Very interesting post, Anita--thank you. I looked the term up on Wikipedia, which is not exactly the most reliable source. Here is the relevant paragraph: "Previously acceptable terms that are now viewed as archaic (and, outside of historical contexts, even insulting) include Negro and Colored; today, the most common term is probably African American, with Black also commonly accepted since the late 1960s; the term Afro-American was apparently first prominently used in 1961 by a group of activists including Maya Angelou and Leroi Jones (later known as Amiri Baraka)[4] and became common from the late 1960s into the 1980s; it remains generally acceptable, but less common, and has lately been developing a "period" connotation. Blacks are also included in the broader term "people of color"." But is "Afro-American" quite the same as "African-American?" Probaby not. It would be interesting to look up the history of the word. I will check tomorrow, when I can look it up in the OED. All best, Kevin Kevin R. Hardwick, Ph.D. Department of History James Madison University To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html