The exact dividing line between the two regions is not clear. However, according to one classification, sub-Saharan Africa includes 48 nation's , 42 of which are on the African mainland. Also, four island nation's in the southwest Indian Ocean (Madagascar, The Comoros, Mauritius and Seychelles) and two in the Atlantic (Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe) are considered part of Africa. Accordingly, the countries of Africa are:

Central African Republic
Chad
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo

Burundi
Comoros
Djibouti
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Kenya
Seychelles
Rwanda
Somalia
Tanzania
Uganda

Algeria
Ceuta
Egypt
Libya
Melilla
Morocco
Sudan
Tunisia
Western Sahara

African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME): Independent Methodist organization dedicated to black self-improvement and Pan-Africanist ideals. In 1794, Richard Allen, the first AME bishop, established Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. About 2,000 black Methodists facing persistent discrimination met at Bethel to discuss legal independence from the Methodist church's main body. Voting to organize under the name, African Methodist Episcopal Church, the group successfully sued for independence before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. AME is acceptable on second reference and in headlines. (See also Methodist Episcopal Church.)

African Methodist Episcopal Zion: Black members within the John Street Church in New York City and within American Methodism in general were denied ordination, forced to sit in segregated pews and limited in their access to the Methodist itinerant clergy and the Communion Table. Frustrated by this treatment, two black John Street members, Peter Williams and William Miller, in 1796 founded the African Chapel. The chapel was later renamed Zion Church and its members became known as Zionites. In 1801, with the help of the Rev. John McClaskey a white minister who had opposed the independence efforts of Richard Allens African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME) in Philadelphia the Zion Church was incorporated as the African Methodist Episcopal Church of the City of New York. James Varick was its first pastor, later becoming the first black African Methodist Episcopal Zion bishop. (See also Methodist Episcopal Church.)

African National Congress (ANC): Leading South African political party and mostly identified with the struggle against apartheid. Founded in 1912 by a group of middle-class, college-educated black South Africans to fight racist laws by building solidarity among the country's diverse societies. (See apartheid.) Nelson Mandela joined the ANC in 1941, became its leader in 1992 and the country's first black president in 1994. The other major South African political parties are the National Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party. ANC is acceptable on second reference and in headlines.

Afro-American: Archaic term to describe a black person. Popular in 1960s and 70s, the name was overtaken by black and later African American in the 80s and 90s. Do not use. (See African, African American, black.)

Afrocentric, Afrocentrism: The study of Africa, its history and culture from a non-European perspective. The term Afrocentrism was first coined in 1976 by Molefi Kete Asante and can be defined as rediscovering African and African-American achievement, restoring Africa's rightful place in history, and establishing its importance on par with European history, culture and accomplishment.

AIDS: Acronym for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. It is a disease that weakens the body's immune system and is spread primarily through sexual contact, contaminated needles, infected blood or blood products and from pregnant women to offspring. It is the most advanced stage of HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus. AIDS was first reported in America in 1981, and according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), affects seven times more blacks and three times more Hispanics than whites. It is a leading killer in the black community. AIDS is acceptable in all references but should be briefly defined as an immune deficiency disease in news copy.

alien: A term for a foreigner or an immigrant that often conveys overtones of menace or strangeness. Avoid its use in copy or headlines. The preferred term for those who enter a country in violation of the law is illegal immigrants or undocumented immigrants.

animal references: Avoid comparing people, in particular athletes, with animals even if they have a name such as Tiger or Fox.

apartheid: Racial segregation specifically, a policy of segregation and political and economic discrimination enforced by the white minority government against non-white residents in South Africa from 1948 to 1994.

articulate: As an adjective, the word is viewed by some as a subjective term that implies it is an exceptional occurrence for people of color to speak confidently, knowledgeably, clearly, eloquently and/or reasonably on a topic. It is better to report what a person said rather than simply describe him or her as such.

aunt, uncle: When not referring to a family relationship, the terms may be insensitive or offensive depending on its context. Historically, whites used the names often for any black person in servitude. (See Aunt Jemima and Uncle Tom.) Today, the names are used in the black community as terms of endearment or respect for non-family members or close family friends. Traditionally in the South, children are expected to address an adult by an honorific, Miss, Maam, Aunt, Mister, Uncle or Sir.

Aunt Jemima: Born a slave in 1834, Nancy Green became the advertising worlds first living trademark as Aunt Jemima. Working as a domestic in Chicago, Green was contracted at age 59 to portray a happy cook to promote a pancake recipe by Pearl Milling Co. She died in 1923, but her image as the pancake queen lives on today. Some view the icon as a painful reminder of slavery, and her character as the apron-clad cook with a bandanna tied on her head as a negative stereotype of black women.