrikaners page, you can see they're called Southern Africans because they've lived in Namibia and Botswana for 2 centuries, even though the bulk of their history in Southern Africa has only been in South Africa. Freee Contributor (talk) 12:22, 12 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Would you prefer "North American ethnic group whose ancestors primarily date back to the Colonial United States as slaves or freemen"? Freee Contributor (talk) 12:23, 12 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

No, I think the lead sentence is less confusing as it is now. Rsk6400 (talk) 12:25, 12 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

But African-Americans are a North American ethnic group. Freee Contributor (talk) 12:26, 12 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

There are African Americans in many places. More than 99% are in the United States. It's fine to refer mainly to the vast majority, and mention the few exceptions in some lower-profile places. Firefangledfeathers (talk / contribs) 13:23, 12 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

But there have been African-Americans in Canada for centuries. If you look at the Afrikaners page, you can see the vast majority live in South Africa but because they've also lived in Namibia and Botswana for 1-2 centuries, they're called Southern African. Freee Contributor (talk) 14:30, 12 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

For how long have African Americans been living in Sierra Leone or Liberia ? According to African Americans in France, their presences in France started in the 1800s. Rsk6400 (talk) 16:41, 12 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Yes but the ethnic group in question came to be in North America Freee Contributor (talk) 17:30, 12 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not convinced by your arguments. Rsk6400 (talk) 18:41, 12 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The fact remains that African-Americans are a North American ethnic group Freee Contributor (talk) 18:57, 12 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

African American flag in lead infobox[edit]

Hello @Rsk6400,

You reverted my edit which placed the Black American Heritage Flag in the lead infobox, saying that the flag is not universally accepted. Would you have any sources to back up your claim?

I can't find anything saying the flag is universally accepted as well, though I did get flooded with a lot of results on Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/discover/black-american-heritage-flag

There have also been at least two instances, that made the news, where the flag was incorporated into fashion: https://girlsunited.essence.com/article/saweetie-met-gala-filipino-black-culture/ and https://www.milwaukeemag.com/this-milwaukee-native-won-the-united-states-of-america-ms-pageant/ Evaporation123 (talk) 03:10, 21 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

We need sources for claims, not for the absence of claims. That's why I think to add the flag, you'd need good sources that positively say that the Black American Heritage Flag is universally accepted as representing the group of African Americans. Tiktok videos or fashion articles are not considered reliable sources. You can find more about reliable sources at WP:RS. Rsk6400 (talk) 08:03, 21 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Featured picture scheduled for POTD[edit]

Hello! This is to let editors know that File:Sgt. Samuel Smith, African American soldier in Union uniform with wife and two daughters.jpg, a featured picture used in this article, has been selected as the English Wikipedia's picture of the day (POTD) for February 1, 2025. A preview of the POTD is displayed below and can be edited at Template:POTD/2025-02-01. For the greater benefit of readers, any potential improvements or maintenance that could benefit the quality of this article should be done before its scheduled appearance on the Main Page. If you have any concerns, please place a message at Wikipedia talk:Picture of the day. Thank you! — Amakuru (talk) 12:11, 29 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or Black Americans, are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. African Americans constitute the third largest racial or ethnic group in the U.S. after White Americans and Hispanic and Latino Americans. Most African Americans are descendants of enslaved people, having West African and coastal Central African ancestry, with varying amounts of Western European and Native American ancestry. This ambrotype depicts African American Union soldier Sgt. Samuel Smith, of the 119th United States Colored Troops, with his family in c. 1863–65.

Ambrotype credit: unattributed photographer

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