Black, African American
We will follow 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.
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.