# African Canadians ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 30, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726 "2009-07-30T00:06:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![imfloating](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bc79bd/32.png) [@imfloating](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imfloating)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/1 "2009-07-30T00:06:21Z")
Do black people living in other countries also insert African before the country they are actually living in ? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/2 "2009-07-30T00:17:52Z")
The term African- (or Afro-) [insert country here] is used pretty interchangeably with “Black [insert country here]” in countries outside the U.S. In Canada [the term can be Black Canadians, African Canadians or Caribbean Canadians.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Canadians) There’s a bit of dispute about the term [“African Canadian”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Canadians#Terminology), though. [List of similar populations/terminology in Europe](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Europeans) ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/3 "2009-07-30T00:18:41Z")
I would be surprised if this were the convention in other countries. In the US, it’s almost always meaningless anyway, unless the person is really closely connected with Africa (first or second generation American). Otherwise, it’s an unnecessarily pedantic term that sounds ridiculous. As an example, what is Seal’s (the singer, of “Kiss from a Rose” fame) race? He’s from the UK, so he can’t be logically “African American.” He’s black. But I’d wager that many Americans would call him “African American,” even though it makes no sense in his case. I’m “white” or “Caucasian” when I have the occasion to specify my race. My ancestry is English and Austrian, but I don’t see the point of being that precise. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/4 "2009-07-30T00:30:11Z")
> [@statsman1982](#): > > As an example, what is Seal’s (the singer, of “Kiss from a Rose” fame) race? He’s from the UK, so he can’t be logically “African American.” He’s black. But I’d wager that many Americans would call him “African American,” even though it makes no sense in his case. When Voyager was starting many an article referred to Tuvok as an African American Vulcan, which is ludicrous. But “African American” is the bullshit PC term the media has decided and dictated as acceptable, so there you go. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/5 "2009-07-30T00:33:07Z")
Hate to rain on your parade fellas, but the OP wasn’t asking if the black populace is referred to as “African-_American_” in other countries; but whether they are referred to as “African-insert country here”. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/6 "2009-07-30T00:42:41Z")
> [@statsman1982](#): > > Otherwise, it’s an unnecessarily pedantic term that sounds ridiculous. > [@TBG](#): > > But “African American” is the bullshit PC term the media has decided and dictated as acceptable, so there you go. [Moderating] Let’s leave the opinions about the appropriateness of the term to another forum. Please stick to factually answering the OP. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/7 "2009-07-30T00:46:51Z")
In Panama, there are two different groups of African origin which are referred to by separate terms. _Afrocoloniales_ (Afro-colonials) are Spanish-speaking descendants of slaves brought to Panama during colonial times. _Afroantillianos_ (Afro-Antillians) are descended from English-speaking immigrants from the British West Indies who came to Panama to work on banana plantations starting in the 1880s, and later came in large numbers to work on the Canal. Most now speak Spanish as well. ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/8 "2009-07-30T01:16:25Z")
It is not used in Australia or Britain. There is no assumption that the black person is from Africa. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/9 "2009-07-30T02:37:53Z")
Well, since Canada is in North America, it could still work. However, I think the fact that Black people exist on all continents has definitely led to the decline in the term. I met a Black man in England and almost called him African-American. I caught myself just in time. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/10 "2009-07-30T03:21:11Z")
I don’t know whether it’s an urban legend that sections of the US media used to refer to Nelson Mandela as “African American”, because their style books indicated that this was preferred over “black”. Here in Australia, to describe someone as “black” would normally suggest an indigenous Australian. There are not many Australians of African origin but, if you needed to identify one, you wouldn’t call him “African-Australian”, but siimply “African” (or, more specfically, e.g. “Somali”). In the same way Australians of e.g. Italian origin are described simply as “Italian”. ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/11 "2009-07-30T03:41:35Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Moderating] > > Let’s leave the opinions about the appropriateness of the term to another forum. Please stick to factually answering the OP. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator My apologies for being out of line. My main point with that statement was that other countries do not seem to have as much of a hangup about terminology as the US does. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/12 "2009-07-30T04:42:41Z")
