<i?(Is African-American the proper term now? Apparently it isn't "coloured" any more, as Alan Hansen has just found out. Good grief. Am I the only person here who can remember when "coloured" was the politically correct word to use?)</i>

In my experience, "African American" is loudly insisted on by white people who are afraid that "black" will offend somebody else, and who are unaware that black people can come from the Caribbean or live outside America.