Although the term black can refer to any dark skinned person of any ethnicity (from Australian aboriginals to Afircan-Americans), when spelled with a capital B it generally refers exclusively to peoples of African descent. This is because ethnic terms are spelled with a capiatl B <ref>http://www.sparknotes.com/writing/style/topic_36.html</ref>

Current definitions

===Socio-political definitions===

The U.S. census says a black is a person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "Black, African Am., or Negro," or provide written entries such as African American, Afro American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian. The Census Bureau however notes that these classifications are socio-political constructs and should not be interpreted as being scientific or anthropological in nature.<ref> Quickfacts: U.S. Bureau of the Census</ref>

According to psychologist Arthur Jensen, "American blacks are socially defined simply as persons who have some degree of sub-Saharan African ancestry and who identify themselves (or, in the case of children, are defined by their parents) as black or African-American"<ref>Jorion, P.J.M. (1999). [Intelligence and race: The house of cards], Psycoloquy 10(064)</ref>

According to activist Nirmala Rajasingam "I think the idea of a Black identity, was inspired by the Civil Rights movement in the US. Unfortunately, now Black is identified with people of African origin only, but it didn’t used to be that way. It was used as a political term of people of color uniting to fight racism".<ref name=Kadirgamar> interview by Ahilan Kadirgamar Lines. August 2002. Retrieved on 2006-10-08</ref>

According to Frank W. Sweet, the most controversial answer to the question "who is black?" is "whoever looks black." He writes that although most who use the label rationalize it in terms of physical appearance, there is little objective consistency in this regard, and that different cultures can assign the same individual to opposite "races": North Americans, Haitians, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Barbadians, Jamaicans, and Trinidadians all have different subconscious and automatic perceptions of just what features define who belongs to which "racial" label.<ref>Frank F. W. (2005) Legal History of the Color Line: The Rise and Triumph of the One-Drop Rule, Backintyme (ISBN 0939479230)</ref>

"In this country [the United States], if you are not quite white, then you are black," said Jose Neinstein, a native white Brazilian and executive director of the Brazilian-American Cultural Institute in Washington. But in Brazil, he added, "If you are not quite black, then you are white." <ref>" People of Color Who Never Felt They Were Black: Racial Label Surprises Many Latino Immigrants", The Washington Post, December 26, 2002</ref>

According to America's one drop rule, a black is any person with any known African ancestry.<ref name=Davis> Who is Black? One Nation's Definition (PBS), by F. James Davis</ref>

According to Professor R Bhopal a black is "A person with African ancestral origins, who self identifies, or is identified, as Black, African or Afro-Caribbean (see, African and Afro-Caribbean). The word is capitalised to signify its specific use in this way. In some circumstances the word Black signifies all non-white minority populations, and in this use serves political purposes. While this term was widely supported in the late 20th century there are signs that such support is diminishing."<ref>[1733]</ref>

===Lexical definitions===

Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines the term ‘black’ with regard to race as follows: "a person belonging to a dark-skinned race or one stemming in part from such a race; esp. Negro.<ref name=Boulaga/>

YourDictionary.com defines "black" with regard to race as "Of or belonging to a racial group having brown to black skin, especially one of African origin: the Black population of South Africa.<ref> yourdictionary.com</ref>

Dictionary.com and thefreedictionary.com defines "Black person" as "a person with dark skin who comes from Africa (or whose ancestors came from Africa) [syn: Black, Black person, blackamoor, Negro, Negroid]<ref> person thefreedictionary.com</ref><ref> person thefreedictionary.com</ref>"

===Biological definitions===


There is no universally accepted biological definition of race. Some biologists claim that race is a biologically quantifiable phenomenon, while others argue that race is biologically meaningless.<ref name="Risch"/><ref name="serre"/> Nevertheless attempts have been made to define black people genetically.

According to Michael Levin "Ordinary speakers acquainted with the out-of-Africa scenario are most charitably construed as intending 'Negroid' to denote individuals whose ancestors 15 to 5000 generations ago (with Harris & Hey, 1999, counting a generation as 20 years) were sub-Saharan African...Hybrid populations with multiple lines of descent are to be characterized in just those terms: as of multiple descent. Thus, American Negroids are individuals most of whose ancestors from 15 to 5000 generations ago were sub- Saharan African. Specifying 'most' more precisely in a way that captures ordinary usage may not be possible. '> 50%' seems too low a threshold; my sense is that ordinary attributions of race begin to stabilize at 75%.<ref>Levin M. The Race Concept: A Defense, Behavior and Philosophy, 30, 21-42 (2002)</ref> University of Western Ontario professor J. Phillipe Rushton states "a Negroid is someone whose ancestors, between 4,000 and (to accommodate recent migrations) 20 generations ago, were born in sub-Saharan Africa.<ref name=Rushton/>

Sally Satel of the Policy Review stated “The entities we call ‘racial groups’ essentially represent individuals united by a common descent — a huge extended family, as evolutionary biologists like to say. Blacks, for example, are a racial group defined by their possessing some degree of recent African ancestry (recent because, after all, everyone of us is out of Africa, the origin of Homo sapiens).<ref name=Rushton/>

Page 42 of the abridged version of "Race, Evolution, and Behavior" states: "In both everyday life and evolutionary biology, a 'Black' is anyone most of whose ancestors were born in sub-Saharan Africa<ref>Rushton J. P. (2000) Race, Evolution, and Behavior: A Life History Perspective, Charles Darwin Research Inst. Pr; 3rd edition (ISBN 0965683613). Abstract available here</ref>