Zen10

Black is the current approved term. There is confusion among older people because when they were younger black was insulting and coloured was polite, and now it's the other way round.

Beaverstate

I guess it depends which country you are in. Yes there is some movement back to the term black and away from African American. I think the best answer, at least in the US is to refer to blacks as simply Americans.

Bo-Jangles

It says that it is often used, not that most people do. It wasn't exactly intended as a statement of fact and has no citation.

Certainly though, it is fair to say that we do not label every single person from India and the 'Far East' as simply Asian or oriental.

Zen10

I agree but there are times when some people might want to know if there is a distinction, and referring to everyone as Americans or humans wouldn't be good enough.