Definition of "black" []

• Being of the color black, producing or reflecting comparatively little light and having no predominant hue. (adjective)
• Having little or no light: a black, moonless night. (adjective)
• Of or belonging to a racial group having brown to black skin, especially one of African origin: the Black population of South Africa. (adjective)
• Of or belonging to an American ethnic group descended from African peoples having dark skin; African-American. (adjective)
• Very dark in color: rich black soil; black, wavy hair. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "And, a decade later, the "Black Male Initiative" of the City University of New York--the target of another complaint we brought that the Feds have refused to decide much less declare illegal--also vouched for "the data" about the importance of black male role models for black boys."
• "Black women also get oddly, back-handedly criticized for being too functional -- for being the majority of black college graduates and growing old alone."
• "Black Catholics vote just like black non-Catholics."