No. Never in Canada have I heard the term “African-Canadian,” ever. We say “black.” Big deal. No one considers this a derogatory term any more than identifying someone as “white.” Police reports and the like will state “two white males and one black male were spotted… blah, blah, blah.” This African-American label sounds more offensive than simply saying “black” to me. You can be black and be from any fucking number of continents, you idiots. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/13 "2009-07-30T05:15:39Z")
In the US all blacks are “African-Americans” because they’re assumed to be either descendants of African slaves, or (as in the case of the current President) integrated into that culture. Countries where you find different groups of culturally distinct black people are probably less likely to use a single specific term other than simply “black” for them. This is what **Colibri** is saying with his description of two different groups of black people in Panama. Are they still culturally distinct today? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/14 "2009-07-30T05:15:45Z")
> [@statsman1982](#): > > My main point with that statement was that other countries do not seem to have as much of a hangup about terminology as the US does. They certainly do. Just not _this particular_ hangup about terminology. ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/15 "2009-07-30T06:19:45Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > They certainly do. Just not _this particular_ hangup about terminology. :smack: Yes, you’re right. I probably should’ve narrowed it down a bit, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/16 "2009-07-30T08:38:54Z")
There are certainly other terms in other countries which, while they split things up in a different way, are similar to “African-American.” In the U.K., it’s common, I believe, to speak of someone as “Afro-Caribbean,” which means that they are British citizens who are descended from people who came to the West Indies (almost always as slaves) from Africa whose descendents came to the U.K. I think a less common term is “Indo-Caribbean,” which refers to British citizens who are descended from people who came to the West Indies from India whose descendents came to the U.K.: > **[British African-Caribbean people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_African-Caribbean_community)** > > British African-Caribbean people are an ethnic group in the United Kingdom. They are British citizens whose ancestry originates from the Caribbean or they are nationals of the Caribbean who reside in the UK. There are some self-identified Afro-Caribbean people who are multi-racial. The most common and traditional use of the term African-Caribbean community is in reference to groups of residents continuing aspects of Caribbean culture, customs and traditions in the UK. > The earliest generations ... I suspect that other countries have other odd ways of describing people’s ethnic ancestry. People talk about the term “African-American” as if it resembled nothing else ever used. It’s actually modeled on earlier terms like “Irish-American” and “Italian-American” which were very common and well accepted in the U.S. The only odd thing is that about the time that “African-American” began to be commonly used, the other terms it was modeled on began to be less commonly used. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/17 "2009-07-30T10:11:03Z")
Yes, “Afro-Caribbean” is used in the UK, but it seems to be falling (have fallen?) out of favour. The most common term used in the media here is simply “black”. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/18 "2009-07-30T10:17:45Z")
Another factor involved here is that other countries have issues with the United States having exclusive use of the term “American”. A black person in Canada, Mexico, or Brazil could qualify as an African-American because they have African ancestry and live in North or South America. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/19 "2009-07-30T12:28:42Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Here in Australia, to describe someone as “black” would normally suggest an indigenous Australian. There are not many Australians of African origin but, if you needed to identify one, you wouldn’t call him “African-Australian”, but siimply “African” (or, more specfically, e.g. “Somali”). In the same way Australians of e.g. Italian origin are described simply as “Italian”. For ethnicity, in Australia it’s not unusual to refer to Greek Australians, Lebanese Australians, Chinese Australians, etc. However, if it’s obvious from the context that they are Australians, you might just call them Greek, Lebanese, Chinese, etc. While skin colour is an important social factor in Australia, “black” isn’t really used very much to describe people – partly because Aboriginal Australians often have relatively fair skin colour, and partly because there are other ethnic groups with dark skin colour in Australia, including Torres Strait Islanders, people from various South Pacific countries, and people from South Asia. As **UDS** said, there are relatively few people of Sub-Saharan origin in Australia, so there isn’t a common single term used for them. Some are, of course, African American, because they (or their ancestors) migrated to Australia from the US 😃 – others migrated from countries in Africa, and others from other parts of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2009, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726/20 "2009-07-30T13:07:03Z")
Are there any countries that have a recognized “American” minority? A group of people whose ancestry goes back to the United States? Not just an expat community - people born in the country but who still have distinct American cultural roots. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-canadians/504726.md?page=2)