'Incestors'??? Oh dear... Hope this isn't a low-blow at red-necks...

I only have a guess, maybe for political reasons. They were oppressed historically, so maybe it's just a special way of "labeling" to make sure things are changing. When do they self-report as African American? When they are applying for jobs, or colleges, etc? Alot of these statistics can be used to measure progress for this group, whereas with white folks they didn't experience the same thing in quite the same way, no need to pay attention to them so much?

Why do you care since the term isn't referring to you? That's like getting upset that a tree is dropping leaves all over my yard.

Americans are white african americans are black it's to distinguish colour and that's it.

Some whites are singled out by their origin. St Patricks Day is important because of the pressure from Irish-Americans. The Polish-Americans represent another important group. However, you can look at someone and see that they are of African origin, whereas you cannot tell and Irishman or a Pole by sight. Also, some people use it as a straight euphemism for black, as in the broadcaster who said "Nelson Mandela is South Africa's first African-American president".

Back in the 1960's many blacks chose to be called African-Americans. As a way of distinguishing themselves. Ask them.

"African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry. African Americans are the direct descendants of captive Africans who survived the slavery era within the boundaries of the present United States, although some are—or are descended from—voluntary immigrants from African, Caribbean, Central American or South American nations. African Americans make up the single largest racial minority in the United States and form the second largest racial group after whites in the United States." "The term African American carries important political overtones. Earlier terms used to identify Americans of African ancestry were conferred upon the group by colonists and Americans of European ancestry. The terms were included in the wording of various laws and legal decisions which became tools of white supremacy and oppression[citation needed]. There developed among blacks in America a growing desire for a term of self-identification of their own choosing. With the political consciousness that emerged from the political and social ferment of the late 1960s and early 1970s, blacks no longer approved of the term Negro. They believed it had suggestions of a moderate, accommodationist, even "Uncle Tom" connotation. In this period, a growing number of blacks in the United States, particularly African-American youth, celebrated their blackness and their historical and cultural ties with the African continent. The Black Power movement defiantly embraced Black as a group identifier. It was a term social leaders themselves had repudiated only two decades earlier, but they proclaimed, "Black is beautiful". In this same period, a smaller number of people favored Afro-American. In the 1980s the term African American was advanced on the model of, for example, German American. Jesse Jackson popularized the term, and the major media quickly adopted its use. Many blacks in America expressed a preference for the term, as it was formed in the same way as names for others of the many ethnic groups in the nation. Some argued further that, because of the historical circumstances surrounding the capture, enslavement and systematic attempts to de-Africanize blacks in the United States under chattel slavery, most African Americans are unable to trace their ancestry to a specific African nation; hence, the entire continent serves as a geographic marker. For many, African American is more than a name expressive of cultural and historical roots. The term expresses pride in Africa and a sense of kinship and solidarity with others of the African diaspora—an embrace of pan-Africanism as earlier enunciated by prominent African thinkers such as Marcus Garvey, W. E. B. Du Bois and George Padmore." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American

An interesting question. Here's one man's input here: http://www.snipeme.com/archive.php?year=2004&rant=african He makes a VERY interesting rant on the subject.

Some black folks wanted to be called African American so they lobbied and fought long enough to have that term be the generally accepted one. For the record I know many black folks who prefer to be called black. I try to remember which of my friends prefer which... most say "just call me black." Luckily my terrible memory is well known so when I screw it up they do not become angered with me. White folks have not put the lobbying and fighting into any such thing. I suspect that if they fought long and hard enough to do so they would get some hyphenated thingamagig in front of "American" too. Considering the history of black people in America I do not blame them for wanting something to indicate pride in their origins. The problem is not all black people's ancestors came from Africa. Personally, I do not like the hyphenated-American thing but that is just me. Please do not call me Romani-American or Gypsy-American. Call me Romani (Romani = "Gypsy" and is NOT the same as RomaniA) or even Gypsy when referring to my ethnicity. Call me American when referring to my nationality.

i call them black, african americans is too long