<p>This is one of the reasons I often (but not always) say “black” instead of African American. I mean, having a father from Africa (first gen), I am quite LITERALLY African American. So I call myself “black” OR African American. As for other people, I just call them black. Black and white may have been stigmatized terms at one point (?), but it’s not the least bit offensive to me now. Really, it’s not offensive to anyone I know personally, though I’m sure there are people out there. It’s like the Native Americans have adopted the term American Indian and according to some possibly old hearsay, they generally actually prefer “American Indian”. “Indian” might be wrong and “black” might be old slander, but I think it’s fair that now it’s become benign.</p>