African American

noun
1.
a black American of African descent.
adjective
2.
of or pertaining to African Americans.
Also, African-American, Afro-American.
Origin
1860-65, Americanism
Usage note
See black.
British Dictionary definitions for african-american

African-American

noun
1.
an American of African descent
adjective
2.
of or relating to Americans of African descent
Usage note
This is the currently preferred term in the US for people of African ancestry
Word Origin and History for african-american

African-American

isolated instances from at least 1863 (Afro-American is attested in 1853, in freemen's publications in Canada), but the modern use is a re-invention first attested 1969 (in reference to the African-American Teachers Association) which became the preferred term in some circles for "U.S. black" (noun or adjective) by the late 1980s. Mencken, 1921, reports Aframerican "is now very commonly used in the Negro press."