African American respondents expressed a slight preference for “African American” when given the option between that and “Black.” In an aggregate of all races, people preferred “African American” over “Black,” but most stated no preference.
Of African American respondents who said the term “does not matter” and also offered their own open-ended description of their identity, most still described themselves as “Black,” “African American,” or “Black or African American.” African Americans seem open to using these terms interchangeably, but most respondents tended to self-identify as “Black.”