AfroAmerican

AfroAmerican is a term historically used in the United States to describe people of African descent who are citizens or long-term residents of the United States. It is an alternative spelling of Afro-American or Afroamerican and has appeared without a hyphen in some texts. In practice, the label has often referred to African Americans—descendants of enslaved Africans brought to North America—though it has sometimes been used more broadly for members of the African diaspora living in the United States.

The term arose in the 19th and 20th centuries and appeared in academic, journalistic, and political writing. During the civil rights era, AfroAmerican was used alongside other identifiers such as African American and Black. Over time, the preferred term in most official and mainstream contexts shifted toward African American; today AfroAmerican is seen as older or less common, and is mostly encountered in historical writing, in some regional usages, or by individuals who explicitly favor the older nomenclature.

In cultural and social contexts, communities identified as AfroAmerican contributed to American music, literature, politics, and social movements, with notable periods such as the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement signaling the central role of people of African descent in U.S. history.

The handling of this term reflects broader changes in identity terminology and in how communities define themselves within the United States.