The phrase "an african background" is correct and usable in written English, although "African" should be capitalized.
You can use it when referring to someone's cultural, ethnic, or geographical heritage related to Africa.
Example: "She has an African background that influences her art and storytelling."
Alternatives: "a background from Africa" or "an African heritage."
The couple employed mentors with an "African background" to connect with Zahara, who was adopted in Ethiopia in 2005.
There was a stage when I was younger, in primary school, and a lot of people who came from an African background weren't as proud of it.
Most of these migrants came into America, they had their businesses, they didn't depend on government…Seen from an African background, many of these had their own shops in Africa and they look for new sources of products, so they came and they went, and then eventually they settled.
Thomas A. Crist, an anthropologist who examined the badly decomposed remains for the Northampton County coroner's office in 2001, says she was 25 to 40 years old (most likely 30 to 35) and of European descent, though subtle characteristics of her molars also suggested an African background.
Most of the locals on Tobago have an African background.
So, some people that are not from an African background might not understand it.
Expectations were high when a Muslim woman from a North African background was made an instant star in France's new Socialist cabinet in May.
I'm from a South African background and there's this phrase – ubuntu – "I am because we are".
The recruitment of Belgian and French radical Muslims who come from a North African background served to emphasize arguments that "home-grown" terrorism - meaning that committed by one's neighbors - is a product of economic and social marginalization.
6 In March 2008, a schoolgirl of African background started to cough, and in June, she was diagnosed with sputum smear-positive TB.
A young, working-class man of North African background, with a shaved head and wearing a parka and sneakers, speaks in thick banlieue slang on his cell phone, often with his back to us.
