Wikipedia:African American

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This page in a nutshell: Use the term "black" as a color descriptive and not "African-American"

African-American. Although the term African-American is used as a color descriptive in the United States, it is not a universal term and creates confusion in other parts of the world. It is a term used mostly, and made popular, by the American media as well as American politicians; however, the common U.S. citizen has not yet adopted the term, and nor has the rest of the world. Additionally, it has caused confusion when international readers browse Wikipedia as well as misuse (regardless of an individual's nationality, ethnicity or geography).

For example, during the 2005 civil unrest in France, CNN anchorwoman Carol Lin referred to the rioters as "African Americans".^[1]

For these reasons, many nations view this term as U.S.-centric term which excludes them. Since this is an international encyclopedia, it is therefore suggested that you use the term black, although no people are literally black, but many people who have dark skin color are considered black, when describing color. This is a more universally accepted term which does not cause confusion when describing color, nor does it cause it to be one-country-centric.

1 What this does not mean
2 Where African American is appropriate
3 See also
4 Notes

[edit] What this does not mean

Not all blacks are from Africa, but some may have immigrated via the Caribbean, or Pacific Islands, or South America.
Other nations may find it American-centric.
The term American itself has several different meanings, which adds to the confusion.
Though accurate if used for a person of African descent, the term as used in the political sense, improperly excludes white African-Americans.
The term is not accurate when describing someone who is black but who who is not an American citizen.

[edit] Where African American is appropriate

African American is entirely appropriate in identifying any American group of African descent. However, if the Country of origin is known, then that would be more appropriate thing to do. For example, if a person is born in Nigeria, and becomes a U.S. citizen, then it would be more correct and appropriate to say they are Nigerian-American rather than African-American.
If a person has publicly stated that they prefer the African-American term over Black American, then, per their request and preference, it is OK to use the term. This avoids having to make an editor guess as to a person's preference and keeps the color descriptive without the confusion.