The term Blacks is often used in the West to denote "race" for persons whose progenitors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to West and sub-Saharan Africa. The term also can apply more broadly to persons whose ancestors formed early migratory waves of humanity from Africa in prehistoric times, including aboriginal Australians and Guineans; Tamils and other darker-skinned East Indians; and Sri Lankans and Pakistanis, etc., as well.

In many countries, there is still a strong (though weakening) social stigma against those persons identifying themselves as part of more than one perceived racial category. Hence, it may be truer to say that people who perceive themselves or are perceived by others as a member of a black cultural group often are called "black."

The term "Negro" (from negro, Spanish and Portuguese for 'black') was widely used until the 1960s, and remains a constituent part of the names of several African American organizations. However, following the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s, the term 'Negro' usually was deemed derogatory and inappropriate. By contrast, the English translation, 'black', has gained increasing acceptance worldwide and in the U.S. often is used interchangeably with "African-American."

In North America and some parts of Europe, mixed-race people of part-African descent often are referred to as being "black." In other places, persons of mixed race and part African descent are not called "black" due to caste systems in their countries of orgin. Some are called "white" because they have an especially light complexion or European-looking features. When such people are perceived as using their complexions to personal advantage by hiding or denying the African part of their heritage, it is often called "passing."

Locale or language	Usage
Australia	Australian Aborigines are commonly called black.
Canada	Canadians use the term Black Canadian to refer to people with dark or African skin.
France	The French slang term black (pronounced the same as English, except in plural in which form the S is not pronounced) is a pseudo-anglicism, used only as a noun.
Poland	The neutral Polish term for a black person is Murzyn (plural: Murzyni). The term czarnuch (pl. czarnuchy, from czarny = "black") is considered offensive.
Romania	Romanians use the term negri (blacks) to refer to African or African-American people, either in or outside Romania. Negri is not used to refer to other dark-skinned people, such as Pacific Islanders or Indians. The diminutive form negrotei might be occasionally considered offensive. The term cioroi or cioară, which also means crow is usually offensive.
Russia	Russians today apply the name chornyye (чёрные, Blacks) mostly not to Africans, but to people from Caucasus, which quite naturally belong to the Caucasian race.  Africans are usually called negry (не́гры, Negroes).
United Kingdom	The term black Briton is sometimes used in the UK, but it is more common to use an adjectival rather than a noun term and write about black British people. Rarely the description is loosely used to also include what is actually a larger demographic, British people of south Asian descent.
United States	In the USA, African Americans are commonly called, and call themselves, black.