Re: "the American black".

I understand your frustration John, but this phraseology has connotations that you no doubt do not intend. It implies that 'the American black' is a creature that has a distinct set of built-in attributes that can be identified, delineated, discussed, and then expected. In other words, stereotyping, and objectification. It hearkens back to a time (Victorian era) when it was common and acceptable to talk about ethnicities in such terms - when Dr Watson in "The Sign of Four" could say to Holmes, "I know your Sikh - he's not a man to be trifled with" (approximate quotation). When your Italian was 'hot-blooded', your Oriental was 'inscrutable', etc. That's the baggage that comes with the term, 'the American black'. If you use it, you identify yourself with the commonplace racist attitudes of the 19th century, and you thus discredit your own arguments, which may in fact have merit.

To say 'AN American black', or 'American blacks', is in fact a much different matter. It's all about connotation. That's how it is with language.