<p>Your situation illustrates why these hyphenated descriptions bug me. To me, a descendant of an African slave who was brought here to America by force and whose blood, sweat, and tears built this country just as much as my ancestors did who came here of their own accord, is an American, through and through, no hyphenation needed. Scholarships intended to help those who are descendants of those slaves ought to be specific, rather than being open to interpretation. I doubt that many of those scholarships are intended for everyone who has African continental ancestry and, now living in the United States, can technically call themselves African-American. There are probably scholarships out there for students with Ghanian heritage, or other African national heritage. But if those “African-American” scholarship programs don’t specifically aim for their intended - the descendants of American slaves - then I guess you cannot be blamed for applying for those scholarships on the basis of a technicality. Your father is an immigrant, so that counts for something perhaps.</p>