The US is a land of opportunity for anyone. African Immigrants are the most successful group in US followed by Indians from Subcontinent then East Asians, then White.
US CENSUS
|1|Indian 128,000
|2|East Asian 85,349
|3|White 67,865
|4|Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 50,987
|5|Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 46,882
|6|American Indian and Alaska Native 39,719
|7|Black or African American 30,555
Recent Carribean and African immigrants tend to be drawn from the elite in those countries; a lot of them had connections to former governments and were thus rather well educated.
When they naturalize, they become “African-American” and a combination of affirmative action programs and high education essentially means they’ve hit the jackpot in terms of employment opportunity.
I can’t see how there would be another way except being born as one. But wouldn’t you? At the moment you become naturalized, you will be an American with African ancestry and hence an African-American, will you not?
Well, according to the extensive and important culture responsive training I underwent last year via the fine fine folk at NYU “African AMericans” are those who have traced their roots back to African countries. Those who obviously come from the same region but who have not go by “Black.”
“African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa.” That may work for the Law, but the Woke know better.
This gray area though reared its head when a boy from the Congo asked me what he was.
You are confusing the formal definition with the colloquial usage.
Also I find the whole “what are you?” quite dumb. We are all human, it might be an interesting fact to know but nothing to lose sleep over. The labels won’t change who we are, not even a little.