# What do you call "African Americans" in other countries?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [August 15, 2003, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415 "2003-08-15T17:02:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@tlt1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tlt1)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/1 "2003-08-15T17:02:49Z")
I’ve been wondering, what is the correct term for blacks in say Canada, Australia, and the UK? African American wouldn’t be right. Can you just call them “African”? That would not be politically correct in the US would it? Also, Would a black guy from someplace else living in America, for say a few months be upset if someone called him an African American? I wouldn’t like it if I moved to Japan for a while and I was know as Euro-Japanese or something of the sort. Just curious.
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### Author:  [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/2 "2003-08-15T17:16:52Z")
In the UK “black” and “Afro-Caribbean” are both considered OK.
As to your second question, my sister is English Afro-Caribbean living in the US, and many people call her “African American”. It pisses her off.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/3 "2003-08-15T17:25:00Z")
It’s not politically incorrect to call a black person a “black” in the US. It’s done all the time in newspapers. “African-American” is more a cultural term, used in a way such as “Irish-American” or “Polish-American” might be used. Some people have misunderstood the point of political correctness and have gone to insane lengths that they use “African-American” in contexts where it’s not necessary, or totally incorrect. You wouldn’t call a black guy from Britain an “African-American,” that’s for sure. Neither would you Jamaicans or Haitians or anything like that.
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### Author:  [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/4 "2003-08-15T17:34:18Z")
We hear in no apparent order:
Black
Blackfella
Aboriginal
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### Author:  [@Jjinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jjinn)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/5 "2003-08-15T18:23:55Z")
Oddly, the Bush advisors and cabinet members often refer to the black people living in Africa as African Americans, like that was just the PC word for black. But then they also say nukaler.
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### Author:  [@Omnipresent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omnipresent)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/6 "2003-08-15T18:46:53Z")
Proving once again that the description is inaccurate and probably shouldn’t be used at all.
Don’t know of anyone complaining about being described as white.
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### Author:  [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/7 "2003-08-15T19:03:06Z")
Is it correct to call a “white” person who’s ancestors hail from South Africa or Zimbobwe an “African Anerican”.? Assuming of course that their citizenship is american. U.S. that is.
Anyone, regardless of skin shade, who’s ancestors came from the African continent is African, right?
So if the first humans originated on that continent, we’re all “african”.
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### Author:  [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/8 "2003-08-15T19:08:12Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by pulykamell \*
> \*\*It’s not politically incorrect to call a black person a “black” in the US. It’s done all the time in newspapers. “African-American” is more a cultural term, used in a way such as “Irish-American” or “Polish-American” might be used. \*\*
But shouldn’t it be used like “European-American”? After all, are people with Libyan or Egyptian parents “African-American”? Are folks living in the Berber communities in the USA “African-American”.
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### Author:  [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/9 "2003-08-15T19:09:53Z")
In the textbooks my company produces, we always use “African American” (never with a hyphen and never with “Afro”) on first mention of a black American, when it comes up, but allow “black” (never capitalized) on subsequent uses or where it appears in an original source we’ve got permission to use.
But it is occasionally a problem when we talk about black Canadians or Brits, or black Carribean Americans etc… so we avoid using a descriptive adjective to talk about them, and rely on context (like a discussion of the person’s ancestors) to provide the info that they’re black if it’s important to the piece in any way. In the one instance I worked on that just couldn’t avoid it (I think it was a piece about Jamaica Kincaid, but I’m not sure) we just threw up our hands and said “black” on first mention.
Our standards for things like this are shaped by the demands of the market, i.e., school boards, teachers, etc. Ain’t none such a thing as “correct” term. It fluctuates all the time. This policy dates from the early 90s and will probably change again soon. We refer to a wide variety of sources to keep up with trends.
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### Author:  [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/10 "2003-08-15T19:12:33Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by GaryM \*
> \*\*Is it correct to call a “white” person who’s ancestors hail from South Africa or Zimbobwe an “African Anerican”.? Assuming of course that their citizenship is american. U.S. that is.
