On the non-utility of "African-American"

[James Harbeck]

>So what do Canadians say?

Some people try "African-Canadian," but it doesn't have as much
currency as "African-American" does in the US; some people in Canada
will even use "African-American" for a black Canadian, because it
somehow seems like the best term. As Alice mentions, the community
itself often uses Black, as in Black History Month. It's something
that many Canadians are uncertain about. Depending on where you're
seeing it, you might see "people of African descent" or you might see
something more specific, e.g., "Jamaican-Canadian."

It's not the same kind of issue up here as it is in the US because
the percentage of the population that is black is much lower. Asians
-- especially Chinese -- are far more prominent here as far as
visible minorities go (where in the US you have ads that show
multiculturalism by including African-Americans, up here they're more
likely to include Chinese Canadians), and the most significant
disadvantaged group is First Nations (Indians), who, however, make up
a fairly small percentage of the population. But the whole issue is
not as two-valued or even three-valued up here as it tends to be made
in the US. And one result of that is that there's often some
uncertainty about what to call this or that group.

James Harbeck.

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