Terminology General thumb|left|This parade float displayed the word "Afro-Americans" in 1911. The term African American was popularized by Jesse Jackson in the 1980s, although there are recorded uses from the 18th and 19th centuries, for example, in post-emancipation holidays and conferences. Earlier terms also used to describe Americans of African ancestry referred more to skin color than to ancestry. Other terms (such as colored, person of color, or negro) were included in the wording of various laws and legal decisions which some thought were being used as tools of White supremacy and oppression.
Terminology General thumb|left|This parade float displayed the word "Afro-Americans" in 1911 The term African American was popularized by Jesse Jackson in the 1980s although there are recorded uses from the 18th and 19th centuries for example in post-emancipation holidays and conferences Earlier terms also used to describe Americans of African ancestry referred more to skin color than to ancestry Other terms (such as colored person of color or negro) were included in the wording of various laws and legal decisions which some thought were being used as tools of White supremacy and oppression