Antedating of "African-American"

[Paul Frank]

What's the earliest cite for African American in the OED database?

Here's one use from 1939:

African - American voters, for instance, often complain that the Democratic
Party does not take account of their interests because it is so sure of
their votes. And indeed, a very large percentage of  African - American
voters do cast their ballots for Democratic candidates.
        Carroll J. Glynn, Susan Herbst, Garrett J. O'Keefe, Robert Y.
Shapiro, Public Opinion, McGraw-Hill, 1939, p. 122.

Songs like these helped reinforce existing laws and social rules that
segregated  African -Americans, kept them from voting, and prevented them
from joining unions or obtaining many kinds of jobs.
        Ibid, p. 157.

I thought the term went back to the early 1990s.

Paul
______________________
Paul Frank
Chinese-English translator
paulfrank at post.harvard.edu