Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Often in countries with socially based systems of racial classification in the Western world, the term "black" is used to describe persons who are perceived as darker-skinned in contrast to other populations. It is most commonly used for people of sub-Saharan African ancestry, Indigenous Australians, Melanesians, and Negritos, though it has been applied in many contexts to other groups, and is no indicator of any close ancestral relationship whatsoever. However, not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical characteristics are relevant, such as certain facial and hair-texture features. Indigenous African societies do not use the term black as a racial identity outside of influences brought by Western cultures.
Contemporary anthropologists and other scientists, while recognizing the reality of biological variation between different human populations, regard the concept of a "Black race" as social construct. Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified "black", and these social constructs have changed over time. In a number of countries, societal variables affect classification as much as skin color, and the social criteria for "blackness" vary. Some perceive the term 'black' as a derogatory, outdated, reductive or otherwise unrepresentative label, and as a result neither use nor define it, especially in African countries with little to no history of colonial racial segregation.
