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I am 1/2 Jamaican, 1/4 Cree Indian, 1/8 Lebanese, and 1/8 Scottish. I have been referred to as being "Black" by peers all my life. It bothers me for 2 reasons.
1) Saying that I am "black" denies all my other ethnicities. I have what some people call a "native heart", meaning that I identify with my native heritage. When I do my hair in 2 pig tails, I think I look pretty "indian". I have always loved Native art and music, and feel very "at home" when I'm at a pow wow. While I haven't explored my Jamaican or Lebanese heritage as much, they are still a part of me, and I value them. I only found out that I was part Scottish in 2002, when I was reunited with my birth mother. I was surprised, but it made sense. Like Native music, I have always loved the bagpipes. I have always wanted to learn how to highland dance. Finding out that I had Scottish blood explained that for me.
2) Most of my peers consider that "black" is synonymous with "cool". Silly, but very much an accepted "fact". It's just another type of racism. No real negative connotations, but it's stereotyping that I don't like. People assume that I will act, speak, sing, and dance a certain way because I have darker skin. It's ridiculous! When people refer to me as "black" I simply say, "I'm not 'black', I'm me." or I explain that I am multiracial.
I think that people do this because it's easier than saying "so, what race are you?" before they make a reference to the person's ethnicity.
I think that people say "African American" because that's what they hear the most. People are so concerned with being politically correct, that they just use whatever term they hear AA people use. You usually can't tell if someone's Jamaican, Haitian, African, etc. by looking at them, so it's difficult to make the distinction in your speech.
Just MHO...
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