For African American U.S. English that is distinctly non-standard U.S. English, see African American Vernacular English.
Ebonics, a portmanteau of "ebony" and "phonics", was originally intended and sometimes used for the language of all people of African ancestry, or for that of Black North American and West African people, emphasizing the African roots of the former; since 1996 it has been largely used to refer to African American Vernacular English (distinctively nonstandard Black United States English), emphasizing the independence of the latter from (standard) English.