> For example we could use "African-American" in non ironic way, correct word now is probably capitalised "Black", that was offensive just a few decades ago.
I could consider that a substantial improvement, to be honest. I actually knew a real African American, but almost everyone I've met who is called African American seems to in fact just be American. I wouldn't want to be called European American, myself, so I have always thought 'black' and 'white' where sufficient when a racial descriptor needs to be used for whatever reason.
I've read definitons that say "African-American" specifically refers to the descendants of slaves whereas immigrants from Africa are called <country>-American. For example, Elon is South African American.
That would certainly raise the complexity level a bunch. I wonder how many generations would it take to lose the qualifier? Am I a "German American" because 14 generations ago some guy named Casper immigrated to the US? I do look a bit German, and my name certainly is a derivative of a German surname, but at 14 generations I think it's safe to say the actual amount of German blood in my veins is vanishingly small.
I could consider that a substantial improvement, to be honest. I actually knew a real African American, but almost everyone I've met who is called African American seems to in fact just be American. I wouldn't want to be called European American, myself, so I have always thought 'black' and 'white' where sufficient when a racial descriptor needs to be used for whatever reason.