>
> Anyone, regardless of skin shade, who’s ancestors came from the African continent is African, right?
>
> So if the first humans originated on that continent, we’re all “african”. \*\*
I follow your logic, but the only reason we use the terms at all is to be descriptive. A term that includes everyone alive loses descriptive power and becomes useless. So “correct” isn’t really the point here, so much as “usefully descriptive without being needlessly offensive”.
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### Author:  [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/11 "2003-08-15T19:18:30Z")
Sometimes politically correct spelling/grammar checkers can get carried away with this. I once read a newspaper article that stated XYZ Company would be operating this year with their budget in the African American.
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### Author:  [@chattywine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chattywine)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/12 "2003-08-15T19:36:40Z")
In Italy - African Americans are referred to as American (americano) or to specify ‘the black one’ (quello nero). Black and brown people - person of color (persone di colore/la ragazza di colore etc.) which isn’t used in the derrogative as ‘colored’ once was or simply African/Chinese what have you. FWIW I’ve asked a few black Americans stationed here (Sigonella) what the non-offensive term or accepted term is and all have said ‘black’ works for them.
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### Author:  [@Mdm.President](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdm.President)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/13 "2003-08-15T19:58:19Z")
I think there should be a movement, something official…like a vote, where we just call people with visually more Negroid than Caucasian or Mongoloid Chocolate! The term black, to some, is derogatory and not very descriptive since most aren’t truly that dark. And when ‘white’ folk start being offended at that equally wrong term we can be called Cream! How perfect?! Who thinks negative thoughts when hearing the terms Chocolate and Cream? And there are an infinite number of shades of each sooo… well, I just think I’m a damn genus.
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### Author:  [@Yeah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeah)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/14 "2003-08-15T20:03:59Z")
I think that in most of Africa they are called Americans.
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### Author:  [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/15 "2003-08-15T20:09:07Z")
The AP Style Guide prefers ‘black’ over ‘African American.’ I say that ‘African American’ will never fully become the preferred term, for reasons that have nothing to do with politics and everything to do with syllable count.
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### Author:  [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/16 "2003-08-15T20:36:15Z")
There’s a lovely essay somewhere I can’t find about what a perfect, attractive, descriptive word “colored” is, and what a shame that negative historical usage is such that we can’t use it anymore.
Er, now that I think about it, it might have been a bit in a Spider Robinson book. I still agree, though - if viewed historically neutrally, it’s a much better, nicer word than “black”.
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### Author:  [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/17 "2003-08-15T21:00:57Z")
Tourists
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### Author:  [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/18 "2003-08-15T21:10:25Z")
This question has been asked before. Some threads have pointed out some ridiculously inappropriate uses of the term. Examples…
[“African-American” in other countries](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=151712)
[What is the Politically Correct Way to Refer to Blacks in Other Countries?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=112472)
[The term “African American”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=188643), including this…
> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by Eve_
> A PBS special on vaudeville once referred to Bert Williams as “the first African-American to star in a Broadway show with whites.” Bert Williams was born in the _British Virgin Islands . . ._
and [“African Americans”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=8133), including this…
> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by Mullinator_
> Slightly related to the topic, the other day, my college (well, former, I am now an alumni) newspaper referred to Nelson Mandela as African-American. Either they have no clue about where he lives, or they just assume all black people want to fit into that niche.
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### Author:  [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/19 "2003-08-15T21:15:50Z")
Icí? Les americains de l’Afrique.
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### Author:  [@bagkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bagkitty)
#### Post date: [August 15, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-african-americans-in-other-countries/195415/20 "2003-08-15T21:27:38Z")
_Given the original phrasing (if not intent) of the OP_ : I think of them as Yankees… would usually refer to them as Yankees, although if speaking to them directly, it is usually more polite to call them sir or madam (as appropriate) until learning their names.
When looking at the intent of the OP… I would refer to them as Canadians…
Oh, and by and large, black would be the preferred term if trying to identify which visible minority someone is… (the visible majority being pasty).
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