I defined it as your roots being African. East Africans look different generally from west Africans as do many tribes look distinct from each other, but they are still black African in my opinion.
But you don't want to fully commit to that definition. After all, all modern humans have their roots in Africa. So when does one stop being black? I have a book called "One Drop" in which it details the life of a man who passed as white, yet still was considered black because he had some "black" blood in him. His family also was seen as black, as they could not pass as white. Is he black, or is he white? His skin color is more white than black, and he lived as if he was white.
More so, what about white people who had their roots in Africa? There are many individuals with white skin who have lived in Africa for a very long time, and can say just as well that they have their roots there. Are they black?
Also I'm quite baffled when people try and say being black is a social construct its a myth, and if I said Gambian people are black no one would be having such a debate about it like they are now. So obviously they do have an idea in their mind about who is black.
The myth of race is one that is deeply ingrained, so it is hard for people to ignore it. Often it become easier for people to still use the categorizations of skin colors to describe people. However, that doesn't mean they agree with the categorizations of race.
The fact that some people still define people by their skin color doesn't really say much, except that such constructs take a long time to pass away.
I'm talking about ancient Egyptians not Hebrews
So are people from the Middle East black?