Black, African American
EAPM suggests following the policies of the National Association of Black Journalists.
A person’s preference determines which term to use, but the aim should be as specific as possible: Haitian American, Jamaican American, Jamaican living in America (for a non-U.S. citizen living in the United States), African American or Black. If a person does not give a stated preference, but race is a relevant factor to the article, use Black. Do not include if it is not relevant to the story.
Black, when used to describe race, is capitalized. NABJ suggests aiming to use Black as an adjective rather than a noun, such as Black community, Black excellence, etc.
African American is two words as a noun, but a hyphenated word as an adjective. Also see compound noun and compound adjective.
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